Two-for-one special or Kate makes Greek-inspired recipes

Some people go down YouTube bunny trails and suddenly find that they've lost a few hours. I'm more likely to do that with my favorite fictional universe's wiki ('favorite' here meaning 'whatever I'm consuming at the time'), and I'm also highly likely to do this when looking for recipes.

The last time I did this, I found a recipe for avgolemono, a soup I've seen on many a Greek menu, but never tried. For some reason, this weekend seemed to be the perfect time to try it, and this recipe worked like a charm. It was easy, and tasty, and felt nourishing even as it felt light.

Ingredients

• 7 cups chicken stock (I used store-bought, 4 cups low-sodium, 3 cups regular. I am considering switching out a small amount for some vegetable broth for a bit more depth, not more than a Cup, more likely half of one. Alternately, I could make my own stock again. As soon as I have room to store it. Ha! #studioliving)
• 1 cup orzo pasta
• 3 eggs
• Juice of 1 large lemon (this worked out to about 1/4 Cup)
• Salt and ground black pepper
• Lemon slices, to garnish

• In a large pot, bring the stock to a boil. Add the orzo and cook for five minutes. Turn off the heat. (if you have an electric stove, also move it to another burner).
• In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until frothy, then add the lemon juice and one tablespoon of cold water. 
• Very slowly stir in a ladleful of the hot chicken stock, then add one or two more. With the heat still off, add the egg mixture to the pot and stir well. 
• Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately, garnished with lemon slices and fresh herbs

I was nervous that the stock was still going to be so hot it cooked the eggs when I added the first ladleful, so I gently shook the ladle over the egg mixture with one hand and kept stirring with the other. This seems to have done the trick. I hadn't grabbed fresh herbs when I went out to get lemons, so I kept it simple and added some dried parsley.

It was delicious and I managed to keep myself from eating it all. I did have a couple accompaniments. Half a pita and some hummus and a red pepper/feta dip.  (note: I used a food processor)

I'd made the dip before following a recipe that I didn't bookmark, but I wanted to play around a little. I'm only going to be able to give you approximations for starting. This is a taste you want to customize. 

• 6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• approx 8 ounces roasted red peppers from a jar
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup Calabrian chiles  in oil (also from a jar). I didn't drain, de-seed, or de-rib them.
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano (which totally got lost)

Put everything into the mixer's bowl. Mix/blend until the color is consistent. Add peppers in small amounts until you achieve the balance of flavors you like. Service with pita or pita chips, and sliced cucumbers. A few olives on the side aren't bad either.

A couple notes:

If you don't have the chilis in oil, add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. If you're using a stand blender, I recommend putting the peppers in first so the cheese doesn't all clump around the bottom and clog the blades. I'd also advise using the pulse function and scraping the sides often. I didn't get a picture of the dip, but I'll be making it again soon, I'm sure. Maybe I'll make hummus again too, it's been a while.

Duck Breasts Were on Sale

I love duck and the time I cooked them previously was an unmitigated disaster. They came out like mush. Like an idiot, I did not write down what the mistake was, but mush in a sous vide incident tends to mean it was cooked too long. 

This time, I did more research. I didn't follow everything in this Serious Eats guide, but it was enough to give me a very juicy  meaty duck breast. 

For a sauce, I took a mental inventory of what I had in the pantry/fridge. Duck often goes well with fruit, especially orange, but I don't keep marmalade around as a rule. One of my favorite sweet condiments, on the other hand, is black currant jam. I also usually have red wine on the rack and thought this would work pretty well . I did a quick search and found several recipes, so obviously I wasn't the only one with this idea.

This was one of those cases where I looked at a bunch of recipes and winged it from there. Let me tell you about the duck first.

The duck was simply seasoned with salt  & pepper and cooked at 132F  for about 55 minutes. I timed myself using an episode of Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me. Like noted the article, at least 45 minutes. I was a bit paranoid about overcooking after my last venture (don't ask)  Afterwards, I put it in a cold pan, and then put the pan on high to crisp the fatty side. Serious Eats said 5 minutes, it really took 10 to get the fat golden brown and I'm not sure I don't want more next time. I need to experiment with this a bit. I also need to let the duck rest a bit longer. Duck jus went all over my kitchen when I was slicing.

For the sauce, I went with this combination:

• 2 T minced shallot
• 1 T butter, divided in half
• 1 Cup red wine
• 1 Cup mushroom broth (some of the recipes I saw said chicken, some said beef. The chicken broth I had in the fridge had expired, and I didn't have beef, but I always have mushroom bouillon in the house)
• 2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3 heaping Tablespoons of black currant jam

Melt the 1/2 the butter in a small pan on medium heat, then add the shallot, cooking until translucent, about 4 minutes. Slowly pour in the wine, and let reduce for about 15 minutes, then add the broth. Continue to reduce, until the volume is down by about half. Stir in the jam, and cook on low for another ten minutes. Keep warm until the duck is ready. Stir in the rest of the butter right before serving.

I served the duck with baby potatoes, that I cut in half. When I had cooked the duck's fatty side for a few minutes , I threw the potatoes in the same pan and kept them there for another 5 minutes while the fat cooked and then another five when the duck rested. 

I also cooked some snow peas--real easy. Boil water, thrown in peas for about 5 minutes until they are bright green  and they will be tender and crispy.

The final result:

I should have done this ages ago: easy cheddar-chive biscuits

I lived in Tennessee for eleven years, so I got used to good biscuits. I also became very fond of biscuits and gravy, which I originally thought looked gross, but once I tried it, damn! I was hooked. My uncle up in Massachusetts just discovered them so we were able to share that in a recent conversation.

I made chili recently, and I'd had it on some rice, and I had it over spaghetti, and it occurred to me that cheddar biscuits might go well. Everyone's stress baking, but these wouldn't need yeast, just baking powder and baking soda, which were available. 

So I found a recipe with two delightful shortcuts. First, instead of buying buttermilk, you can make your own--the info is on the recipe link, but I thought I'd copy it here.

Place 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or vinegar in a measuring cup. Fill with milk to measure 1 cup and stir well. Allow mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes or until slightly thickened. The mixture may curdle a bit, that’s okay!

The other shortcut is to stick the buttermilk in the freezer for a bit, and melt the butter in the microwave. When you add melted butter to the very cold buttermilk, you instantly get little globs of butter that will be evenly distributed.

The rest is easy:

• 1 cup cold buttermilk
• 8 tablespoons butter plus one more for brushing
• 2 cups all-purpose flour more for counter
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ¼ cups finely shredded cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup finely sliced fresh chives extra for garnish, if desired

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425°F. Line a  sheet pan with parchment paper or spray a sheet pan with cooking spray.

2. Measure 1 cup of buttermilk and place the cup in the freezer while prepping other ingredients (you want it to be in the freezer about 10 minutes).

3. Place butter in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with a paper towel over the top and heat on high for 30 seconds. If not completely melted, return to microwave for 10-second intervals till melted. Set aside to cool a bit while prepping other ingredients.

4. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt in large bowl. Add cheese and chives. Stir to combine.
5. After buttermilk has been chilled in the freezer for 10 minutes, combine it with the melted butter. Stir with a fork until butter forms small clumps or globules.

6. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with a sturdy spatula just until all flour is incorporated and batter pulls away from sides of the bowl. The dough should be stiff and not super wet. If the dough is wet, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring to combine, until dough is fairly stiff.

7. Generously spread flour over your work surface. Dump biscuit dough from bowl onto prepared work surface and turn to coat all surfaces with flour. Knead on counter 5-6 times (about 20-30 seconds). Flip over on work surface to coat with flour then pat into a 6-inch square. It should be 1 1/2-2-inches in height.

8. Cut as many biscuits as you can with a biscuit cutter (this will depend on what size cutter you use). Place biscuits on the prepared sheet pan. Knead scraps a few times till they hold together, then pat into a small circle and cut more biscuits. Transfer last biscuits to the sheet pan, spacing about 1 1/2 inches apart. (See Café Tips in post for an even easier cutting technique). I used a jar that I happened to have in the cupboard. The dough made a nice satisfying pop as it rose.

9. Place in oven and bake until tops are a medium golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Start checking after about 8 minutes, as every oven is different.

10. Melt remaining tablespoon of butter and brush tops of hot biscuits with melted butter. Sprinkle with more finely sliced fresh chives. Serve and enjoy!

These went great with the chili, and beside some scrambled eggs for a different meal. They froze well, and also made good snacks. I'm thinking of seeing if I can add chorizo and green onions for the next experiment. 

 

Sweet indulgence: Swedish Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls

Back in January, I started a new day job and a few doors down is a Swedish espresso shop. When there was commuting to the office every day, the line to get something first thing in the morning was always a bit long so I didn't always get there.

On the other hand, when the morning rush is over, I would sneak over for a break and there I discovered Swedish Cardamom Bread. It was love at first bite and I started hunting for recipes almost immediately. Then the pandemic became official and supply chains got borked, so it took a while to get all the ingredients together. Today was the day.

I found the recipe here, though it's by Leila Lindholm who is a popular chef in Sweden. Ingredients go as follows:

• For the dough:

1. 1 tablespoon cardamom pods
2. 300 milliliters (1/2 pint) milk
3. 135 grams superfine sugar
4. 7 grams (1 packet) fast-action dried yeast
5. 150 grams unsalted butter, softened
6. 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
7. 1 egg
8. 660 to 720 grams bread flour

For the cinnamon filling:

1. 200 grams unsalted butter, softed
2. 90 grams superfine sugar
3. 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
4. Beaten egg, for brushing
5. Golden syrup and water, for brushing
6. Ground cardadmom, for sprinkling
7. Superfine sugar, for sprinkling

Yes, this is a LOT of butter

If you have'nt made golden syrup before, it's pretty easy. I used this recipe and while it was simmering, I got started:

Open the cardamom pods and crush the seeds in a mortar and pestle or electric spice grinder until fine. I wasn't sure how to open the pods, so I put them all in a small plastic bag and hit them a few times with a kitchen mallet. It took a while, but damn, my kitchen smells great.

1. Pour the milk into a pan. Add the cardamom and gently heat until around 115° F (45° C).
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl, briefly mix sugar, yeast, salt, butter, and egg. Don't worry if the butter is still a bit lumpy. I did this by hand in a mixing bowl. I don't own a stand mixer and generally get by without it.
3. Add the milk and cardamom, mix briefly, and add most of the flour. Mix briefly. 
4. In a stand mixer, use the dough hook and knead for a few minutes, until the dough is glossy, smooth, and soft. (Alternatively, knead by hand for 5 minutes.) The dough should be a little sticky: Don’t add too much flour at once, as you don’t want to end up with a dry or hard dough.  Italics mine. This is great advice
5. Cover the bowl with the tea-towel and leave the dough to proof until doubled in size.
6. In the meantime, make the filling: Mix all three ingredients until well combined and smooth. Your kitchen is going to smell even more fabulous.
7. Once the dough is well risen, tip it onto a floured work surface and divide it in two.
8. Roll half the dough into a large rectangle and spread half the filling on top, covering the whole rectangle. I would have appreciated a thickness measurement here. I tried for .25 inches.
9. Fold the dough into three like a business letter (fold the top long side down to the middle, then fold the bottom long side over the top). The filling will ooze.
10. Cut the dough into 3/4-inch (2-centimeter) strips, then cut every strip down the middle, leaving one end intact (so they look like a pair of trousers). Twist the two “legs” into a knot (this does not have to be very precise, you can go a bit freeform). Oh boy was this freeform. My counter got quite messy. 
11. Place the buns on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with a tea towel (I needed two pans and apparently need another tea towel) and leave to rise until almost doubled in size, about 40 minutes. Repeat with the other half of the dough and filling.
12. Preheat the oven to 400° F (200° C). Brush the buns with lightly beaten egg and bake for about 10 minutes or until golden.

Brush the still-warm buns with golden syrup mixed with water and sprinkle with ground cardamom mixed with superfine sugar. There wasn't a ratio here, so I did 1:1 for the syrup and about 3:1 for the sugar to cardamom.



Delicious. I probably should have given them another few minutes in the oven because they were a touch underdone on the inside, but the cardamom flavor was deliciously everywhere. I need a bit of practice with the cutting and shaping, but overall, I'm happy. Here's one of the prettier ones. 

Studio Living During A Pandemic: Hot Stuff for a Hot Day: Sous Vide Chili

(special equipment used: Immersion circulator, food processor)

I have to confess, when first confronted with the sous vide method in my home I was skeptical that it was worth the time. Sometimes it takes me a while to get used to an idea, to the consternation of select people.

The building where I live was built in 1929 and used to be a hotel. Its kitchen is built into the entryway. Amazingly for a Manhattan apartment, it fits all my stuff, which is why I'm here (well that and my previous building got bought and they decided not to renew leases). The thing is, the electric stove is quite small. In fact it's so small that my Dutch oven does not fit comfortably on a burner. I can't get the center of the pot on the center of the burner.

So we adjust. I haven't made chili in a while, and our friends at Will It Sous Vide? have a recipe where I stole the method and a few ingredients. I adjusted for what was in my cupboard and fridge, and opened a bottle of beer. So what we have is:

• I pound of beef chuck stew meat
• 2 poblano peppers
• 2 large onions, quartered  (I used vidallia and they were slightly smaller than your average pink grapefruit)
• 2 jalapeño peppers
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon of habanero powder (I still don't remember buying the jar of Dave's Insanity, and I can't find it on the company website. If you gave this to me, thank you)
• 2 dried chiles--the kind you buy in the spice aisle at the grocery store. (Remember, this is what I had in the house)
• 1/2 teaspoon of Liquid Smoke
• 4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, plus 2  teaspoons of the sauce
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chili oil.
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) of beer (optional). I used Abita Amber.
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• the juice of two limes
• grated cheddar cheese for topping
• sour cream for topping
• rice, tortillas, pasta, whatever you like with chili

Lifehacker used a kitchen torch to char the vegetables and the meat. I don't own one of those, so I improvised. I put two of the onions, one poblano, one and one jalapeno in the oven for a broil, and then put the other half of the vegetables and the garlic in a dry non-stick pan. Half an hour later, I had some nice char. I didn't brown the meat because I didn't want to add any more oil to the mix, since I had the chili oil already and I generally don't add fat to sous vide dishes.

The broiler gave me more char on the peppers than the pan, but I got better browning on the quartered onions and garlic from the bad. Total time on the heat was about 30 minutes.

Next up, a trip to the food processor. I blended everything in two batches (my food processor is small, it's an accessory to my stick blender). I ran the blades until everything was a uniform color.

I used two vacuum bags. I stared with adding a serving spoon full of the blended vegetation, then the meat, which I cut into bite-sized pieces. About halfway through adding the meat, I added another spoonful, finished adding the meat, added one more spoonful, then sealed the bags.

The bags went into a water bath at 149 degrees F for eight hours Because I often go nocturnal on the weekends, this meant it was finished at 1:30 in the morning. I considered a late supper, but opted for finishing touches on the following day.

That was pretty easy. I opened one of the bags into a medium saucepan, added one can of diced tomatoes and green chiles, a can of rinsed black beans, and the juice of a lime. I let that simmer together, uncovered for a bit while I grated some cheese and made some rice.

The first serving wasn't that great. A bit soupy, probably because I was impatient. Then I figuratively gave myself a Gibbs slap. I still had leftover pepper/spice mixture. I mixed that in for the next serving and it was much better.

The meat wasn't quite where I wanted it, though. There was a little more chewiness to it than I wanted. I was looking more for a braise where it would fall apart if you put a fork or your teeth in it.

Definitely worth the experiment. I have the other half of of the batch in the freezer for the next time, and I think we'll be seeing this again. 

Studio Living and I Refuse to Make Boring Salads

I got out of the habit of eatings salads when I had braces years ago. The greens would get caught in my teeth, which was a bit embarrassing and made it a bit hard to eat.

I almost always have a deficiency of vegetables in my diet. One of the ways I get them if by putting things on a bed of spinach. Today, I went for a spinach salad with steak. I complicated things and expanded cooking time, by using the immersion circulator, but I"ll skip that part until almost everyone has their own way to sous vide. A lot of InstaPots have that attachment, for example..

Ingredients for one serving:

• 3 or 4 handfuls of raw spinach, washed, drained, dry, washed again. If it's adult spinach, tear it a bit. If you have a clamshell package, about half will do.
• 4 oz steak, cooked to your liking (you can serve it warm or cold)
• 3 large mushrooms, sliced (I used crimini, white ones work just fine)
• 5 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 hard-boiled egg
• 2-3 Tablespoons of thinly sliced red onion or shallot
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon of your favorite vinegar. Balsamic doesn't work here, it will overwhelm the bacon. I used a white tarragon vinegar that needed to be used up
• 1 teaspoon mustard. I used dijon.
• Pinch of sugar
• Salt & pepper to taste

Cut/slice/chop your vegetables first. This will make assembly easier. Once that's done, set them aside and start cooking your bacon Move it to paper towels to drain. Reserve one Tablespoon of the bacon fat. Put the bacon and the fat in whatever container you use to make salad dressing (I recommend a glass jar  like one for pasta sauce or wide-mouthed tea bottle).

Cook the steak to your liking (I go for rare). Let rest while you make the dressing.

In your dressing vessel (say that five times fast), add the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper and sugar. If you're using a bowl, whisk thoroughly. If you're using a jar, cover the jar with its lid tightly and shake it for 30-60 seconds. Taste and adjust as needed.

Arrange spinach on a dinner plate. Slice your steak and put it on top of the spinach. You can serve deconstructed (egg, onion, and mushrooms set in little piles on top of the spinach) or add the other ingredients with layers. Or just scatter everything about. Give the dressing another whisk or shake, and pour on the salad. 

I don't make this often, but I really should. It's filling, it's tasty, there are lots of different textures, and it's full of produce. Win all around!

Variations on a Theme: Chipotle Chicken Salad

Hi everyone,

I hope you're coping okay with the stay-at-home and mask restrictions. I've noticed a lot of people these days have been keeping themselves busy in the kitchen. I completely applaud this for a couple reasons. 1) I love it when I can geek out with people who share my hobbies. 2) When the activity you're engaged in uses your senses in a big way, it's therapeutic. Cooking uses all of them.

Now that I see chicken breasts at the store on a regular basis, I've been cooking them a bit more. I make chicken salad because that way when I have the leftovers, I don't even have to worry about heating something up. Here we go

• 2 cooked and chilled chicken breasts (average chicken breast these days is 5-6 ounces), chopped.
• 2 green onions, chopped (I use the white and green parts; if you prefer just the green, use 3)
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano (I will be adjusting this next time I make it)
• 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce from a can, chopped, smooshed, or run through a processor) (look here for other things you can do with the rest of the can). 
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Mayo to taste
• Ripe avocado (if you can find one) cut into chunks for topping

Makes 3 generous main-dish servings. 

I cook chicken breast sous vide these days because it's so easy, at 145 degrees F (62.78 C). However you cook your breasts, I recommend putting them in the fridge for at least a couple hours before you make the salad.

Combine the chicken, onions, oregano, and peppers in a bowl. Stir 3-5 times to spread the adobo sauce around. Use a fork and press down a lot. Now the rest is up to your taste. Me, I don't like tons of may, so I tend to use just enough to hold everything together. You might like a little more because the cooling ability of the mayo will balance the adobo. I might try part mayo part plain yogurt next time. Continue stirring and pressing until the mayo is blended. You're going to get a pinkish orange tint when you're done.

Add salt & pepper to taste, more oregano if you like.

For serving, I went with yet another attempt at arepas, which I still don't have down, also some butter lettuce on the side. I just dropped the salad on the arepa. You could also use warm corn tortillas or the bread of your choice, or even pita chips.

My avocados, alas, were underripe. One of these days I'll be able to ripen them at home properly. I know the best tricks, it's my judgement that's off.

If you try this, please let me know. I'd love some feedback. I was massively happy with it, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to tweak.

Cheers everyone. Stay safe.

Balls revisited.

Back in (holy cat!) 2010, I made a recipe of Greek Meatballs with Feta and Orzo. I got lucky, not only to find meat in this time of hoarding, but to find lamb, which is usually less expensive at this time of year.

I don't now why I waited so long to do this again. It's a fabulous recipe. I did cut the garlic down like I said would. I still didn't get any hint of cinnamon, but there is a warmth to these that I like quite a bit. 

The only other thing I changed was more feta upon serving, because feta.

Hope you're all coping with the various isolation and other Covid 19 precautions. Some of the next few entries will be dependent on what ingredients are either available or in the freezer. 

Since I'm staying home, I'm cooking. Arthichoke and Spinach Pasta

Hi everyone,

It's been a while yes. Many things have happened since I last post. Let me explain. No, that would take too long, let me sum up. My apartment building was purchased and nobody's lease was renewed, so after an exhausting search complicated by issues at work, I grabbed an apartment not far from the United Nations. One of its attractions is there was enough room in the kitchen to handle all my stuff.

Then there was losing the old job (long store, this isn't the place), the stress of finding a new one. Fortunately, I managed to do both of those in the same month, so things could have been a lot worse. The  new place is fabulous.

And now, social distancing due to Covid 19. I'm an introvert most of the time, so being by myself or working from home isn't a hardship. It's also an opportunity.

When I went to the store recently, they were out of meat except for chicken wings and sausage. There was plenty of cheese and vegetables, though, so here's three of my lunches for this week.

Ingredients for 1 pound of pasta:

Pasta Sauce 

• 6 cloves of garlic (alternately, roast a bulb)
• 1.5 cups of minced onion, or a combination of onion and shallot
• 1 14-ounce can of artichoke hearts in water
• 5 oz of spinach
• 4 oz of whipped cream cheese
• 2 cups of milk
• 5 oz fresh spinach
• 6-8 ounches Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese, grated
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt (eliminate if you're using salted butter)
• 1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence 
• zest of one lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper (optional)
• 2 Tablespoons butter

Warm Tomato Salad (side dish)

• 1/2 to 3/4 Cup grape or cherry tomatoes per person
• Olive oil to coat (spray is also good here)
• Salt
• Balsamic vinegar to taste

Drain the artichokes well, then chop them half-inch bits or run them through the electric toy of your choice. Put back in the colander and smush the water out of them. Set aside

Melt the butter on low heat in a sauté pan. Add the raw chopped garlic (if you roasted it, add it after the cream cheese is melted), onions (and shallots if using) and cook, stirring constantly until the onions are translucent. This may take longer than you think, but the idea is to have them mostly melt into the sauce. Low and slow is the way to go here.

Add the cream cheese and let it sit in the pan for a few minutes before it starts to melt. This will be a touch annoying since, but it's mitigated by using the whipped cream cheese instead of a block. Slowly stir in 1 Cup of the milk until everything is of the same consistency.

Add the artichokes, the lemon zest, the herbs, and the salt & pepper. Stir until everything is combined. Slowly add the grated cheese. Taste to see if you'd like more pepper or herbal flavor and adjust accordingly. 

Let simmer. Stir occasionally while you do the below

Side dish time: This sauce is an awful lot of richness, so I put a side together with acid to cut that, and it's pretty easy. Turn the oven on to 425 F. 

Cut your tomatoes in half and arrange them in a glass baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. If you have an olive oil spray, spritz them a couple times and toss in the dish to ensure they're oiled all over. If not, start with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, and stir. Put in the oven,, uncovered, set your timer for 25 minutes.

Back to the sauce. Stir in the other cup of milk until it is incorporated fully. Add your spinach a handful at a time. Once all the spinach has been added, start your pasta water and cook your pasta according to your taste and/or package directions.

I used baby spinach and it took a while to completely wilt and get fully engaged in being part of the sauce. After the timer goes off on the tomatoes, check them. You should be able to smell them, and they should look a little dried and wrinkly. If they still look like you just cut them, put them back in the oven and check them every 5-8 minutes.

When your pasta is ready, drain well and slowly stir into the sauce. Let simmer while you put the tomatoes on a plate and put a little balamic vinegar on them.

Season to taste while eating with black pepper. Or red pepper, if you'd like a little bite.

I only used 8 ounces of pasta so I could play later. After I put aside two dishes' worth for lunches later this week, I still had sauce left over. Plans for this include a package of mushrooms and possibly a quarter pound of pancetta. 

Enjoy!