The Hubs and I have spent the entire day packing and we're exhausted, but we made good progress. Nearly every horizontal space in our apartment is cleared. Maybe we should leave them this way; it would certainly make dusting a simpler chore. About two hours into the packing the Hubs came upstairs and said, "don't you just want to throw everything away?" Apparently that brilliant idea is contagious.
Needless to say, in the midst of all of this chaos there hasn't been much cooking going on in my kitchen. We're been eating out or inviting ourselves over to friends' houses for dinner on very flimsy pretexts. Last night we did dinner with R. and P. (of the shower fame) and brought over dessert. It was a great dessert, I roasted strawberries (slice the strawberries, toss with 2 tbsp balsamic and 2 tbsp honey, roast in a 425 degree over for 12 - 15 minutes) and the Hubs made his biscuits. (I'd share that recipe, but I don't know it and I don't intend to learn it.) We whipped some cream (self-explainatory) and garnished with mint. I completely intended to take a photo of the strawberries and biscuits but they simply didn't last long enough for a photo (and I may or may not have forgotten my camera).
Instead I am going to share with you a recipe that Bob and I worked up earlier this week. Bob had to take some food to an end of the year faculty picnic and didn't want to take the same 'ole maccaroni salad. So we invented a French-inspired macaroni salad. This one has tuna and white beans, olives and roasted red peppers. Bob made the salad and kindly sent a photo of it along with the rave reviews from the teachers at the picnic.
White Bean and Tuna Pasta Salad
1 16 ounce box pasta
2 cans tuna in olive oil
1 can white beans
1 12 ounce jar roasted red peppers
1 cup nicoise olives
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp lemon zest
salt and pepper
Cook the pasta. Slice the red peppers and olives into thin strips. Drain and rinse the white beans. Drain off the oil on the tuna. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, and put it in a large bowl. Add the red peppers, tuna, olives, beans, parsley and lemon zest. Whisk together the lemon juice, white wine vinegar and olive oil. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to cover completely. Season to taste with the salt and pepper. Serve garnished with a few whole parsley leaves. Bon Appetit!
Makes Picnic-Sized Portion
3 Additional Thoughts:
Whatever happened to the roasted beets and barley risotto?
Little Ms Blogger - Thanks for the reminder! I'd completely forgotten. I'll see if I can make it this week, otherwise, it might have to wait until after The Big Move.
You sounded like you thought that the salad should have had two cans of beans and I think you were right. I'd definitely add a second next time if using a whole pound of pasta. You have good instincts in the kitchen! B~
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