Tri-Color CheeseTortellini Alfredo with Garden Fresh Vegetables

Dinner last evening, at least a good part of it, came from the community garden plots I share with my brother and sister-in-law, Mayor and Sis.  We did a few housekeeping chores in the garden, then I set out to harvest vegetables.   Dinner picked from the vine early in the evening was on the table a couple of hours later.  It just doesn't get much fresher than that.

 

 

 

Of course, there were a couple of non-garden items needed for the menu.  I picked up frozen tri-color cheese tortellini recently at my very favorite grocery, Carfagna's, in Columbus, Ohio.  They have an outstanding selection of frozen pastas. 

 

 

And what good would any alfredo pasta be without freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese!

 

 

 

 

These vegetables, from the garden, were used in the dinner.  They include, garlic, onions, baby yellow squash, broccoli, green peppers, banana peppers, romaine and bibb lettuces, and swiss chard.  The baby squash are actually from my next door neighbor's community garden plot. The garlic came from Mayor's personal garden.  That man simply cannot get enough of gardening. 

Enough of this standing around and talking!  Let's get cooking.

Salad was easy enough to prepare.  Wash the leaves, tear them into large pieces, add some sliced onion, separated into rings, and chill.  Serve with your choice of dressing.  I also like to chill the salad plates I plan to use.  It helps to keep the salad cold,  especially if you plan to dine outside.  Now on to the main dish.

Tri-Color Cheese Tortellini Alfredo with Garden Fresh Vegetables

1 small red onion, sliced  1/4 inch thick
1 medium white onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 green pepper, coarsely sliced
1/2 hot banana pepper
3 small heads broccoli (I used side shoots, the small heads that form after you pick the main head.  If you are using it from the store, one head will do) chopped into bite size pieces
2 baby yellow squash, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 leaves Swiss chard, julienned
1 clove garlic, minced
Fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound tri-color cheese tortellini
A pot of boiling water
2 tbsp. butter
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/3 to 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Wash and prepare the vegetables.  This step is the most time-consuming part of preparing the recipe.  Once your have prepped the vegetables, everything else comes together very quickly.

You are going to need three pans to prepare the recipe.  I know it sounds like a lot of work and a lot of dirty pans, but the results are worth the effort. 

First, heat a pot of water to boiling, into which you will put the tortellini. 

Second, you will need a saucepan for the alfredo sauce.  Put the butter and whipping cream into the saucepan.  Simmer the cream and butter until the mixture is hot and steamy.  Continue to hold it at a simmer. 

Finally, heat a large sauté pan over medium/medium-high heat.  You want to feel heat when you hold your hand over the pan. 

 

Place the tortellini into the boiling water and boil for 6 to 8 minutes, until tender.  Drain, then pour into the sauce pan containing the whipped cream and butter.  Continue to simmer the tortellini mixture.

 

 

When the sauté pan has heated, add the olive oil and swirl the pan to coat the bottom with oil.  Place the broccoli, onions, and peppers into the pan and sauté for a couple of minutes, just until the broccoli begins to turn bright green.  Add the squash, Swiss chard, and garlic and continue to sauté for a couple more minutes.  Because I like the vegetables crisp tender, I sauté them only briefly.  If you prefer your vegetables, softer, sauté them a couple minutes longer.

 

When the vegetables are about done, add the grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese to the simmering
 tortellini mixture and stir until the cheese has melted to create a sauce that adheres to the pasta. 

 

 

Pour the tortellini into a serving bowl and top with the sautéed vegetables.  Retire to the rainy coolness of your back porch with your meal, as Better Half and I did, and Enjoy!

 

 

Summer Solstice 2013

 

Good Morning, Summer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, Good Night!

 

 

Up Close and Orange and Green

The Sunday morning's offerings on the North Forty

 

 Delicate shade loving lily

Onions getting ready to flower

 



 

Ripe by the Fourth? Sure hope so.

Fern

 



 

Million bells in the dappled sunlight

 

Coneflower

 

 

My all-time garden favorite - zinnia

 

 

Fern - kind of looks like a bird with a bowed head.

 

 

Fish Truck

Cross one off the bucket list.  I have seen a fish truck.  I have climbed onto the bed of a fish truck.  I have bought fish from a fish truck.  I can now die happy.

For many years at the local feed store, I was intrigued by a sign, posted on the rickety front door, from time to time, announcing the coming of the fish truck. It advertised the date, time, and kinds of fish that would be available for purchase.  I always wondered what a truck full of fish would look like.  What I imagined was some kind of panel truck full of glass aquariums.  The reality is far different.

Wish I could say, "To make a long story short", but I can't, because the story is kind of long. 

So, yesterday, as Better Half and I were in the Boneyfiddle end of town for gardening supplies, passing by the feed store, I fairly screamed something to the effect, "Look, there's the fish truck!"

Better Half gave me one of those quizzical looks, as if to say, "Have you absolutely lost your mind?" as we zoomed right past the truck.

I gave him my romantic account of the sign on the door, and my curiosity about a fish truck.  Think about it.  Fish Truck.  I also happened to note on the side of the truck, as we zoomed by, a listing for "KOI CARP".

Better Half graciously made a turn around the block so that I might indulge in the fish truck experience. 

A fish truck, for those who have never seen one, nor given it a moment's thought, is simply a regular semi tractor trailer with a flat bed onto which tanks with lids have been fitted.  They remind me of  old fashioned ice cream freezers, each with a little door for a different flavor.  Bold red lettering on the tanks spell out the kinds of fish for sale. And, they smell to high heavens.

This particular fish truck hailed from Arkansas, operated by a husband and wife, both of whom looked as though they had spent the better part of their life in the sun.  Bronze is the word that best describes them.  Wife wrote up orders and took money.  Cash business, as Better Half noted.  Husband netted and bagged the fish, filling each bag with air, to allow for safe transit of the fish to their new homes.  Huge plastic bags holding hundreds of squirming striped minnows stood ready to go as I walked up to the truck.  Several people were milling about.  Better Half struck up a conversation with one of them about raccoons.  But, that's a whole other story. 

I patiently waited my turn to inquire, in my best yeahIknowallaboutbuyingfishfromafishtruck voice, "Do you have any koi?"

Husband, whose hair was longer than mine, answered, "Yeah, we have koi," not unkindly, but without enthusiasm.

Better Half then asked Husband if I might climb up onto the trailer to have a look at the fish.  Husband looked first at me, then at Better Half, no doubt wondering if the shabbily dressed middle aged woman could make it up the ladder.  Better Half assured him, much to my relief, that I would have no problems clambering up the side of a flatbed trailer.  And I was off.  Note, Better Half remained firmly planted on the sidewalk, watching, with some amusement. 

Husband and I made our way to the smelly tank that contained the koi.  He grabbed a net, scooped up several, and held them up for my inspection.  Buying koi is a lot like shopping for a new dress.  It takes some time.  You have to scour the racks, try on a couple handsful, parade in front of the mirror, pirouette a couple of times.  I think he sensed that I might like to see each and every koi on the truck and weigh the merits of each before I bought any.  Just as I got set to begin my deliberations, Husband pointed to an orangish yellow fellow, and exclaimed what a fine fish he would be.  Then, just as quickly, he pointed to a yellowish silver one, also noting what a fine specimen he was.  Quite before I knew it, and well before I wanted the endeavor to end, the fish were bagged, filled with air, and wedged between my feet in the pickup truck for their ride home.

As we were a couple blocks down the street, Better Half asked if I wanted to take a photo of the fish truck for posterity sake. He made yet another trip around the block back to the feed store and handed me his iphone.  There would be no photo this day.  The fish truck had already left.

Sad not to have the photo, but happy with my fish truck purchase, we set about acclimating the fish to the pond when we got home.  We set the bag in the pond to equalize the water temperature.  The fish truck koi were in fairly cold water.

Here are the two newest members of the clan, chomping at the bag to join their new friends.

Better Half released the fish into the pond, where they were immediately greeted by the other fish.  We wondered if the fish truck fish would be spurned for having come from the wrong side of the tracks.

 

Not to worry.  One big happy family. 

No names yet.  Thinking about Husband and Wife.  Or maybe Fish and Truck.