Toasted Boots Sauce: Roasted Tomato, Artichoke & Chickpea Pasta

This ain't no spaghetti western! Enough gallavantin' around town, it's time to get cookin'!

Toasted Boots Sauce (Italy=the boot, get it?): Roasted Tomato, Artichoke & Chickpea Sauce.  

There were still more tomatoes to be had in this last week's CSA:

 CSA Week #21 (10/17/12):

Fingerling Potatoes, Cauliflower, Sage, Arugula, Parsley, Carrots, Mini B'nuts, Daikon Radish, Beets, Spring Mix, Radicchio, and Heirloom & Cherry Tomatoes:

Aren't they prettier than a speckled pup?

 I thought about makin' em into paste, but that was too much work and I didn't have that many.

OK, let's get down to it:

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, oil the foil generously.  Add sliced tomatoes and top with home made (ideally) breadcrumbs seasoned with oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, etc. and top with capers and a bit of the brine from the caper jar.  Spray or brush with olive oil on top.  Bake at 425 until soft and starting to brown, this is around 20-25 minutes.  Check them periodically to make sure you don't burn 'em!

You can also roast some plain slices with just olive oil and salt if you like. I did.

 Meanwhile, get your big pot of water on and get it ready to boil some pasta.  I used perciatelli for this, I also love the long fusili, the ones as long as perciatelli, but I couldn't find any at the store, they're persnickety!

While your 'maters are a roastin' and your water's a boilin', saute up some whistleberries, uh, I mean, chickpeas (one tin can, drained and rinsed) and marinated artichoke hearts (one jar, drained, but save some of the oil to saute everything in!).

I use the oil from the marinated artichokes to saute the chickpeas & hearts.  I also added the fresh juice of one organic lemon, some Kosher salt, and a few sprinkles of garlic powder (you should use 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic, but I was fresh outta real garlic!).  Saute on medium-high heat until chickpeas and artichoke hearts are starting to brown.  

Once your tomaters are done roastin, add them to the chickpeas & artichoke hearts:

Mix it up good!

Add as many tomatoes as you like until you get the consistency of a nice sauce.  I actually added two trays worth of roasted tomato slices to this sauce.

Your pasta should be done cooking at this point, but before you drain it, dip a coffee cup in there and retrieve yourself about 1 cup of pasta water (to thin the sauce if needed).  Now drain your pasta, and add the pasta to your sauce in the pan on the stove.  Saute for about two minutes to help the drained pasta absorb the sauce and fully incorporate.

Put your Toasted Boots on!

Now, I'll be! Don't it look like a little creature got to makin' his business on top of that tomato? Well, don't you worry.  It's just some roasted capers!

Vai, vai! Sprigati!

Next up, freezin' stuff, fermentin' stuff, or takin' a trip to the next town over!

Homesteadin' it October 1st through October 31st, 2012

Garden Fazool, April 2012

And so it begins...

Scarlet Runner Bean (seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds).

And these ladies have taken up residence in what was last year's Tomato Garden.  I planted the rest of this garden yesterday (4/13/12) with the Scarlet Runners pictured above (back row, they will climb up the fence), and in the front row is Swiss Chard (planted on Thurs, 4/12/12).

Does anyone know what the ladies are?  I didn't start them from seed, I bought cheater plants.  

Here's a closer look at my cheaters!

That's cilantro behind, wanted to get some in the ground while it is still cool and I hadn't started any from seed.  Cilantro doesn't like it hot!

This is my other "garden" which needs significant amending in terms of soil (there are still asphalt chunks in it from an old driveway that used to be there!) gets the herbs since not much else really worked there last year.  So, this year it's The Herb Garden. Cheater cilantro is in place.

However, the little bit of Swiss Chard that did grow, the Lemon Thyme, Oregano and Parsley ALL overwintered!  You can't tell because it's been so dry here, but we did turn this garden over and added some of our compost, I know it doesn't look like it! 

Rainbow Chard from last year.

Also,

Rosemary blooming.

 Side beds.

Back yard.

And, in a notebook by my bed, lie the answers.

The new ladies are...artichokes!  And they look very happy so far.

So, The Artichoke Garden & The Herb Garden are planted.

I also have a bunch of things I am going to start from seed (planting tomorrow, hopefully), and stuff I am planting in-ground around the house, including the front yard and the "hell strip!"  I have to dig a new garden for my zucchini, too.

What new things are you guys growing this year? 

Party Prep

So, I made the Linguine (I used Fusili lunghi) with Basil-Cilantro Pesto and Artichokes from Veganomicon last night:

I saute the canned artichokes in olive oil, red onion and garlic for a good while until they get nice and toasted. This time I also added a can of white beans and sauteed those (with the artichokes) as well for added protein and nutrition.  They kinda fell apart and coated the noodles, adding interest to the pesto. I love this dish.

And my niece's first birthday is this weekend, so for her party, I am bringing Happy Birthday Gingerbread :-)

 I used the recipe from Vegan Lunch Box, and added the chopped, crystallized ginger on top.

Tomorrow I will dust it in organic powdered sugar for that lovely first snow effect.

 And I made Tamari Roasted Chickpeas from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan. 

I call these "popcorn peas," because they are kind of addictive like popcorn.  They will be a nice little snack for the party.

I used home made, from scratch organic chickpeas (pressure cooker, baby!) and organic, local (from my yard!) rosemary.

Can't wait to see my niece tomorrow!

What are you guys doing this weekend?  Do you have any special recipes planned?