Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Swayze, Wizards and Pasta Dishes.

This morning Patrick Swayze's widow, Lisa Niemi, was interviewed on Good Morning America. A book was published in September which was written by both she and her husband and is also on audio tape - some of it was played on TV. I would really like to listen to the audio tape as it is Patrick Swayze who narrates it. There is a video clip and an article with an excerpt of the book here although I am not sure if there is a voice clip - I must check out my local library to see if they have this on disc or tape or something. Patrick Swayze was always one of my favourites. There was one picture on TV this morning of them renewing their vows and Patrick rode up on a white horse. Talk about romance. I am reading an ebook at the moment called A Wizard Scorned by Patricia White, (hell hath no fury like a wizard [woman] scorned) - quite an amusing story, the background of which is about a female wizard who is in love with someone who doesn't want her so she removes every woman from the area which causes quite a few problems. There is also a really magical love story between an American businesswoman transported to another world and a wizard who was turned into a big black cat. It is a good read and I am enjoying it. No dragons though, but I like enchanted cats. I couldn't think of anything I really wanted to have for supper last night and was messing around with one of my cookery programmes and found the following recipe which I then proceeded to change. In the first place I hadn't any eggplant (aubergine) so I substituted zucchini (courgette), no open white wine so I used red and no rotini so I used egg noodles. I didn't fuss too much about the quantities either, but the end result was very good. Another thing, I sautéed the onion in a little olive oil first. The picture I took this morning as there is plenty left. Pasta & White Beans, Eggplant Cookbook Wizard Servings: 6 Ingredients: 4 cups cubed peeled eggplant (about 1 pound) 2 cups great northern beans or 1 (15-ounce) can great northern, cannellini or navy beans, drained 3/4 cup chopped celery (about 1 large stalk) 3/4 cup chopped red onion (about 1 medium) 1/2 cup white wine or apple juice 2 tablespoons chopped fresh or 2 teaspoons dried basil leaves 2 tablespoons capers 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained 6 ounces uncooked rotini or other spiral pasta (about 2-1/3 cups) Instructions: With only 25 milligrams of cholesterol, this dish is already very low in cholesterol. To eliminate the cholesterol entirely, use no-cholesterol noodles for the pasta. The sauce may be made a day ahead and reheated with the cooked pasta. Heat all ingredients except rotini to boiling in Dutch oven, breaking up tomatoes; reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cook rotini as directed on package--except omit salt; drain. Stir rotini into eggplant mixture; heat just to boiling. Have a great day.

2 comments:

  1. Improvising often makes the best dish. I often improvise.

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  2. Well if you are a home cook you often have to do so as you want to cook but don't have all the ingredients. I don't usually change a recipe until I have tried the original at least once though.

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