Chapter Seven

Hard Times, Old Times, Good Times Starches

Pasta in General

Starch has always been the ingredient that filled the belly. Rice, pasta, potatoes. Think of the people it has fed over the centuries. Pasta now has become an 'in' thing, made with spinach, tomatoes, even squid ink. Use it plentifully, because it has no fat and is a great friend of the hard times cook because it is inexpensive and it can combine with anything. After all, the hard times cook and starch have been with us long before squid ink pasta.

Pasta and sauces (which you can find in another section of this book) have become a trendy thing, which is good both nutritionally and economically. There are many fine Italian cookbooks on the market, browse the stores and check the references in this book. If you cook with fresh ingredients, home grown when possible, you will be cooking like the good Italian cook, or the good Czech cook, or the good German cook, and you will combine good times and hard times, and celebrate both. For it is the hard times that make us appreciate the good times, after all.

The kind of macaroni you buy is important. Look for those made with Duram wheat, it holds up better. Some of the grocery store types get very soggy very fast. Try different types, different shapes. Read the Sauce section of this book, and you will find another essay on pasta. There are about 439 different shapes because Italians like to play with their food, but some are designed for chunky sauces, some for thin sauce, some for soup. Look at the market shelves, study the varieties, look for cookbooks in the library. Cooking is a study, after all. You canŐt expect to learn overnight, and never make mistakes. Do the studying, make the mistakes, and try some of those 459 types of pasta. Stuff them, sauce them, and enjoy.

Stuffed Manicotti

This recipe is good for a family dinner or an addition to a party buffet.

  1. The day before, or that morning, make your usual spaghetti sauce.
  2. Parboil manicotti shells, a whole box or any portion that will feed your family, depending on appetites.
  3. Run cold water over the noodles to cool them.
  4. Stuff with a mixture of:
    • a cup or so of ricotta,
    • about a pound of mozzarella,
    • Parmesan to taste,
    • two eggs, lightly beaten, chopped parsley and basil.
  5. Put a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13x2 inch baking pan, put the stuffed manicotti in one layer.
  6. Ladle sauce over the top, put some Parmesan over it.
  7. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or a little longer if it's been refrigerated.
  8. Let it sit for about fifteen minutes before serving.

Stuffed Jumbo Shells

This is basically the same recipe as for manicotti, but uses large sea shells instead of the tubes. It stretches everything a little more, too.

  1. Stuff large sea shells with the mixture of ricotta, mozzarella, eggs, seasonings and Parmesan.
  2. Cook the shells about 10 min, drain and rinse under cold water, stuff with the cheese mixture, bake after putting a layer of sauce and Parmesan over the pan.
  3. Bake at 350 for about 30 min.

If these Italian recipes have a certain sameness about them, don't despair. With a mixture of mozzarella, ricotta, Parmesan, herbs and eggs, you can make a wonderful concoction that will fit any pasta envelope you choose. The ratio is usually one fifteen ounce package of ricotta to one pound of mozzarella to two eggs. The basic business of cooking is to figure out how something works, and then be able to ring changes on it. Learn the basics, and then you can cook anything without a recipe. Just don't tell anyone that. You would put the cookbook people out of business

Rice

Rice comes in a thousand different forms, short, long, processed, and imported or domestic. Buy what you can afford, in bulk. We buy jasmine rice from a local Chinese wholesaler in 25 pound bags, because we like it and itŐs cheap.. If you like the bags of grocery store rice, fine. If you like the Uncle kind, fine. Whatever you get, try several different types and see which one suits you and your family and your pocketbook. Just remember, the more the processing and the smaller the box, the more expensive it will be. Try Brown Rice, too, just cook it a little longer than white We never use the quick rice, because it is very processed, expensive, and when real rice takes only 20-25 minutes, why use it? The Very Quick Rice People are not interested in your familyŐs nutrition, but you are. So save your money and cook the real thing.

Basic Rice

  1. Bring two cups of water to a boil, add a little salt.
  2. Add one cup of rice, not the Instant kind, stir briefly, cover, lower the heat, and cook for about 25 minutes.
  3. Always stir with a fork, not a spoon, to keep the rice fluffy.
  4. The Instant Rice People will try to convince you that 25 minutes is too long to cook rice, but if you put the rice on and then finish dinner, it's plenty of time.

Risotto

This dish has become a fad and sometimes comes out looking more like library paste than rice. The recipe we use keeps the rice nice and fluffy, and not sticky. If you follow the basic proportions for cooking rice, one cup to two cups of water or broth, cook for about 25 minutes, you won't have library paste.

  1. Bring two cups of homemade chicken soup to a boil in a small pan.
  2. In another saucepan, heat two Tablespoons of butter, add two Tablespoons of finely chopped onion, or scallion.
  3. Cook for a few minutes, add one cup raw rice. Stir the rice into the onion and butter, add the boiling soup.
  4. Reduce heat, simmer 20-25 min. Mix with a little parsley and Parmesan. Variation: When you put the butter and onion in the pot, add some curry powder, stir for a minute and add the rice, stir, and add the soup. Cook as for risotto.

Rice Baked in the Oven

This recipe came from an Italian woman whom we never met, but we knew her daughter in Chicago. It is simple and good, and children like it.

  1. Mix cooked rice with some cooked spaghetti sauce, enough to moisten but not drown the rice.
  2. Mix in some grated Parmesan, put in a greased casserole. Push pieces of mozzarella in it, add little more sauce and Parmesan on top.
  3. Bake at 350 for about 15 min.
  4. You can serve this by itself or with a salad and soup, or meat.

Green Chili Rice a la Sharon

This is a rice recipe with some snap, made hotter or not to taste.

  1. Cook one cup of rice and mix with 1 small carton of sour cream or eight ounces of yogurt cheese.
  2. Butter a casserole, layer half the rice,half of a small can of chopped green chili and half a cup of grated Monterey Jack cheese. Repeat, ending with the cheese.
  3. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

This rice is excellent with grilled meat, or Carne Adovada.

Gini's Baked Beans

This is much better than the canned version, and the kitchen smells better.

  1. Soak one pound Great Northern beans overnight, cook until the skins burst when you blow on them, about 10 to 15 minutes.
  2. Put in a casserole with about two lbs side pork cut in pieces.
  3. Mix: one-quarter of a cup of molasses, one Tablespoon of salt, three Tablespoons of sugar, one half cup of brown sugar, and enough boiling water to cover the beans.
  4. Cover and bake at 375 for 6-8 hours.
  5. Uncover last hour to brown.
  6. For juiciness, keep adding water as it boils away.

Lentils

Most people don't know much about lentils, for some reason. They are small and brown and they don't look very exciting. But they can be cooked and eaten cold, or hot, and mixed with rice they make a complete protein. They are some of the most ancient friends that we have.

  1. Rinse one package of lentils, drain and put in a pot with one cut-up celery stalk, one cut-up onion, a little oregano, about a tablespoon of olive oil, some chopped parsley and a leftover lamb or pork bone if you have it. Add enough water to cover by about two inches. Our measurement is to put a thumb in the pot to touch the lentils and have the water come to the top of the thumb. This is called Grandma's Rule of Thumb.
  2. Cook slowly several hours, keep wet.
  3. Mix with cooked rice and more parsley if you want.

You could serve this thick soup over a plate of pasta or bread, too, for a real Hard times meal.

Frijoles

Pinto beans are a staple of our Southwestern cuisine, an ancient staple of the original inhabitants of the Southwest. Soak them overnight, cook with a smoked ham hock or some pork bones, onions, and serve from the pot or from a casserole, covered with shredded cheese. The next day, heat some oil or bacon grease in a skillet, add the cooked beans and mash them. You can also add some green chili. This is known as Frijoles Refritos, Refried beans. With rice and enchiladas, these dishes comprise the cornerstone of a combination plate. However you eat them, frijoles have been the staple for many folks.

Pasta Casserole

When our children were small, this was one of the Good Times dishes that they never knew were also Hard Times. It blurred the lines between the two times, and was real comfort food for everyone.

  1. Cook some ground round in a skillet, pour off fat, add spaghetti sauce, seasonings like oregano and basil. Maybe some sautéed mushrooms, and some sauteed vegetables if you want.
  2. Stir this with some cooked elbow macaroni and put into a greased two qt casserole dish.
  3. Put some more sauce on top, some Parmesan, and bake at 350 for about a half hour.

Make a salad, and you have dinner. This is great for small children because they can eat independently, no one has to cut the meat. Independence is worth a lot.

Kathy 's Beans

These beans are good for a picnic or a covered dish request for a neighborhood party.

  1. Mix, four 16-oz cans of pork and beans, one sliced onion, one-third of a bottle of barbecue sauce, one-third of a bag of brown sugar,top with some sliced bacon
  2. Bake at 350 for about an hour.

This recipe serves a large number of people, so cut it down for a family!

Noodle Kugel

We got this recipe from a lovely Old World lady in Chicago. She didn't worry about calories or cholesterol.

Basic recipe:

  1. Separate whites from three eggs, and beat the whites well.
  2. Cook and drain a package of egg noodles.
  3. Add butter or chicken fat, the three well beaten egg yolks, and a little cinnamon, nutmeg, some chopped raisins and a little sugar.
  4. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Mix well and pour into a greased casserole. bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Variations:

  1. Reduce raisins to 1/2 cup.
  2. Add sliced apple and chopped nuts.
  3. You can also substitute dried prunes, or apricots chopped, for the raisins.
  4. Add one Tablespoon of lemon juice and a little grated lemon rind.

Macaroni and Cheese

You can buy the cardboard box version of this, or you can save yourself money and convince people who are used to the Boxed Kind that you are a magician.

Make a thin white sauce:

  1. In a saucepan over low heat, melt 1 Tablespoon of butter and blend in one tablespoon of flour.
  2. Mix until it bubbles, remove from heat and add one cup of milk. Stir until smooth.
  3. Cool slightly, and add about a half pound of grated Process American Cheese. Stir until blended well.
  4. You can add salt and pepper, and a little dry mustard and minced onion here if you want.
  5. Cook about two cups of elbow macaroni, drain.
  6. Mix in a greased casserole the cooked macaroni, the sauce, and top with some buttered bread crumbs and Parmesan.
  7. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Linguine with Clam Sauce

This is the best recipe for this dish I have ever tasted. I think it's because you put the linguine back into the sauce for several minutes after the pasta is cooked. This is also excellent next day, cold, for breakfast. Sounds odd, but try it.

  1. Drain a can or two of clams, reserve clams, put the juice in a small bowl.
  2. Put a little olive oil in a large cast iron skillet or heavy pan. Heat the oil, add a few chili peppers, chopped.
  3. Add chopped onions to the oil, cook very slowly for at least 20 minutes. without browning. While the onion mixture is cooking, add fresh chopped basil, oregano, salt and pepper.
  4. When onions are done, add the clam broth, wine or vermouth and cook down until the mixture is oily rather than watery. Keep warm.
  5. Cook linguine or spaghetti
  6. About five minutes before the pasta is done, add the drained clams, a half cup of parsley, and two or three tablespoons of Parmesan to the onion/broth mixture and cook on very low heat for about three minutes. Add some fresh sauteed or canned mushrooms here if you want.
  7. Drain the pasta and add it to the clam sauce, back into the big skillet, stir and let the pasta coat with the sauce and cook about three minutes. This is very important and really makes the dish.
  8. Add about three more tablespoons of Parmesan and some more fresh chopped parsley to the pasta and sauce, and serve from the skillet.

Scalloped Potatoes

  1. Slice some potatoes with the skins on, don't pare the skins off they are good for you.
  2. In a greased casserole, layer the potatoes with some chopped onion, a bit of butter, salt and pepper, some parsley if you like.
  3. Pour milk to halfway up the potatoes, add some paprika on top and bake covered at 350 for a half hour. Uncover and bake another hour.

Variation:

You can put pork chops on top, if you like, or some sliced smoked sausage. Also you can put cubes of cheese in between the layers.

Mashed Potatoes

  1. Boil potatoes with the skins on, for about a half hour.
  2. After they are cooked, you can peel if you want, it's easier. But we leave the skins on for the vitamins.
  3. Mash with fork or hand mixer, with hot milk and a little butter and salt and pepper.
  4. This can be used to thicken gravy instead of using fat and flour, also.

Potatoes and Chili

This is called Papas in our world, and can be fixed in a thousand ways.

  1. Cook onion and garlic in a little oil.
  2. Add cooked sliced or cubed potato.
  3. Add green chili sauce, or red chili sauce, to taste.
  4. Serve alone with flour tortillas, or with scrambled eggs wrapped in a tortilla for a breakfast burrito.

As with most potato or pasta recipes, you can feed a great many people with it, very well.