Food

I've found cooking to be pretty frustrating here--nobody has an oven, and toaster ovens have limited utility by comparison. We usually have a hell of a time finding key ingredients for many of our favorite dishes--for instance, Jimmy has a tough time finding stuff to make good Mexican food with, and the selection of cheese at CostCo, while pretty good, is effing expensive. Also, I've never seen cream anywhere, and herbs and spices are very limited. So, improvisation is key. That said, I've had some really good home-cooked meals here, and I've managed to not fuck up a few of them myself. Tonight I decided to do something with the giant jar of capers, nearly-expired zucchini, pound of salami that needed to be eaten sooner rather than later, and crushed chili flakes that I'd yet to put to any use. (Most or all of that stuff is from CostCo, of course.) I was really pleased with the result, and will definitely make it again. Here's the recipe. Try it out for yourself, and if you're so inclined, leave suggestions or one or more of your favorites in the comments (especially if they require relatively straight-forward ingredients).

-Penne
-Olive oil
-Butter
-Capers
-Chili flakes
-Lemon zest
-Garlic
-Basil (fresh is better, but dried worked fine)
-Coarsely ground pepper
-Chopped salami (calabrese would be perfect--feel free to send me some by courier)
-Chopped zucchini (they call it "green pumpkin" here, in case you care--what's that? You don't?!)
-White wine (I used the good stuff--Carlo Rossi, natch)
-Salt

Cook the pasta, al dente being ideal. (You could use gnocchi, but I'm saving the fresh stuff I got in Thailand for when I find gorgonzola cheese.) In a frying pan, combine olive oil, butter, salt, chili flakes, and wine, and cook on low heat until the garlic is translucent. Add zucchini and basil. After maybe two minutes, add the salami, lemon zest, and capers. When the zucchini is tender, add coarse pepper, toss in the noodles, and serve with parmesan.

I'd recommend adding chunks of bocconcini or buffalo mozzarella when you're tossing the noodles with the other stuff, but I won't be extorted to the tune of $20 for 200g of either, thanks.




Once I find ricotta or chevre (that isn't $15/200g), I want to try making pork tenderloin tournedos in my toaster oven, but I might have to settle for cream cheese. Pine nuts are inexplicably affordable here, so I think I'll try spinach, soft cheese (whatever kind), crushed pine nuts, and rosemary wrapped up in tenderloin. I might also try and make a lemon risotto to accompany it, but the likelihood of me botching that is pretty high considering my shitty cooking implements and inability to pay close attention to anything for longer than eight seconds.