Manestra

In my many random visits to random food blogs, I have come across a ridiculous amount of recipes, some of which I've bookmarked, some I haven't. This one I ran across was for a simple dish called Manestra, which I think is greek (since I found it on a greek lady's blog) and it's just orzo cooked in tomato sauce. It looked simple enough, so I thought I'd give it a try.

 First, you saute garlic and olive oil, add tomato sauce and some cans of water, salt and pepper and the orzo. Then you cook it on low heat while it bubbles, stirring often. Like once every minute, don't leave it. Or it'll stick. The lady's recipe said to do it for 45 minutes but mine only took about 20 before it was nice and thick and yummy.

You're supposed to serve the greek version with bread and feta, but I didn't have any feta cheese so I sprinkled parmesan cheese on and I added a little dried basil to it. I don't think the basil did much for the flavor. But it was oh so yummy!

 oooh preeettyyy. Anyway, I liked it, and please excuse my poor photography skills.

Orzo Cooked in Tomato Sauce (or Manestra) as adapted from Mama's Taverna

3 TB olive oil
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, sliced or chopped
1 8-oz can of tomato sauce
3 cans of water
1/2 pound (about 1 cup) of orzo or menestra
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Heat the oil until hot and then add the garlic. Saute only for a few seconds, until fragrent. Do not let brown or even get golden. Move quickly, people! Burnt garlic is the worst!

Add your can of tomato sauce, and saute it with the oil and garlic for a couple of minutes. (I skipped this part in my haste to avoid burning the garlic, I'm not sure if it would have changed much) Then using the tomato sauce can, add your 3 cans full of water, salt and pepper, and your orzo.

Simmer over low heat until the orzo has absorbed all of the yummy tomato water and become plump and thick. I took mine off juuuuuuust as it was starting to seem like it could stick to the bottom of the pot. Mine took approximately 20 minutes or so but yours could take longer. Use your judgement, if you taste it and your orzo isn't done, well, cook it longer. :)

Tonight I'm making some strange version of Lasagna rolls in the slow cooker, it should be interesting. I'll probably post about it tomorrow.

Random inspiration and a fussy camera

I did actually get that camera for my birthday. However, it's being a bit of a brat and I can't seem to make it stop using the flash when I take a picture, so everything is coming out beyond bright and it just isn't really working for me. I'll definitely have to get that figured out soon (especially since my friend and I are going to the Zoo on Monday and I definitely want the camera for then! EEEeee, zoo!)

Today I realized I had quite a few eggs left that needed to get used up, and I honestly didn't feel like making an omelette or scrambled eggs, or hunting for a frittata recipe, etc etc. So I made vanilla pudding. I looked through a handful of recipes, most of which contained the same ingredients, and I settled on the one from my Better Home and Garden's Cookbook. I'm not sure if I had the heat too high or whether using lactaid milk (I know, don't cringe, it's delicious and has worked well in anything else I've cooked. Sean is lactose intolerant!) or what, but the bottom cooked a little bit so it had some brown bits, but I ran the pudding through a sieve in the end and it all worked out. I'll probably make it again so I'll post it then.

I also am trying to make deviled eggs for the first time. First time hard boiling eggs, too. I hope I managed them without getting THE DREADED RING AROUND THE YOLK. *dramatic thunder clap* I'm just going with a basic recipe, mustard, little bit of mayo, but I'm going to try adding some relish or chopped pickles and maybe a little hot sauce! Woo!

edit: Well, I messed with the flavors in the eggs for awhile but in the end it still wound up tasting like.. creamy yolkiness. I didn't want to go overboard so I left it alone. But oh man, the chopped dill pickles in it. THAT is good. Adds a nice little crunch and saltiness in every bite. I love it. I hope Sean likes them!

Food blog!!!

So, I've been a little obsessed with food blogs lately.  They are just so much more fun to read than an old boring recipe site.  And I thought to myself "I have so much to learn".  Sooo.. Here I am, posting my journey into cooking and things for your reading enjoyment.  I will admit, I got a lot of inspiration from the movie Julie and Julia. Not just about the blogging but about.. food in general. I had no idea what an amazing woman Julia Child was. I actually have her books on order right now. I hope to learn a lot from them! Though my biggest handicap in terms of cooking a lot is that my husband is not a big eater.. of.. anything. Alas!

I'm kind of hoping this gets passed around to my family members back home, as I don't really get to talk to them much and I'm still not ready to get into Facebook.  I know, I know.. JOOOIINNN USSSS! Maybe later.

Technically I haven't gotten the camera I asked for for my birthday just yet. I'm hoping the package Sean has hidden from me is indeed that. If not, I'm using birthday money on one. Honestly, this is pretty much just a test/introduction post. The good stuff is yet to come!