Presto Pasta Nights - Zucchini and Tomato Pasta

I'm back from my little hiatus. It was very nice to step away from the computer for a few days, but when it came right down to it, gosh darn it I missed you guys! Things are still very busy around here, but I hope to be able to catch up on blogs in the next couple of days. Thanks to all of you who emailed me on my break. Y'all are so sweet, and I appreciate your thoughtfulness and friendship.

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Finally, we've been having the occasional break in the weather and had some cooler days. I know that a few short months from now I'll be freezing instead of boiling and wishing for 36' to come back, but still, it's been sort of nice, especially to be able to get into the kitchen.

It's not new information that I am a big fan of zucchini. We've eaten a whole lot of zucchini this summer and hopefully soon we'll be eating them out of our garden.

This pasta combines many of my favorite things: zucchini, tomatos and Boursin Cheese. Originally I was going to use Parmesan (which would have been wonderful too), but I changed my mind when I saw the Boursin in the store.

This is a fast dish and only takes as long as it takes to cook the pasta. Even if it is hot in the kitchen you won't have to have the stove on for too long.

And not only is this dish delicious, it fits the bill perfectly for Once Upon A Feasts weekly event - Presto Pasta Night.


Zucchini and Tomato Pasta


serves 4-6

2 tb olive oil
2 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise then cut into thin half moons
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 largish tomatos, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped (or use some dried)
4 tb Boursin cheese (or to your taste)
salt and pepper
1 package pasta - i used fusilli

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Salt the water, add the pasta and cook until done.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan and cook the zucchini over medium high heat until soft. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant and the zucchini are just starting to brown. Turn off the burner but leave the pan on the stove. Add the tomatos and basil and mix in. Add in the boursin or cheese of your choice and mix well until the cheese melts and mixes with the tomatos to make a sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

When the pasta is done, drain the noodles and pour into the sauce. Mix well and serve.

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Be sure to visit Ruth's on Friday for the Presto Pasta Nights Roundup!

___________________________________________

In other news, I have a new post up at Food for Thought on an area of Calgary called International Avenue. We had an awesome time, and I'll be going back there soon to write more about it. Please go and read it!

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Edited to add: I'm a Rockin' Girl Blogger! Thanks to Lau at are you gonna eat that? for bestowing this honor on me. It's a badge I will wear proudly. I will follow Lau and induct 3 bloggers to the RGB Hall of Fame...Mary, Lis, and Emmy!

Happy Thursday!

Presto Pasta Nights - Zucchini and Tomato Pasta

I'm back from my little hiatus. It was very nice to step away from the computer for a few days, but when it came right down to it, gosh darn it I missed you guys! Things are still very busy around here, but I hope to be able to catch up on blogs in the next couple of days. Thanks to all of you who emailed me on my break. Y'all are so sweet, and I appreciate your thoughtfulness and friendship.

________________________________________________

Finally, we've been having the occasional break in the weather and had some cooler days. I know that a few short months from now I'll be freezing instead of boiling and wishing for 36' to come back, but still, it's been sort of nice, especially to be able to get into the kitchen.

It's not new information that I am a big fan of zucchini. We've eaten a whole lot of zucchini this summer and hopefully soon we'll be eating them out of our garden.

This pasta combines many of my favorite things: zucchini, tomatos and Boursin Cheese. Originally I was going to use Parmesan (which would have been wonderful too), but I changed my mind when I saw the Boursin in the store.

This is a fast dish and only takes as long as it takes to cook the pasta. Even if it is hot in the kitchen you won't have to have the stove on for too long.

And not only is this dish delicious, it fits the bill perfectly for Once Upon A Feasts weekly event - Presto Pasta Night.


Zucchini and Tomato Pasta


serves 4-6

2 tb olive oil
2 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise then cut into thin half moons
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 largish tomatos, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped (or use some dried)
4 tb Boursin cheese (or to your taste)
salt and pepper
1 package pasta - i used fusilli

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Salt the water, add the pasta and cook until done.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan and cook the zucchini over medium high heat until soft. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant and the zucchini are just starting to brown. Turn off the burner but leave the pan on the stove. Add the tomatos and basil and mix in. Add in the boursin or cheese of your choice and mix well until the cheese melts and mixes with the tomatos to make a sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

When the pasta is done, drain the noodles and pour into the sauce. Mix well and serve.

__________________________________________

Be sure to visit Ruth's on Friday for the Presto Pasta Nights Roundup!

___________________________________________

In other news, I have a new post up at Food for Thought on an area of Calgary called International Avenue. We had an awesome time, and I'll be going back there soon to write more about it. Please go and read it!

_____________________________________________________



Edited to add: I'm a Rockin' Girl Blogger! Thanks to Lau at are you gonna eat that? for bestowing this honor on me. It's a badge I will wear proudly. I will follow Lau and induct 3 bloggers to the RGB Hall of Fame...Mary, Lis, and Emmy!

Happy Thursday!

Update 1 2 3 4.

1. I know it's only 2 weeks since our last garden update, but wait until you see what's been going on! We have progress, people! Behold...the RED TOMATOS!!!!!!

Take a gander at these TWO PEPPERS!!!!

Marvel at these other tomatos too!

Hot zucchini action!


Can anyone help me? What is going on with my spinach? It's not getting any bigger and seems to be flowering. Was I supposed to pick it already? Do I pinch off the stemmy flowering bits? Is it doomed? There's some beets in the corner too, by the way.


Potatos. How do I know when they are ready? Is it too early?


The onions are looking rough. Hopefully the actual onion part will be OK.


The radishes got all crazy looking, so we pulled them up and planted more onions. Two are already poking thru.


The basil is lovely! I can't believe this came from seed. I've been picking it by the handfuls.


Full shot.


2. In other super fantastic news......OK, so I've been wanting a Le Creuset pot for about 100 years. They are expensive, so I don't have one. A few months ago at Williams Sonoma I saw a similar pot made by Emil Henry but it was still pretty pricey. So yesterday at lunch I was at the mall doing some banking and I decide to check out Williams Sonoma before I go back to work. I head directly to the sale tables at the back and there I see.....the Emil Henry pot I wanted. I pick it up and look at the tag. Regular price $140.00, marked down to........$29.99. I nearly had an accident in the store. Behold, my beautiful new 2 Quart pot:


Isn't it beautiful? I'm getting teary just looking at that picture.

3. You're dying to read all about another farmers market, aren't you. I knew it! Ok, go here and read my latest post at Foodtv.

4. I had a busy weekend last weekend and wasn't able to make it to Millarville and I've just learned that my favorite farm there has shut down. I am beyond sad. Whiskey Creek had the most amazing produce, were the nicest people and they were my first stop at the market every week. Please go and read their home page. This is why we all need to support our local growers as much as we can.

Update 1 2 3 4.

1. I know it's only 2 weeks since our last garden update, but wait until you see what's been going on! We have progress, people! Behold...the RED TOMATOS!!!!!!

Take a gander at these TWO PEPPERS!!!!

Marvel at these other tomatos too!

Hot zucchini action!


Can anyone help me? What is going on with my spinach? It's not getting any bigger and seems to be flowering. Was I supposed to pick it already? Do I pinch off the stemmy flowering bits? Is it doomed? There's some beets in the corner too, by the way.


Potatos. How do I know when they are ready? Is it too early?


The onions are looking rough. Hopefully the actual onion part will be OK.


The radishes got all crazy looking, so we pulled them up and planted more onions. Two are already poking thru.


The basil is lovely! I can't believe this came from seed. I've been picking it by the handfuls.


Full shot.


2. In other super fantastic news......OK, so I've been wanting a Le Creuset pot for about 100 years. They are expensive, so I don't have one. A few months ago at Williams Sonoma I saw a similar pot made by Emil Henry but it was still pretty pricey. So yesterday at lunch I was at the mall doing some banking and I decide to check out Williams Sonoma before I go back to work. I head directly to the sale tables at the back and there I see.....the Emil Henry pot I wanted. I pick it up and look at the tag. Regular price $140.00, marked down to........$29.99. I nearly had an accident in the store. Behold, my beautiful new 2 Quart pot:


Isn't it beautiful? I'm getting teary just looking at that picture.

3. You're dying to read all about another farmers market, aren't you. I knew it! Ok, go here and read my latest post at Foodtv.

4. I had a busy weekend last weekend and wasn't able to make it to Millarville and I've just learned that my favorite farm there has shut down. I am beyond sad. Whiskey Creek had the most amazing produce, were the nicest people and they were my first stop at the market every week. Please go and read their home page. This is why we all need to support our local growers as much as we can.

Hungry Planet - What The World Eats

Frustratingly, I have lost the link to the blog where I first read about this book. I do remember the second place I saw it was here at the FoodTv.ca blog. (Here's the link to the Time.com photo essay)Hungry Planet by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio shows us what 30 families in 24 countries eat over the course of one week. I borrowed this book from the library and I don't want to give it back! It's a wonderful book - funny, sad, touching, and especially thought provoking.

The differences between the amount of food a family of 9 in Ecuador eats in a week versus a family of 4 in Great Britain is shocking, not only in amount but in natural versus processed. Also eye raising are the facts provided on each country - Ecuador has 10 McDonald's Restaurants, Great Britain has 1,110. The obese population in Ecuador, male/female: 6/15%. Great Britain 19/21%. And don't get me started on the amount of Coke the family from Mexico drinks on average per week! (12 bottles!!!!)

This is a completely fascinating book, very well written and with gorgeous photos. If you have a chance to read this book, take a look at the photo of the fish stand on page 190. Possibly one of the most stunningly beautiful pictures I've ever seen.

What I liked most about this book was the stories on the families and learning more about countries and cultures different than my own. It made me realize, not for the first time, how fortunate I am to live where I live, and how relatively easy we've got it. Can you imagine having to rely on the refugee camp you live in to provide your family with food? If you could not afford to buy fruit? Or if you could not catch a fish there would be no dinner that night? And for me personally, how much would I still want to eat a pork chop or a piece of chicken if instead of purchasing it all sterile and wrapped in plastic from my big-box super grocery store I had to walk into a hot building full of unrefrigerated dead animals hanging from hooks in the middle of the room? Um, I wouldn't.

I was amazed at some of the animals that are eaten in different countries around the world. Things I never would have thought someone would eat are common dinners elsewhere. My parents happened to be in town while I was reading this book. My Dad will eat almost anything, and my parents have been to some interesting places around the world. Scott is a pretty adventurous eater too, whereas compared to the three of them I am a total wuss. So for fun I made a list of some of the animals consumed elsewhere in the world, then polled the 3 members of my family and myself (a) if they had ever tried any of these animals before and (b) would they eat it.

Here's our results.

Remember, the first answer is if we've had it before. The second answer is would we eat it.
As you can see, I really am the least adventurous eater ever. (Even though my Mom said no to all everything too, she did say yes to some stuff that didn't make the list.) I am still coming to terms with the fact Scott would eat Guinea Pig given the chance, but at least he wouldn't eat a seahorse like my father would.

I have to take the book back to the library tomorrow unfortunately, but I'll be adding it to my book wish list so I might have my very own copy one day. If you see this at the store or at the library, or at a friends house, grab it! You'll love it.

Pop quiz - are there any foods on that list that you've eaten, or would eat?

________________________________________________________________________

In other news, my next piece is up at Food for Thought, the Foodtv.ca blog. Would you like to read it? You would? Well then, click here.

Hungry Planet - What The World Eats

Frustratingly, I have lost the link to the blog where I first read about this book. I do remember the second place I saw it was here at the FoodTv.ca blog. (Here's the link to the Time.com photo essay)Hungry Planet by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio shows us what 30 families in 24 countries eat over the course of one week. I borrowed this book from the library and I don't want to give it back! It's a wonderful book - funny, sad, touching, and especially thought provoking.

The differences between the amount of food a family of 9 in Ecuador eats in a week versus a family of 4 in Great Britain is shocking, not only in amount but in natural versus processed. Also eye raising are the facts provided on each country - Ecuador has 10 McDonald's Restaurants, Great Britain has 1,110. The obese population in Ecuador, male/female: 6/15%. Great Britain 19/21%. And don't get me started on the amount of Coke the family from Mexico drinks on average per week! (12 bottles!!!!)

This is a completely fascinating book, very well written and with gorgeous photos. If you have a chance to read this book, take a look at the photo of the fish stand on page 190. Possibly one of the most stunningly beautiful pictures I've ever seen.

What I liked most about this book was the stories on the families and learning more about countries and cultures different than my own. It made me realize, not for the first time, how fortunate I am to live where I live, and how relatively easy we've got it. Can you imagine having to rely on the refugee camp you live in to provide your family with food? If you could not afford to buy fruit? Or if you could not catch a fish there would be no dinner that night? And for me personally, how much would I still want to eat a pork chop or a piece of chicken if instead of purchasing it all sterile and wrapped in plastic from my big-box super grocery store I had to walk into a hot building full of unrefrigerated dead animals hanging from hooks in the middle of the room? Um, I wouldn't.

I was amazed at some of the animals that are eaten in different countries around the world. Things I never would have thought someone would eat are common dinners elsewhere. My parents happened to be in town while I was reading this book. My Dad will eat almost anything, and my parents have been to some interesting places around the world. Scott is a pretty adventurous eater too, whereas compared to the three of them I am a total wuss. So for fun I made a list of some of the animals consumed elsewhere in the world, then polled the 3 members of my family and myself (a) if they had ever tried any of these animals before and (b) would they eat it.

Here's our results.

Remember, the first answer is if we've had it before. The second answer is would we eat it.
As you can see, I really am the least adventurous eater ever. (Even though my Mom said no to all everything too, she did say yes to some stuff that didn't make the list.) I am still coming to terms with the fact Scott would eat Guinea Pig given the chance, but at least he wouldn't eat a seahorse like my father would.

I have to take the book back to the library tomorrow unfortunately, but I'll be adding it to my book wish list so I might have my very own copy one day. If you see this at the store or at the library, or at a friends house, grab it! You'll love it.

Pop quiz - are there any foods on that list that you've eaten, or would eat?

________________________________________________________________________

In other news, my next piece is up at Food for Thought, the Foodtv.ca blog. Would you like to read it? You would? Well then, click here.