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Here comes fall, ready or not! The leaves are falling, the squirrels are fattening up, and the pumpkin patches are full of giggling kids. Don’t you just love it? And, our recipes this week are sure to give you a big, warm hug of deliciousness, because we are getting into satisfying comfort food already! We’ve recreated 2 of our childhood favorites, that Mama Caruso would make us as kids, and a treasured Tex-Mex stand-out. This week we're offering you Pasta e Fagioli, Tamale Pie, and Chicken-Style Chow Mein, which includes our new and dazzling, Simple Chow Mein! It’s time to pour yourself a glass of apple cider, and get into some cozy cookin’!! |
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Pasta e Fagioli This warm and comforting bowl of pasta and beans is a Caruso family favorite! We pronounce the Fagioli, or beans, as “FAH-ZOOL”, in the Neapolitan dialect. Our grandma Caruso’s family was from Naples, and she always said she was, “NAH-BUH-LEE-DON”. In her native dialect, she called this soup, “Pasta Fazool”, and so do we. Italians like to keep food simple, and our childhood Pasta Fazool was made using only a few ingredients. We followed Grandma's lead, by simply using garlic, tomatoes and a dash of oregano. We add cannellini beans, and pasta to fill us up, and top it with our coarse and cheesy Walnut Parmesan. Mama mia! |
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| Tamale Pie Our Tamale Pie is a great way to spice up your Taco Tuesday! First, we make a quick chili with deep, smoky flavors. We spread that in a baking dish and top it with a simple, slightly sweet cornbread batter, and bake it until the cornbread is nice and fluffy, and golden brown. Then, we top it with our cooling Jalapeño Lime Crema to balance the heat. Talk about Tex-Mex comfort food! |
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| Chicken-Style Chow Mein Along with Atari, The Bionic Man, Tang, Sea-Monkeys and Saturday morning cartoons, there is something else that fills us with 70's nostalgia—Chicken Chow Mein! Our mom made this all the time when we were bell-bottoms and toughskins-wearing 70’s kids. This is definitely not an authentic, Asian dish. We think mom may have come with it straight off the label on a Campbell’s soup can. It was the 70’s, after all. This was a time when cooking was all about speed. Open a can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup, and there you have it—instant gravy! We still crave this dish, so we’ve plant-powered it. We sauté green peppers, onions and mushrooms, and use cashews and mushroom stock for a creamy, dreamy, nutritious, and delicious, gravy. Instead of the store-bought, deep-fried, Chow Mein noodles of our past, we make our own oil-free, whole grain version. We top it all with our crispy Chicken-Style Soy Curls. Wow! It may not be the prettiest dish, but it is jam-packed with flavor, and feels like a hug from childhood. Turn on some Bee Gee’s, and dig in! |
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| Simple Chow Mein Crispy, crunchy, garlic bread! Who doesn't love to have a nice piece of garlic bread, alongside a great pasta dish? Or with a big salad? Or even made into a meatball sub! We took everything we know and love about garlic bread, and made our version, without using butter or oil. Our secret ingredient? Tahini, which gives it a rich, savory flavor. Get ready for some crunch! |
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