Bacon, Rosemary and Tomato Pasta

On an evening where I found the refrigerator (almost) completely bare (unfortunate), and I most certainly did NOT want to go shopping at the market (even more unfortunate)...I assessed what sparse ingredients I did have to work with (fresh garden tomatoes and bacon) and found this amazing recipe online. I was skeptical at first: I haven't had the best luck with fresh tomato sauces in the past. But given the circumstances, I persevered.

Hands down the best fresh tomato sauce I've ever stirred up. I love this sauce most for it's simplicity, but the freshness is unbeatable and the bacon is the star of the show. Using a combination of heirloom and roma tomatoes gave a nice richness to the base, and I did omit the balsamic vinegar though I will try it next time. I served atop homemade rosemary lemon pasta noodles and sprinkled with fresh grated parmesan and finely shredded fresh basil.

The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces pasta, shape of choice
• 3 ounces bacon, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 large, bushy sprig of fresh rosemary
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 very large tomatoes (or 3 medium, a mix of yellow and red is nice), cored and chopped
• balsamic vinegar (optional)
• soft herbs if you want this to look pretty

Preparation

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of heavily salted water.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the grease in the pan (if it looks really greasy, spoon some out; you just need a thin layer, enough to sauté the garlic without burning).

3. Add the rosemary, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to the skillet and cook until garlic is lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and let the sauce simmer until the pasta is cooked. Season aggressively with more salt and black pepper. If it tastes flat, add a few drops of vinegar.

4. Drain the pasta and top with the sauce. Sprinkle with the bacon, parmesan and herbs if you like.

---------------------

Rosemary Lemon Noodles

• 5 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh or 2 tsp. dried rosemary leaves (I used fresh)
• 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. grated lemon peel
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3-1/4 c. flour

Beat eggs, rosemary, lemon peel, oil and salt in large bowl with wire whisk until smooth. Add flour. Mix thoroughly with fork until dough forms. Knead on lightly floured surface 5 to 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Let stand 15 minutes.

Using a hand-crank pasta press, roll out dough to a #6 thickness, then hand-cut into wide flat noodles. Served with above sauce, these noodles are sinful.

This noodle recipe makes a LARGE batch, and I had extra plain noodles that were served with Beef Stroganoff later in the week.

Lightening, Wind, and Tons of Rain

we were blessed with a wicked lightening / wind / downpour storm yesterday afternoon. the wind gusts were upwards of 60 mph and my tomato plants didn't fair so well. i discovered the damage early this morning...one of my roma plants had been decapitated. i'm hoping that since the root ball was protected in the bucket and is still intact, that the stem will start regrowing leaves and still be able to produce fruit this season. we'll see.

the photo shows the underside of the bucket where the stem snapped off.

Planting Day Two

tomatoes, spinach and lima beans got their starts today. i was a bit of a dough-head when transferring the tomatoes to their upside-down buckets and tried shoving the root ball through the hole instead of the soft bendible leaves. duh. i was able to get 3 of my 5 plants in the buckets today. need to pick up more potting soil and 2 more hooks for them to hang on. i'm also thinking about planting some small cascading flowers in the buckets tops...maybe nasturtiums.

natalie and i also carved out a small area on the side garden for her own veggie patch...she chose spinach, butterhead lettuce, carrots and lima beans for growing. she loves all veggies so it was tough for her to choose just four to plant. the Easter Bunny gifted her a nice gardening kit and she's putting it to good use.

Planting Day One

i've been a hobby gardener for many years, but this year i'm truly making the most of my small garden plot. i'm trying new plantings this year like artichokes, garlic, watermelon, snow peas, new potatoes, and crenshaw melon. this blog will hopefully serve as a personal journal where i can document planting dates, experiments, successes and failures, and will help with my future growing seasons.

the past week was spent turning the soil, de-weeding and adding compost. the tomato arbor is new this year...this is my first year for attempting the tomatoes upside down. i'm anxious to experience a growing season without pesky slugs attacking them.

today marked great progress: snow peas, green & red bells, jalepenos, chili peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, garlic, summer crisp lettuce, and butterhead lettuce were all planted. plenty of refreshments kept us going.

weather cooperated pretty well for us...the threat of rain loomed, but never delivered. the kids all joined in the plantings today...a great opportunity to put the hard sell on benefits of eating lots of veggies.