rigatoni with turkey and creamy tomato sauce

When we lived in Manhattan one of our favorite places to go for a casual dinner was Bar Pitti, where Adam often ordered Rigatoni Pitti. When I discovered turkey at our local farmer's market I remembered that dish and was inspired to recreate it. Turkey sausage adds a bit more flavor but I find the recipe works well with ground turkey too.

1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 pound turkey sausage or ground turkey

1 tablespoon freshly chopped sage (or 1 teaspoon dried)

2 26 ounce boxes strained tomatoes

1 half pint heavy cream

1 pound rigatoni

1 bag frozen peas

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Place a large pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. Add a generous amount of salt.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet and add onion. Saute until translucent. Add turkey and cook stirring, until lightly browned. Add sage and tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in heavy cream and cook until hot.

While sauce is simmering cook pasta, adding the peas 2 or 3 minutes before it is ready. Drain when pasta is al dente. Combine with sauce and serve.

curls

Throughout our vacation one topic came up again and again: my kids need haircuts!! The boys love having long shaggy hair that they can hide behind but the adults all agree it is time for a trim. Every time haircuts come up Bea says the same thing: "I want a haircut!" When I ask, "How would you like it to be cut?" she replies, "Short. And curly, like Lila's!" Every time I have to explain that even if we cut her hair short, it will probably never be curly "like Lila's". She was very excited to try these curlers instead...although she did not have the patience to let her hair dry all the way so she still did not get the curls she is coveting.

beach treasure

I have always loved collecting shells and have bowls and jars of them scattered through the house. In an effort to scale back I often choose just one thing to collect on a trip: pieces of coral, sea urchins, fish bones, etc. On our trip this year we visited a shell museum that really inspired the children. It is run by a man in his nineties who has collected shells for his entire life. It is amazing to see thousands of shells, collected from around the world, but it is also inspiring to see how he displays them. Some in glass cases, others displayed in little boxes. It is also to fun to get a sense of how rare some appear to be, or how varied others may be. There was one huge case of scallop shells that were in a beautiful array of citrus colors.

After we left the museum the kids were even more committed to their own growing shell collections, and it was fun to see how it inspired them...Owen became a more careful editor while the others became interested in quantity.

honey custards

Every time we travel abroad I become obsessed with the nice little glass jars that yogurt and puddings are sold in. Not only does the yogurt seem to taste so much better, but the glasses are perfect for the kids to use at meals and are virtually indestructible. I no longer bring them home - I have collected more than I need. 

 

Custard is one of my dad's favorite foods so while we were away I made a batch using all the little cups we had gathered on the trip. You can bake the custards in any oven proof dish - small ramekins would be a close match for the glass dishes I have collected. You can also bake the entire recipe in a glass or ceramic pie plate but the cooking time will vary. 

Since we were away and had minimal ingredients in the pantry honey added flavor while simultaneously sweetening the custard so I did not have to buy a vanilla bean. Since being home I have made these again using maple syrup in place of the honey - use whichever flavor you prefer. 

Honey Custard

(makes about nine 4 ounce custards)

3 cups milk

1/3 cup honey

Dash ground cinnamon

4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350°. Place milk, honey, and cinnamon in a small saucepan and heat until warm and honey is dissolved. Place eggs in a medium bowl and whisk lightly. Stir in warm milk mixture while continuing to whisk eggs. Skim bubbles from surface of mixture.

Place custard cups in a baking dish that is about the same depth as the custard cups. Fill custard cups with custard and fill baking dish with boiling water about 2/3 of the way up the sides of the custard dishes. Place in oven and bake for about 30 minutes, or until edges are starting to set but centers are still wiggly like jello. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Transfer custards to the refrigerator and chill several hours.

happy mother's day!

It is hard to believe that these photos were taken 9 years ago. Happy mother's day to all my mom friends, and especially my own mom...I love you!

playing under the trees

This enormous ficus tree was the centerpiece of our rental. It provided shade for all of us during the heat of the day and a tree house that occupied the kids for hours on end. It had a swing on one side, a zipline on the other, a pulley in the middle, and gigantic leaves that became fodder for many inventions.

The first invention was a boat that Oliver made by folding the ends up and securing them with toothpicks. The boat was fantastic looking but sank...that disappointed Oliver but he recovered quickly by tranforming it into a space ship! Sadly, I neglected to photograph that one but I did manage to get pictures of some of his other creations, many of which inspired the rest of the kids to join in the crafting. Among the projects were face masks, arm bands, and toothpick puppets.

tassel pillowcases

The house we rented for our vacation was modern and beautiful. The bedrooms were all made up with white linens but often had one small flourish that made them very special. These tassel pillowcases were my favorite. Maybe one day I will try to make my own using this how to for making tassels.

spaghetti with sardines and breadcrumbs

Every year during spring break we take a vacation with my extended family...there are eleven of us in all: my sister, her husband and their two children, my mom and dad, and the five of us. We are just back from this years trip so the next few posts will be from our time away. I am the cook of the family, and although I get tons of help with shopping, table setting, and clean up, the majority of the cooking is done by me. When we arrived the week before Easter we were warned that the shops would all be closed from Good Friday through the Monday after Easter, and as a result I immediately started stockpiling food.  Things that could be stored in the pantry were especially appealing since refrigerator space was limited and 4 days is a long time for things to last. I was a little worried about trying something for the first time when a table of 10 were counting on me for dinner but all were quite happy with this dish! We ended up having it again towards the end of our trip - this time I used whole wheat spaghetti, which no one even noticed. Coarse breadcrumbs add texture to this dish so I recommend making your own from some stale bread: just tear bread into small pieces and then pulse in a food processor or blender until you have coarse crumbs. If you want to skip this step Panko breadcrumbs are a good alternative.

SPAGHETTI WITH SARDINES AND BREADCRUMBS

1 pound spaghetti

1/2 - 3/4 cups breadcrumbs 

olive oil

1 red onion, finely diced

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

2 tins sardines 

1 bunch parsley, finely chopped

Bring a large pot of salted water

to a boil.

In the meanwhile, toast breadcrumbs in a medium skillet until lightly browned. Transfer to a bowl and wipe skillet clean. Return pan to the stove and add a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to a skillet placed over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until transluscent. Add sardines and the oil they are packed in to the pan and break up with a wooden spoon. 

Once you have started sauteing the onions and garlic you can cook the spaghetti. When it is almost ready add the parsley to the sardine mixture. Drain the spaghetti when it is al dente, reserving a cup or two of the pasta water, and return the pasta to the pot. Add the sauce and toss to combine, adding some of the pasta water if the mixture seems too dry. Stir in breadcrumbs and drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil if desired. Season with freshly ground pepper to taste.

ham, not just for holidays

When I think of ham I imagine Easter dinner. Or, a giant buffet. Just a few months ago I discovered these very small ham roasts at our local farmer's market, and recently I found a tiny Niman Ranch ham at Whole Foods. Since the hams are fully cooked (as well as nitrate free and responsibly raised) all I had to do was heat it up and make some sides...which, to me, is the fun part of making dinner. When I set down the plates the kids were all so excited and there was a chorus of "Mmmm, I love this ham!" It will definitely be added to the list of things to keep on hand - the fact that there is a long refrigerator life is a bonus too.

decorating with kids art

My friend Coco (age 5) did this self portrait and I just love the way it looks taped to the wall in her room. So simple, and yet it adds so much personality! The hot pink tape is a nice touch.