Expected another quiet day. On return from yoga, finally got to eat that long-awaited cold cucumber soup. Looking for some elegant garnish, I thought I'd scallop some rounds of Persian cucumber, but instead, using the multi-sided scraper I'd bought at in Hoi An, I made made long graceful julienned strips which
settled in a fine tangle atop the bowl of soup into which I'd stirred a fair amount of yogurt.
That was lunch. I was planning on more or less the same for dinner, but at around 3pm, I got an e-mail from Drea. Back in town, and starting work, she'd written a few days ago about the possibility of dinner some night this week. She was now asking, if despite the short notice, tonight would work. I have always said that my ideal dinner is one in which I have close to no time to prepare, so of course this was perfect. And it did seem the logical outcome of my sudden shopping trip on Saturday night, and my Sunday cooking as well. I wasn't sure if Sam was coming (he wasn't, he was in San Francisco). Drea is a vegetarian, so for her at least, the cucumber soup was not an option. But--I already had left-over frittata, roasted peppers, roasted tomatoes, so was quite certain I could come up with a respectable meal, especially with the bread and wine that Drea offered to bring. .
My first thought was to make some vegetable laden pasta, but I soon decided to serve most of my well-cooked vegetables on the side. I roasted the cauliflower I'd been saving for just such a moment, and sauteed the three small zucchinis that had been waiting for their moment. They were so delicious, I'll write the recipe right now.
SAUTEED ZUCCHINI
Three small summer squashes, cut into one inch by 1/4 inch strips.
olive oil
Two plump cloves garlic
1/4 cup mixed herbs (parsley, thai basil, Mint)
Heat oil in heavy pan. When hot, add zucchini. When they start browning nicely, stir, cooking until most are well-browned. Stir in the chopped garlic for a minute or so (don't let it brown). Turn off heat, stir in the finely chopped herbs and serve.
In addition to the dished of vegetables pictured above, I also made pennete (little penne) with a mushroom sauce. And--since I'm feeling expansive--here's that impromptu recipe as well.
PENNETE WITH MUSHROOMS
Six Dried Shitake Mushrooms, soaked and sliced
1/2 Pound Crimini Mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
Chopped Herbs--Thai Basil and Parsley
Bit of Smoked Mozzarella, chopped
12 ounces of pasta.
Soak the Shitake mushrooms, saving the water. Squeeze and slice. Saute the crimini mushrooms in olive oil and/or butter (I like to use both--leaning towards more butter). When the mushrooms seem almost done, add the shitake mushrooms--and the garlic--stirring so the garlic doesn't get browned. Add the mushroom liquid--bring to a boil. Add the smoked mozzarella (I just had a smidgen --it added an excellent smoky flavor--and more would have been fine. I had a 12 ounce package of pennete which turned out to be perfect amount for the sauce. Stirred it in, and served with grated parmesan.
We ate the pasta accompanied by the various roasted vegetables. For dessert, we had Trader Joe's Lemon and Triple Ginger Snap Ice Cream. This is something I bought after reading a rave on a web site of Trader Joe's enthusiasts. I have long been a fan of the triple ginger snaps, but would never have bought the ice cream--which turned out to be completely delicious--and even better accompanied by a few extra cookies and strawberries. An excellent very impromptu meal
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