Well, that sucked.
I haven’t posted because I haven’t cooked in a few
weeks. I had spinal surgery two and a
half weeks ago and have had a crap recovery – bad reaction to meds and allergic
reaction to surgical tape followed by food poisoning. On the up side, I lost nine pounds – there’s
a silver lining I can get behind. But
boy was I disinterested in food – eating it, yes, even reading a bout it or
thinking about it.
You can’t keep a good appetite down for long, though. My first real meal after days of veggie broth
and rice was that bowl of pasta up there.
It was heaven. Simple, but
perfect – just from the pantry with some crunchy, herby gussied up breadcrumbs
(recipe below) and a crumble of goat cheese.
I’m still not able to cook – it’s amazing how much head
movement and arm use is involved – but I’ve guilted Felix into being my hands
while I stand by and bark orders like a lovely little general in an apron and a
neck brace. Stay tuned.
The following breadcrumb recipe first appeared on this site with the Sausages with White Beans and Tomato Sauce.
House Breadcrumbs
I use this recipe as a base and add different herbs to top various gratins or pastas – with a little chopped tarragon and a small amount of Dijon mustard, you have a great topping for a zucchini and leek gratin. I don’t use these in my meatballs or in most places where breadcrumbs are used for binding; I like using these when they’ll have real impact in a simple dish.
Ingredients
1 Tbs butter
1 ½ Tbs extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp crushed red peppers
½ c wheat panko crumbs
½ Italian seasoned panko crumbs
3 Tbs chopped parsley
2 Tbs chopped basil
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
In a small sauté pan, heat butter and olive oil on medium-low heat until just staring to foam. Add crushed red pepper and swirl pan once. Add remaining ingredients. Stir occasionally at first. Once crumbs start to turn golden, reduce heat and turn more often until mixture is uniformly light golden brown. Depending on what you’re doing with these, they may get hit with more heat when added to a recipe, so you’re better off slightly under toasting.
I use this recipe as a base and add different herbs to top various gratins or pastas – with a little chopped tarragon and a small amount of Dijon mustard, you have a great topping for a zucchini and leek gratin. I don’t use these in my meatballs or in most places where breadcrumbs are used for binding; I like using these when they’ll have real impact in a simple dish.
Ingredients
1 Tbs butter
1 ½ Tbs extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp crushed red peppers
½ c wheat panko crumbs
½ Italian seasoned panko crumbs
3 Tbs chopped parsley
2 Tbs chopped basil
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
In a small sauté pan, heat butter and olive oil on medium-low heat until just staring to foam. Add crushed red pepper and swirl pan once. Add remaining ingredients. Stir occasionally at first. Once crumbs start to turn golden, reduce heat and turn more often until mixture is uniformly light golden brown. Depending on what you’re doing with these, they may get hit with more heat when added to a recipe, so you’re better off slightly under toasting.
