Inspired by Clara’s Pasta with peas and her “Depression Era Cooking” videos, I reached into my 10 pound bag of potatoes and got to work. As I played with potatoes and onions, I thought back to what I remember growing up. What dish was my Grandma “famous” for? And what do I remember most from my mother’s cooking? After Mom grabbed her bowl, we talked about it.
Me: Know what I remember most about Grandma’s cooking? Delmonico steak with salt, pepper and garlic powder. (Grandma and I both are garlic fiends.)
Mom: That’s all?
Me: Yeah. Weird, huh? I know she could cook anything and remember all the family holiday gatherings where she would cook. But that was just ham and turkey and collards and whatnot.
We then talked about how amazing of a cook my Grandma was. But Mom said she didn’t think Grandma loved to cook. Maybe that’s why I can’t remember much? Near the end, Grandma and I would talk about cooking and it was mostly about sneaking ground turkey breast into Grandpa’s food or how versatile egg white omelets were. I’m going to try and get some clippings that my aunt got when we — well, you know… went through the stuff left behind. Most everyone was in Grandma’s head but maybe I can get an idea from what she clipped out and that will help.
Me: Mom, know what I think of when I think back to your cooking?
Mom: No, what? (I could hear the ‘uh oh’ in her voice.)
Me: Hamburger soup, tuna surprise*, succotash, hamburger helper, tuna helper, chicken helper — yeah, one pot meals.
* Tuna surprise is kind of like a tuna casserole cooked in a saucepan on the stove.
Now, back to Clara. I loved how she said she would ask what’s for dinner and get as an answer: “Pasta with garlic.” “Pasta with peas.” Etc. I had pasta, including a box that had a “use by” date of 2007 — oops, yes, that was tossed, sigh — and some potatoes. Like I said, I bought this 10 pound bag of potatoes cause I was crazy being frugal.
I wanted to get the consistency of a “hamburger helper” type meal because I want something that could hold its own on a plate with some sides. I got something more soupy, but I measured so maybe I can get closer next time.
Pasta with Peas ++
The ++ means I added more stuff… of course.
- Olive oil
- 6 cups water
- 2 cups macaroni, uncooked
- 2 onions, diced
- 2 cups frozen peas (keep frozen)
- 2 baking potatoes, peeled, diced
- salt, pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
Saute onions and potatoes in olive oil on medium heat till potatoes are softened. I think this took me about 15 minutes and I used a small stock pot. Add salt, pepper, water, peas. Bring to a boil. Add pasta. Boil for 10 minutes. Toss in parsley. Cook for 1 minute. This is where I added the carrots cause the pasta with peas was slightly soupy. Considering I ladled off about 1.5 cups, I’ll reduce the water amount next time. Maybe. The “stock” this all made was very good. I was heavy handed with the salt like Clara but Mom still added salt to her bowl. Ha.
Sauteed Carrots
I ended up dumping this into the Pasta with Peas at the end
- 3 carrots, chopped
- Olive oil
- Salt, pepper
I cooked the carrots in a skillet while I cooked the pasta with peas. The carrots kept browning too quickly on medium heat so I would ‘cool’ them off with a ladle of water from the pasta. I think it added a lovely flavor. I’m not a fan of carrots but these turned out nicely. I think they cooked for about 20 minutes sometimes covered and sometimes not. I tossed them into the pot of pasta right before serving and after the parsley. It added a nice color but since the carrots didn’t cook with the pasta, it had its own flavor but was somewhat familiarized with the ladles of water from the pasta.
| Pasta with Peas (and carrots) Nutrition Facts (via recipezaar) |
||
| Serving Size 1 (506g) Recipe makes 5 servings | ||
| Points | 7 | |
| Calories 328 | ||
| Calories from Fat 80 | (24%) | |
| Amount Per Serving | %DV | |
| Total Fat 9.0g | 13% | |
| Saturated Fat 1.3g | 6% | |
| Monounsaturated Fat 6.0g | ||
| Polyunsaturated Fat 1.2g | ||
| Trans Fat 0.0g | ||
| Cholesterol 0mg | 0% | |
| Sodium 42mg | 1% | |
| Potassium 640mg | 18% | |
| Total Carbohydrate 54.6g | 18% | |
| Dietary Fiber 5.1g | 20% | |
| Sugars 5.0g | ||
| Protein 8.1g | 16% | |
Some others that tried her recipe:
Filed under: Food, Main | Tagged: Budget, cooking, dinner, family, frugal, points, Recipe, vegan, vegetarian, weight watchers, weightwatchers, ww | 5 Comments »
Personally speaking.... 