Pasta e Fagioli and Spiced Nuts
What makes life so interesting, so exciting, is the possibility of it all. That one afternoon I might be supervising the muddy back corner of an outdoor trampoline at a 4th birthday party and eating chocolate cake with a neighbour/friend who happens to also be an internationally known voice on the subject of environmentalism and global warming (and yes, a room full of equally interesting partygoers and their toddlers), and a few hours later be sitting down to dinner with a bunch of ex-fighter pilots (including the youngest mass attack lead in NATO), all of whom spun tales that involved going vertical in CF-18s or pulling up alongside an F4 Phantom in a clean 104 (Mike might have gone ahead and peed his pants right there at the table). And climbing to the base camp at Everest. And cycling across Canada. All this over soup, Caesar salad, beef tenderloin, cake, and wine.
Life is just so much fun, isn’t it?
The party game over dessert (another Third-Month-of-the-Year Cake, this time with vanilla bean custard ice cream) was essentially a collective search for the “Best Story Ever” of one particular life, which of course made me contemplate on the snowy drive home which stories people might be telling about me years from now. All of my best stories seem to involve me being an idiot and/or having chocolate splattered all over myself. Which is neither Top Gun cool nor Mount Everest impressive.
I’d better get on that.
But I love that food is the catalyst that brings everyone to the table to share these stories. Well, food and people and birthdays. But who ever went to a birthday party that didn’t involve food? And who ever met a person who doesn’t eat?
That was Saturday; it started to snow at close to midnight, and as anyone in the Calgary area can attest, it didn’t completely stop until Sunday night. So today was more a day of freshly baked no-knead bread with butter and jam and spiced nuts left over from last night, than of prosciutto-wrapped asparagus on the barbie. I made a batch of spiced nuts that my friend S used to make every Christmas for guests to nibble with marinated olives and feta while I wrapped prawns (in prosciutto) and prepped the vegetables. The last of them were gobbled down this afternoon, with enough saved to sprinkle over a salad tomorrow.
Spiced Nuts
1 Tbsp. canola or olive oil or butter
1 garlic clove, finely crushed (or 1/4 tsp. garlic powder)
2 tsp. coarse sea salt or kosher salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups unsalted mixed nuts, such as pecans, walnuts, cashews and almondsPreheat oven to 325°F.
In a medium saucepan, combine the oil, garlic, salt, cumin, chili powder, ginger, cinnamon and cayenne pepper over medium-low heat. Cook for a couple minutes, just until the spices become fragrant. Add the nuts and stir until well coated.
Spread the nuts out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until fragrant and golden. Cool on the pan. Makes about 2 cups.
Per 1/3 cup: 275 calories, 26.7 g total fat (2.3 g saturated fat, 14.7 g monounsaturated fat, 8.4 g polyunsaturated fat), 6.5 g protein, 7 g carbohydrate, 0 mg cholesterol, 3.1 g fiber. 82% calories from fat
.jpg "Pasta e Fagioli and Spiced Nuts")
At 6:20 I had hunkered down to finish a few (OK, 4) articles that are due tomorrow when my niece called to say that she and her brother and mom were on their way over. Their kitchen is currently gutted and they needed to be fed. So in approximately 15 minutes I managed to summon up a pot of Pasta e Fagioli, made with a single slender pepperoni stick from the fridge chopped right in, then popped some biscuits in the oven, made with about a quarter cup of Parmesan cheese mixed into the dry ingredients. (I realize the above photo is a little cheese-heavy; that was Mike’s.) It was food therapy – there’s nothing like having no kitchen to make you feel completely disconnected (OK, I’m sure there are some out there who would disagree), and nothing like sitting, slightly crammed, in a kitchen nook with a warm bowl of pasta and biscuits straight from the oven, with small boys arguing over who gets to blow out the candles, to remind you that all is right with the world.
So, two happy and memorable meals this weekend. One a result of months of planning and hours of preparation, the other requiring only twenty minutes or so; both bringing us all around the table to talk and tell stories.
Happy Birthday Johnny Mac! May you yet create many more stories to tell.
One Year Ago: Yeast-Raised Waffles and Cinnamon-Phyllo Nests with Chocolate Eggs (very cute, you should check it out)
March 22 2009 09:26 pm | leftovers
Manon from Ontario on 23 Mar 2009 at 5:59 am #
Julie, I wish I was your sister…can you adopt a sister
I have a wonderful sister, but I’d love to be able to call her last minute and say, Hey Lucie, me and the gang, as I have 3 kids, are coming over for diner, be there in 15 min, but I live 1 hour away, so she’d have plenty of time…hihihi!
I enjoy reading you Julie, you have a great personality.
PS: I made maple fudge, it’s just to die for.
Recipe: 2 cups maple sugar
1 cup white sugar (so it will take)
1 cup whipping cream 35%
1 tbsp butter
Then I cook in a big 16 cups mesuring glass cup for 7 minutes in the microwave, than let stand for 2 minutes and then beat with the electric beater for 5 min. Than I pour into a small rectangular tin lined with parchemin and put in the freezer, voilà!
A little heart attack of heaven
Do you have any suggestions or modifications you would add to this recipe?
Thanks,
MFO
Allison on 23 Mar 2009 at 6:54 am #
Jeeze, no wonder I couldn’t get a hold of you. Awsome weekend. I don’t know any fighter pilots but I do know a juggler. I’m definately making Mannon’s fudge.
Nancy G on 23 Mar 2009 at 8:21 am #
Julie,
but I love cookbooks and this is such a fabulous collection of simple stuff that you can change and substitute –I love it. My friend paged through it and she just bought it is as well.
I have made the Pasta e Fagioli about a gazillion times –one of my favourite recipes you have posted –it is so quick and easy but it tastes very good (better then restaurant for sure!) especially with great parmesan and good bread.
I just bought your cookbook Starting Out (I couldn’t get your pay pal to work for me so I bought it on amazon) not b/c I’m starting out –3 kids later far from it
Kathy on 23 Mar 2009 at 9:21 am #
Julie your story of your weekend sounds far more interesting than mine. Maybe your next book could be centered around good times/stories shared/etc. with food!!!
Anonymous on 23 Mar 2009 at 10:04 am #
Wow, talk about an exciting life! Being home with my 3 YOUNG children the most excitement I get in my life is cleaning up after my 20 month old who got his diaper off and pooping on his bed! HA!
Elizabeth L. on 23 Mar 2009 at 11:28 am #
I imagine most people’s best stories involve being an idiot in some way. You just happened to be surrounded by an extraordinary group of people (My dad was a fighter pilot who flew 104′s, so I know of the stories…).
The story of your life is amazing, and what you do every day is fabulous (not to mention how you inspire so many through this site alone). The clearest evidence of a life well-lived can be seen by your priorities being straight–family and food before deadlines. That is cooler than Top Gun.
Rose on 23 Mar 2009 at 12:14 pm #
Hi Julie
Great weekend! Loved seeing the photo of the third month of the year cake. I’m pleased to say the one I made looked just the same as yours and was presented twice to the two birthday girls in attendance at our dinner yesterday. It’s a keeper for sure. Used your lime/cumin salad dressing recipe for a corn and bean salad too and it was good as well.
For all the asparagus lovers, here’s our go to recipe. Saute for half a minute a tablespoon of grated fresh ginger, a bit less of garlic in some olive oil. Take off the heat add a tablespoon of soy sauce and drizzle over steamed asparagus. Scatter sesame seeds over top. Delicious.
Rose
Cheryl on 23 Mar 2009 at 12:28 pm #
Everyone has a story to tell. And I bet the fighter pilots would have found one of yours just as interesting.
One of my favourite dinner/conversation combos was with a bunch of Wall Street guys at The Palm in NYC. We started talking about best and worst jobs ever. Boy did we learn a lot about each other (and not surprisingly, no one was working at their favourite job).
Carolyn on 23 Mar 2009 at 5:23 pm #
Hi Julie — I’m one of your biggest fans, so I must have been alseep at the switch to miss your last year of blogging. I’m now having many happy hours of catching up. I’m on my second copy of One Smart Cookie. (I wore out the first copy.) Truth be told, I gave another copy to my mom, so that I have a back-up copy if I need it. I also refer to Grazing on a regular basis. Your cookbooks are the most used in my kitchen.
lovetocook on 23 Mar 2009 at 5:47 pm #
Why do I get your “dinner” newsletter the day after everyone else (they already have comments posted) Not that it matters, just curious. Re asparagus (soo good now) toss it with evoo on a cookie sheet, bake in a hot oven about 10 min, add sea salt, pepper, parmesan or squeeze of lemon. Good on the grill too – use one of those things for grilling fish.
Penny on 23 Mar 2009 at 6:19 pm #
What is maple sugar? Can brown sugar be used instead?
Julie you are awesome. Your sense of humor together with your savvy in the kitchen keep us all going!
Thanks for many fine reads, laughs, and recipes.
sue.d on 23 Mar 2009 at 8:39 pm #
So there I was casually browsing (read minutely examining every single thing) through a great little kitchen shop while on holiday in Whistler, when I stopped to look at their selection of cookbooks. This is a really small shop, and so the two shelves of cookbooks are very good quality, and I imagine very carefully selected. And YOU were there, right alongside Jamie Oliver. SO deservedly too!
Sounds like a fabulous dinner party, wish I was there.
Manon from Ontario on 24 Mar 2009 at 7:06 am #
Penny: I think your question is for my maple fudge recipe…if so, I have a sugar shack, we make maple syrup and I make maple sugar, like our ancestors. Maple sugar is a delicacy and I make maple fudge with it, it is very popular and to die for.
But to answer your question, yes you could use brown sugar instead of the maple sugar.
Hope this answers your question.
MFO
Kathy on 24 Mar 2009 at 8:48 am #
with your kind permission, Julie, I’d like to include the Pasta Fagioli soup in my cookbook?
Becky and the Beanstock on 25 Mar 2009 at 5:52 am #
You have fascinating neighbors! And a website that puts all food bloggers to shame, with your daily posts and all so well done! I just found your blog and after I get done poking my eyes out I’m going to read your archives. I love the spiced nuts and plan to make them for a Slow Food trivia night I’m heading to this weekend. Looking forward to digging around here.