The 700 club NOT, and the spring dishes begin: pasta with dandelions

Well, ragazzi, here we are at post 700! My, my, my. As the song says "What a long, strange trip it's been." Have we not all been through much? When we started, back in late autumn, 2007, things were so different. For Annalena, there has been a job change, a marriage, a change in health, and a fifty pound weight difference. How have you changed in that length of time? Annalena, for one, is curious to know.

In days to come, Annalena plans to revisit "eating clean" with some information on how she has cut back on calories - and how she has FAILED to do so - but for today, with late breaking news: at the farmers market yesterday, Annalena was absolutely thrilled to see that there were local dandelion greens, and watercress. Both are wild, and foraged. Even better. And dandelion is a natural diuretic. So as Annalena has a weigh in next week....

Both of these greens, like most early spring greens, are peppery, or at least have bite, or have a bitter edge to them, etc. One wonders what the connection is there. Any thoughts? Well, young dandelion greens, as these were, do not take well to long time storage. So, it was time to use them, as MFK Fisher wrote "not now, but NOW." And, as Annalena was looking for a dish she could make with the remnants of some other things, here it is. It is good, it is easy. And if you think through this, you can change things as you see fit. It is also FAST.

Annalena had a container of cherry tomatoes left over from lunch last week. Organic, and beginning to give her the stinkeye. Cherry tomatoes are a wonderful thing to have around, when you want a quick sauce. They do not need slicing, and indeed, Annalena used them, whole in this sauce, and watched as they disintegrated in the cooking, which is exactly what she wanted to happen. You will thus need, a cup of cherry tomatoes, and about a cup of dandelion greens. Wash them. Remember, these are foraged. Buddha only knows what went on them. You also need one bunch of watercress. Annalena does not wash this, as it grows in (DUH) water. Keep them separate, and chop both.

Now, MEASURE (remember: we're watching calories here), two tablespoons of olive oil into a big pan. Add the cherry tomatoes , and stir them around to coat them in the oil. Add a big pinch of salt, and let them cook away. You may want to lower the heat to medium and cover the pot, which will speed things even more. And while that is happening, get a big pot of salted water going, to bring it to the boil.

After the tomatoes have cooked a few minutes, toss in the dandelion greens. Now, you really should cover the pan, and lower the heat, and cook for 2-4 minutes more. Press the tomatoes with the back of a spoon, and if they give and break up, proceed to the next step. If they do not, more cooking please.

OFF the heat, stir in a cup of ricotta (Need Annalena remind you to use GOOD stuff), and about half a cup of chopped up mozzarella (ditto). Stir this around. The residucal heat of the dish will melt the mozzarella somewhat, and the ricotta will keep its integrity, from not being exposed to too much heat. Finally, add the chopped watercress.

She guarantees you, it takes longer to read this, than it takes to make the sauce. Taste it, and add salt and pepper as you like. When the water boils, add a pound of fresh pasta. Something short and stubby - like penne, and cook it to aldente.

Keep a cup of the cooking water, and then drain the pasta, and toss it into your sauce. Stir it all together. If you feel it is too thick, add some of the water, and keep doing so, until you have the texture you want. Finally, a grating of parmesan cheese over everything.

Springtime lunch. Easy, yes? Fast, yes? And fairly healthy too. A pound of pasta? Hmmm. Three healthy appetites dispatched this (the Guyman and Annalena had run three miles without breakfast prior to the meal), and a very happy doorman was amongst them.

Vegetarians, did you note? Not a drop of meat. Sorry vegans, but if you added more greens in place of the cheese, you will enjoy this as well. Annalena suggests NOT using soy cheeses here, as she is unsure of how the heat will impact them.

So, onward we go , ragazzi. It may be interesting to look at posts 1,2,3 etc hundred. In the meantime, Annalena wonders what 1000 will bring. Stay tuned