Huh? Is That a Sprout I see? and Pasta Pomodoro

Look closely what do you see?

Closeeerrrr

CLOSER!

It's a sprout!!!

Yes, it has been the highlight of my weekend. I know I know…I live such an exciting life. But finding an itty bitty sprout emerging from my tiny little basil and parsely plant has definitely made my weekend that much better! Some may be thinking “Big deal, there’s a sprout, so what?! I can grow a basil forest!” While others may still be analyzing the pictures trying to figure out if such a thing even qualifies as a basil plant. And all I have to say is, it does in my book buddy!

This is a HUGE achievement for me considering the fact that since I’ve begun trying to plant and maintain herbs, nothing has survived past a week under my care. =( So that fact that I’ve managed to keep a few plants green and living is quite exciting. And the sight of something actually sprouting is to me, nothing short of a miracle. My gardening woes are not all my fault. You see, I actually have very VERY limited space not to mention the unstable and scare sunlight that my patio receives.

As I often say to Nhat, I have to “catch the sun” which translates to me moving my plants around to wherever I can find sunlight in the back. Sometimes I even move my plants 5 maybe even more times in a given day just to provide the plant with enough sunlight. Nhat rolls his eyes and think I’m being “ridiculous” when he sees me make my way to the patio to move the plants, but I have proved him wrong! As today, weeks later, my basil and parsley plants are still green and alive and are sprouting new stalks! Unfortunately, now that colder weather is quickly approaching we’ll see how the plants continue to do.

If I can manage to have basil throughout winter that would truly be a miracle and if I succeed in maintaining basil throughout winter I may even dare to grow new plants and herbs…but I won’t get ahead myself. I forget that I actually go back home during holidays so we’ll see what I’ll do about my plants then. In the mean time, while I still do have some fresh basil and parsley, do you know what dish all these herbs would be good in? PASTA POMODORO!

Pasta Pomodoro with Sauteed Eggplant

I used a lot of basil and parsley this weekend and could have used more if I had more. While I was watching a video on the Tamra Cooking Show, I was inspired to make Pasta Pomodoro, a light pasta and tomato dish. I love fresh tasting pasta dishes and this one was exactly what I wanted. I added sautéed eggplant to provide some meaty textures. If you ever have a few tomatoes around or even canned tomatoes and you’re not sure what to do with them try this recipe out.

Pasta Pomodoro with Eggplant (makes 4 good size servings)

4 big tomatoes

4 cloves garlic (sliced)

2 shallots or third a small onion (chopped)

¼ cup red wine

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 tsp sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Pinch chili flakes

A handful of fresh basil and parsley (chopped)

Parmesan cheese

A handful of spaghetti noodles

Olive oil
Optional:

Eggplant (I used Indian eggplant, they’re smaller so I used three). You don’t want to use too much eggplant just enough to have some in your pasta sauce but not overtake all of the sauce.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. On a baking sheet rub tomatoes in olive oil and put in oven for 15-20 minutes. After 15-20 minutes, you should see the skin blister. Once tomatoes cool, peel the skin off the tomatoes. You can chopped up the skin and add them into the sauce later if you like, that’s what I did (I hate to waste). Cut each tomato in half.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Salt the water and add pasta
In large pan over medium high heat add about 2 tbs of oil, sauté the eggplants then set aside.
With the same skillet on medium heat, add more olive oil (about another 2 tbs) then add onions, garlic   and chili flakes to brown a bit. Add a tiny bit of salt and pepper.
Add the tomatoes and with your wooden spoon or whatever else you’re using, mash in the pan to break a part the tomatoes and release all of its juices. Add the sugar and stir.
Add the wine and cook off the alcohol then add the vinegar.
Once the sauce comes to a boil, lower the heat to simmer. Add more salt and pepper if you like. Add ¾ of the chopped basil and parsley.
Allow the sauce to continue simmering uncovered to allow the sauce to reduce to a consistency that you like.

Add spaghetti noodles and mix to incorporate sauce. Add eggplant and mix again.

Transfer to serving boils and garnish with parmesan, parsley, and basil.