Soup's On!

Friday night, we got the warning:  Freeze! 

With the frost announcement, we jumped into action, bringing in the plants we planned to over-winter in the house and turning on the heat.  The first time this Fall, it became clear that Winter was indeed going to come.  Gone will be the warm days and slightly cool evenings.  Soon, there will be snow and ice and all those things.  

But between now and then, we do have a space of time with bright orange and red leaves falling from the sky, landing on the sidewalks, ready to crunch under our feet.   Baking seems feasible, even delightful.   Soup seems just right. 



I don't get a lot of time during lunch to cook, so I was thinking about making some quick pasta and sauce.  On went the pot of water, in went a box of ditalini, which are easy for our son to grab with a kid spoon (or more frequently his hands).  But as the pasta boiled, I realized I'd misjudged the amount of water.  The pasta was almost at the top as it boiled, and I realized it looked like there was a lovely noodle soup in the pot.  I changed gears, added several teaspoons of no-sodium chicken broth powder, some smoked paprika and basil, and a can of red kidney beans including its water.  I let it come back to a boil, added some chopped up greens for the last few minutes, and.... hey presto:  Pasta e Fagioli!   If you want to (and can), this is great with a little parmesean shredded overtop. 

Quick Pasta e Fagioli

2 Quarts water, boiling

1/2 a 1 lb box (8 oz) Ditalini (if you're using rice pasta, try Tinkyayada elbows or mini shells)

1 12-oz can of  red or pink kidney beans, or cannelini beans, with water

2 T no-sodium chicken broth powder, or enough dissolved boullion cubes to make 2 Q of broth.

1 t dried basil

1 t smoked paprika

Large handful of chopped greens: spinach, kale, chard, etc. 

salt and pepper to taste 

drizzle olive oil, optional

1. Boil the water
2. Add the noodles and cook until nearly tender.
3. Add the broth powder, basil and paprika and stir until dissolved.
4. Add the can of beans and simmer until warm, just a couple minutes.
5. Add the handful of greens and stir until they are cooked to a bright green, again only a couple minutes.
6. Serve in warm bowls with salt and pepper to taste, a optionally a drizzle of olive oil and/or a few shreds of parmesean

Note: If you're using rice noodles, this is just as easy to do, but I recommend straining the pasta first.  Add to 2 Q of warm chicken broth (from bullion cubes, powder, home- or pre-made)



Mac and Cheese. Please!

So my husband and I were standing in the pasta aisle, actually buying regular old noodles for ourselves ... Not the rice kind, just cheap semolina wheat stuff.  We don't do it very often, but there you go. 

Now, our son hasn't really been down this aisle before, for obvious reasons... but he does eat rice noodles a lot and loves them: with pasta sauce, with olive oil and basil, or chopped up hot dogs, what have you.  And if you've ever read this blog before, you know he loves cheese too.  Not the dairy kind, but rather its simulacrum, Daiya (which is primarily tapioca starch... darned yummy tapioca starch!). 

So back to the pasta aisle.  We are deciding on farfalle vs. campanelle... and suddenly our son walks up to us with a box of good old mac and cheese.  Somehow he knows what this is.  I don't know how, or maybe he's psychic, but he says PASTA and CHEESE!  and continues to grab several boxes, taking them back to the cool car-shaped toy the supermarket has kindly strapped to the front of our shopping cart.  He loads them on the seat, then hops in.  He's ready to go. 



This completely slays me.   On so many levels. 

First, it's pretty funny to see a two-year-old with such determination and whimsy grabbing boxes of macaroni and cheese with the intent to abscond with them in a shopping cart  "car".

Second, it's heartbreaking because I want so badly to share with him the simple pleasure of boxed macaroni and cheese -- the stuff childhood is made of.  

Why can't it be this easy? Why can't I just say OK, looks like you want to try this new thing - let's get it!

Why can't I just buy him a damn box of macaroni and cheese?

Well, I can't.    But I can try to get a little bit of of that joy on his plate. I need to respond to his requests for new foods by getting creative. And maybe this is a good thing -- he is telling me what he wants and I don't have to make it up out of thin air any more! 

 
So what follows is my attempt at Macaroni and Cheese:

1/2 cup rice milk (trust me, don't use the vanilla kind)

1 cup cheddar-style Daiya cheese

1 cup cooked rice noodles, macaroni style of your choice. 
   (we had curly elbows already made)

1. Put cheese and rice milk into a microwave safe bowl. 
2. Microwave on high for 30 seconds at a time.  Each time, bring it out and stir a little, checking for when the cheese is thoroughly melted into the milk. Stir until the cheese is melted and get a creamy consistency overall. 
3. Add the pre-cooked noodles.  e voila!
   

   

   Add shredded cheese and start stirring. 

   

   

   Not quite ready.  Keep stirring!



I can't say they're perfect.  But it's pretty close...  you might adjust the amount of cheese, add some spices (there was already basil on our leftover pasta, for example) salt or pepper to your taste. 

Was it worth trying?  Heck yeah.  The last thing I want to do is squelch my son's desire to explore ~ climbing, running, new foods, life.   Maybe it was just me trying to make myself feel like it's possible (just maybe) for him to be as spontaneous with food as he is everything else.