The Moo Shu of Peace

I had to have Moo Shu. Things would not be peaceful within until I was rolling up a delicious mixture of veggies in a thin wrapper – but I’ve never moo shu’d before and it all looked so complicated. Fortunately I found out that with a little organization making a vegetarian Moo Shu is no more difficult than any other stir fry. The important thing is to do some mindful prep and assembly before beginning to cook.

I've made a convenient shopping list for you to print off and use at the end of the recipe!

Ready to roll up and eat!

The Moo Shu of Peace

Nutrition facts for one Moo Shu Wrap

Ingredients to Assemble

Stir Fry Sauce (a delicious basic sauce for any stir fry, just whisk in a small bowl until all the ingredients are well blended)

½ c vegetable stock, low sodium

2 T soy sauce, low sodium

2 T sesame oil

1 T rice wine vinegar

3 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp honey

Filling Groups to Prep Prior to Stir Fry

Mixture One (whisk in a bowl):

3 eggs

1 t soy sauce, low sodium

1 t sesame oil

Mixture Two (place in bowl):

1 red onion, small, sliced thinly

2 T fresh ginger, grated or finely minced

Mixture Three (in separate bowl):

1 ½ cup shitake mushrooms, rinsed, patted dry and sliced into strips

3 t garlic, minced

Mixture Four (in separate bowl):

4 cups cabbage, rinsed, cored, sliced (about half a large head of cabbage)

2 cups snow peas, rinsed and cut lengthwise in half

2 cups carrots, shredded (I just buy a bag)

2-3 green onions, rinsed, outer peel removed, and sliced

Wok Oil (divided by use):

1 ½ t vegetable oil for use with Mixture One (the egg mixture). You can use peanut oil, vegetable, or grape seed, or any oil labeled for use with a wok. You need an oil that has a very high smoking point. Do not ever try to stir fry in olive oil.

1 ½ t vegetable oil for all other Mixtures

For Serving:

1 jar Hoisin sauce (a most excellent sauce indeed and available anywhere that has an Asian food aisle.)

Lettuce leaves – rinse and pat dry with a tea towel or paper towel. Clean enough so that each tortilla will have a piece of lettuce to fit the tortilla.

20 thin flour tortillas - If you live next to one of those terrific Asian stores like Ranch 99, you can pick up some Moo Shu wrappers from the frozen section. But my Thai friend says that thin fresh made tortillas (like we got from the HEB) are just as delicious.

Wok Directions:

Wokking Made Easy:

Before starting, the great thing to learn about wokking is that you need to keep the food moving. Don’t let it sit ever. That means go to the bathroom now. I’ll wait here….... Good, now we can begin. The wokkery takes about 14 minutes. 

Mixture One:

Heat the wok over medium heat. Add the vegetable oil and swirl in the pan to coat. Give the eggs another whisking and add to the pan. Turn the pan so the egg is thinly spread – lift on the sides and tilt the pan so that egg runs from the top to the side. Cook for about 1-2 minutes or til almost set. Flip (don’t worry about being perfect as you will slice it later) and cook for another minute. Remove to a plate. Wipe out the wok with a paper towel.

Slice the eggs into thin strips.

Return the wok to the stove only this time turn the temperature to high. Not medium high, high heat. When you add ingredients, the temperature will drop. If you begin at medium high, the temp will drop so low that the veggies will not cook quickly and get that lovely crisp tender texture. So, let it get hot – almost, but not quite to the point of smoking oil.

Add the oil and swirl. Hold your hand over the wok – close, but do not touch. Remember, you have the thing on high. You just want to make sure the wok is dratted hot.

Add Mixture Two – the onion and ginger. Use two large wooden spoons as if you are continually folding from the outside in all around the wok. Never stop stirring, if you are concerned about this have someone stir while you put ingredients in the wok. It will take 2-3 minutes for the onions to start to soften. Do not over-cook. It does no good and you’ll only end up with a soggy veggie mess instead of crispy Moo Shu.

Add Mixture Three – the mushroom and garlic and continue with that folding method of stirring for another 3-4 minutes. After about a minute of this you can reduce the heat to medium-high. The mushrooms will start to brown a bit.

Add Mixture Four – the cabbage, snow peas, carrots, and green onions. Continue with the folding sort of stir, but take care as at first that wok is very full. The cabbage will reduce shortly. Keep this up for about two minutes.

Finally, add the Sauce! And you thought I had forgotten the sauce; give it another whisk before adding to the wok. Simmer and stir until the sauce starts to thicken and coat the veggies. This won’t take long, maybe two or three minutes.

Stir the egg strips into the hot veggie mixture.

How do I serve this thing?

Put the wok on the table (on a very good hot pad) – no need to dirty up another bowl. Just use the two wok spoons to serve.

Set out the jar of Hoisin sauce with a spoon and make sure there are spreading knives at each place setting.

Set out a plate of rinsed and paper towel dried leaf lettuces.

Set out the tortillas.

What to do:

Spread a good amount of sauce on the tortilla, top with a section of leaf lettuce big enough to mostly cover the tortilla. The lettuce serves as a means of keeping the sauce from running straight through the tortilla creating a very soggy mess.

Use the two wooden spoons and place a nice row of stir fry mixture on the lettuce. Roll like you would a burrito or a soft taco and enjoy.

Moo Shu is very good left over, so don’t fuss that the recipe makes a lot. Just take a tortilla, lettuce, and a container of Moo Shu with a dollop of Hoisin to work, heat, and eat.

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to print JUST the shopping list, click on the print button, then click to delete all the other sections of the recipe. Then print the list!

SHOPPING LIST FOR VEGGIE MOO SHU

3 t garlic (from a jar is fine)
10 large or 20 small lettuce leaves

4 cups cabbage (pre-shredded is fine)

2 cups snow peas

2 cups carrots (pre-shredded in a bag is fine)

2-3 green onions
1 red onion

2 T fresh ginger

1 ½ cup shitake mushrooms

1 tsp honey
3 eggs

20 thin flour tortillas
½ c vegetable stock, low sodium

1 jar Hoisin sauce
2 T plus 1 t soy sauce, low sodium

2 T plus 1 t sesame oil
3 t vegetable or wok oil (peanut oil, vegetable, or grapeseed)

1 T rice wine vinegar

3 tsp cornstarch

Peace Soup with Farro, White Beans, and Spinach

Each ingredient in this soup deserved to be in the title declaring world peace, but I am not an academic and like my titles short and sweet. Yes, the basil and roasted garlic could easily have graced the title, as nothing is more peaceful than those two coexisting in the same pot. Of course, the tomatoes were a critical element bridging the flavors of basil and garlic and transforming the duo into a glorious aria of deliciousness. Yes, it took each and every one of the ingredients in this dish working together in harmony to create the peace that fell gently around everyone at the kitchen table tonight.

May the entire world one day sit down to a shared meal of peace.

farro

Peace Soup with Farro, White Beans, and Spinach

Nutrition facts

What you need to assemble:

1/2 cup farro

1 1/2 cup water

pinch of salt

2 heads garlic, roasted and peeled

2 T olive oil

1 sweet onion, chopped

3 t garlic powder

4 cups chicken or veggie stock

2 (15 oz) cans organic Great Northern Beans or 1 pound of dried beans picked over, soaked, and rinsed per package directions

2 pounds tomatoes, chopped

3-4 cups packed baby spinach, torn

1 cup fresh basil, torn

freshly cracked black pepper

What you do:

Put the farro, water, and salt in a medium pot, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid. Cook until the water is absorbed - this takes about 20 minutes.

While the farro is cooking, roast the garlic heads. Separate the cloves, but leave them peeled. Put them on a tray (a toaster oven is just fine for this). Do not oil or spray the tray. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F and roast the cloves for about 12-15 minutes - until the peels start to shrivel and brown a bit and the cloves are soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

While the garlic is cooling, start the soup. In a very large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until it is shimmering, add the onion and saute until it is soft and clear. Sprinkle on the garlic powder and stir for a minute. Then add the stock, beans, and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cover. 

Now don't forget to check on the farro. If it is done, add it to the soup!

The garlic should be cool by now. Use a sharp knife and cut off one end of each clove and peel. When they are all peeled, add them, entirely whole, to the soup.

Let all this simmer another 10-15 minutes which is just the right amount of time to tear the cleaned spinach and basil.

Add the torn greenery to the soup and stir well for a minute and smile gently while they reduce in size. Cover and cook for another two minutes.

Serve with a loaf of dense chewy peasant style bread, perhaps a glass of your favorite wine, and enjoy the mindfulness in peace.

With this recipe, I Declare World Peace.

World Peace through Grilled Provolone

Yes, Grilled Provolone. What more noble offering for an unsettled world as it sits down at the communal table to discuss cheese and peace.

My husband returned from a business trip to Argentina and apparently this is a common dish there - but they call it Provoleta. I simply had to have some. But, how on earth do you grill cheese without it just melting all through the grates of the grill? I tooled all over the interwebz in search of methods and recipes. Most of them just looked too dratted hard - lots of admonishments about it being a skill that needs practice, critical timing, predictions about the ruination of many a fine cheese, and all that kind of stuff. One blog said that if you give up, you can put the cheese in a little aluminum pan and "grill" it in that, but then you won't get the nice grill marks. So far, this recipe was not sounding particularly peaceful to prepare. I knew the calories would not be peaceful, but here they are with my best guess for portion and oil consumption.

ready for the grill

Then I saw this video by Food Network's Michael Chiarello. In it, he provided the two missing links - 1) most of the recipes simply used cheese that was cut too thin for the average non-professional cheese griller to handle and 2) you need to finish it in a casserole on the grill. How awesome is that! You get the grill marks, the ooey gooey brie like consistency, the smokey goodness, and you don't decorate the coals with cheese! Peace through cheese was starting to look quite possible.

One nice thing about using the casserole dish after charring the outside was that the marinade stayed in the casserole instead of all going down the grates to the coals. Those of a more slender nature that were not afraid of a little extra olive oil, got to re-dip their cheese and chunks of chewy bread into the seasoned cheese drippings for even more awesome flavor...ok, everyone did that.

Now, my pic to the right below is not the best of pics as we had been eating on it, scraping off the grilled bits, and having fun swirling the cheesy strings all over the top, but you get the idea. I promise to do a better job of getting a snazzy pic next time - one that shows the grill marks and has not been eaten on nor peacefully played with.

And now, your ingredients:

The Cheese!:

Have the deli guy or gal cut you one 2" inch thick slice of the best provolone that they carry - I used a fantastic aged provolone and it was worth every bit of the extra money. At least two hours before you head outside to light the coals, let the cheese sit out on a cutting board uncovered so the outside gets good and dry. According to the video, this helps keep it from immediately turning to runny cheese and melding with your coals.

The Bread:

One loaf Ciabatta bread sliced it in half horizontally and kept at the ready to be grilled.

The Marinade:

1/4 cup good olive oil (double this if you grill two lumps of cheese as I did)
2 heaping teaspoons of granulated garlic or equivalent fresh all smashed and mangled
1/2 t fresh cracked black pepper
2 t fresh oregano, chopped, or 1 t dry
1/2 t hot red pepper flakes (more if you like spicy stuff)
1/4 cup packed fresh chopped parsley or 1 T dry parsley flakes

If the marinade looks too sparsely populated with herbs, you can always add more fresh oregano and parsley.

Remember, seasonings are not exact measurements in a dish like this. If you love one thing more than the other please feel free to change them up. This recipe does give you a great start though.

What you do next:

Light the coals - concentrate the coals because you want them to be very hot.

Rub the marinade all over the provolone slices, pressing the seasonings in a tad so they stick a bit. Set the cheese in the casserole to sit and await its turn on the coals. If there's extra marinade, just pour it on the top unless you are persnickety about fat, but then if you are that way you are not likely to be reading this far so, just pour the extra oil over the cheese in the casserole dish.

While you are waiting for the coals to be ready, open a nice bottle of Malbec wine. It's the perfect Argentinian wine pairing for the cheese. Go ahead and have a glass so you can get that peaceful feeling started.

When the grill is hot, remove the grates, spray them with Pam, and return it to its position over the coals.

Now, this is the tricky part. Using long tongs, place the cheese on top of the grill. It only takes a minute or two to sear the outside. The cheese will start to melt a little, so don't let it sit long. Quickly turn it only one time and cook another minute or two in order to char that side. Precise timing is impossible for me to say because it all depends on the temperature of your coals. Just do not get sidetracked or go inside to answer the phone or anything.

Then put the cheese in the casserole that it had been sitting in before and place that on the grill uncovered. Cover the grates with the lid from the grill. After about 3 minutes, open the lid and put the bread on the grill, cut side down. Grill for a couple minutes with the lid back on. Flip the bread and grill the other side. Remove both the cheese and bread and serve. If the cheese looks too melty before the bread is done, remove it. Ours turned out sort of like the provolone version of hot brie and I thought it was perfect. It would still be good either over done or under done. It's also awesome the next day toasted on bread for sandwiches.

Serve it to your friends at a casual table with several spoons or knives handy so everyone can scoop or slice cheese as they wish and spread it on the bread (just tear off hunks of that). Season the atmosphere with some more Malbec.

Now sit back and listen to the absolutely peace-filled sounds of friends eating together. It is with great pride and pleasure that I Declare World Peace.

The Gnocchi of Peace

It's time to gather everyone from all across this beautiful Earth for a communal meal that is peaceful, wholesome, and delicious. Pull up a chair and join me in some good food, a nice chat... and may I pour you a glass of wine? Yes, it's red. I know, most people pair a white wine with a meal like this and if I had a Frascati chilling in the fridge, I might serve that. But this Ruvei Barbera d'Alba is so wonderful... and besides, the red kind is my favorite.

What's a gnocchi and why would it be peaceful? Gnocchi is a little dumpling made of potato and semolina flour.  They can be boiled or pan fried very quickly so they are perfect for a peaceful cookery conclusion to a wonderful day - even to a work day. I purchased pre-made gnocchi - sweet potato and whole wheat gnocchi! Lovely flavor, do try them.

As this is a quick recipe to make, it's a good idea to get all your prep done first. Far less stressful that way. You also have the time to enjoy company while you cook so you don't get all frazzled once you realize you forgot the garlic.

Frazzled people are not peaceful, so let’s cook up some peace.

The Gnocchi of Peace

Things you will need:

1 1/2 pounds or more of broccoli crowns

2 large garlic cloves

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes

1 t hot red pepper flakes

2 T olive oil1 pound whole wheat gnocchi

Parmesan to taste or omit the Parmesan and make it Vegan!

How to Prep and Assemble the ingredients in lovely bowls and containers all smartly lined up on the counter in order of appearance:

Set your bottle of olive oil and gnocchi on the counter next to the stove.

While you are at it, you may as well make sure there's some good fresh Romano or Parmesan in your cheese grater. I do hope you have one of those nice little hand held cheese graters for use at the table. There is nothing like freshly ground cheese to finish a dish nicely.

Cut the stems off the broccoli close to the crowns. You can save these for another use or you may peel, slice, and use them in the dish. Separate the pretty little crowns of the broccoli so that you have them all nicely down to a manageable bite assuming the bite will also contain a gnocchi. Put the broccoli in a colander and gently rinse. Just let it hang there in the colander until its presence is required in the cookery directions below.

Slice the garlic or run it through a press if you prefer. It all depends on how you enjoy your garlic. Allow it to sit exposed to air while you prepare the sun dried tomatoes... The World's Healthiest Foods says that the chemical reaction when the garlic juices are exposed to air enhances certain nutritional elements. I have no idea if it works, but my scientist family says it makes sense so I do it.

Rough chop the sun dried tomatoes and place them in a small bowl.

Measure the hot red pepper flakes and pour them on the tomatoes. If you want, you can put the garlic on top. It can finish it's magical chemical reaction right there. Put the seasoning bowl next to the gnocchi package.

You might as well set the table now and open the wine to breathe.

How to finish the meal:

Put the broccoli in a 2 quart casserole with about a cup or so of water and nuke for 5 minutes if you have a new fangled fast microwave and 8 minutes if your microwave is 25 years old like mine and rather slowish. Let it sit covered while you start the gnocchi. If you are anti-microwave, no worries. Just boil or steam the broccoli for about 5-6 minutes and drain - make sure you reserve at least a cup of the boiling water.

While the broccoli is cooking, pour about 2 T of olive oil in a skillet and heat the pan over medium until the oil just starts to shimmer. It's so pretty when it does that. Add the gnocchi and saute until they soften and brown. Let them sit a few minutes between stirs because that will help them to brown. They really don't take long to cook. They will soften and plump just a bit.

While the gnocchi finishes browning, put the colander over a small bowl and drain the broccoli, saving the cooking water for later - in fact, just go ahead and put the cooking water by the stove so you don't forget about it.

When the gnocchi are pretty and lightly browned, add the sun dried tomatoes, garlic, and hot pepper flakes. Saute for a couple minutes. Then add the broccoli and continue to stir. Add about 1/2 a cup of the water and keep a stirring. Keep this up until the dish is nice and hot throughout. Add water as you need to.

Place in a serving bowl and enjoy with a twist of Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.

This is not a "juicy" dish. Nor a complex one. If you would like it to be more moist, as if there were a sauce, add more cookery water from the broccoli and allow it to cook a bit more. It would probably be ok with some chopped fresh tomatoes which you could put in with the broccoli.

To complete this meal, make a salad of mixed leaf lettuces with either sweet red pepper or tomatoes.

If you want to make your very own gnocchi, let Benny the Chef show you how with his cookery book.

You can over garlic this dish. I did. I used four large cloves of garlic and they overwhelmed the other subtle flavors. Two large cloves or 3 smaller ones will be fine.

With this wonderful recipe, I Declare World Peace. Enjoy, mindfully... would you like another glass of wine?

Peaceful Green Bean and Potato Soup

I love soup almost as much as I love Declaring World Peace. I do have a day job though and don't have all day to let pots of soup simmer about on my stove. So fast is the name of the game whenever possible. With this soup, you can go home, chop up stuff for 10 minutes, do a quick saute, and let the stuff simmer just until everyone is home and ready for dinner. If you are interested in nutrition facts, I ran this soup through the analyzer here.

Peaceful Green Bean and Potato Soup is awesome when served with a crusty rustic bit of French bread... maybe spread with a nice bit of Brie...

What's in there:

2 T olive oil, use pure olive oil not extra virgin as nasty things happen to extra virgin olive oil when it is over heated (or use 2 T butter if you prefer, either will work)

1 onion, use your fave - yellow, white, red, or sweet and the size depends on how much you love onion.

2 celery stalks, chopped - do not throw away the leaves. If your stalks do not have leaves then get leaves from the other stalks. Leaves are critical to making an awesome soup.

5 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced

8 cups salt free chicken stock - if you don't have some good homemade stock, use Kitchen Basics no salt

1 pound of red potatoes - leave the nutritious peels on, just rinse well and chop (remember it's for soup so don't make the pieces too big).

24 oz frozen cut green beans - you can use fresh if you know it's fresh. Check the beans. If they do not snap, they have been sitting about languishing on the grocer's shelves and much of their nutrition has simply vanished. Frozen veggies and fruits are just fine and as most are frozen immediately upon picking actually contain more nutrition than dubious fresh. Now, in a perfect world, you went out into your own organic garden and picked the beans this afternoon. *sighs and remembers times of gardens past*

1/4 cup fresh parsley picked from your very own pot of parsley, chopped

1 t tarragon, dried - or use fresh if you have a nice herb garden and start with maybe 1 1/2 Tablespoons of fresh herb. Remember, when I give you the measurements for spices and such, I am giving you starting amounts. The real amount may be larger as spices are totally to taste. If you are new to tarragon - use about half a teaspoon and add more later if you like it. Let it simmer a bit first before tasting and deciding.

1/2 t white pepper (trust me, it's better with tarragon than black pepper)

a few shakes of Tabasco sauce... or a bunch of shakes once you've tasted it and are adjusting the seasonings

maybe some salt if you just have to but really, do you have to? What did your doctor say about that blood pressure last time? This is why I often use Tabasco in place of straight up salt. There's only a pinch of salt in it and the peppers accent the flavors just like salt. A few shakes will not make it hot.

Easy Assembly Instructions:

Always prep your ingredients. Slice, dice, measure, and put all the ingredients together in nice little containers all lined up in order of appearance. Then, when you start cooking you don't have to worry about what you are forgetting. You don't have to madly rush about chopping the garlic which you totally forgot and is added so early on in the process. This is a most peaceful and mindful way to cook. As an added benefit he enjoyment factor is ramped up because you can pretend you are a famous television chef and that your many obsequious sous chefs have done all the work for you.

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat and saute the onion until it is clear and starting to brown up a bit. Add the celery and cook oh, another five minutes or so. Sauteing really brings out the flavors so do it. No cutting corners and just dumping the veggies in. Add the garlic and saute for another two minutes.

Add the stock, potatoes, green beans, parsley, tarragon, white pepper, and Tabasco. Bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer covered until the potatoes and beans are well cooked. 15 minutes should do, but it won't hurt it if it cooks longer. Taste and adjust the seasonings. You may want to experiment with adding other herbs such as Herbes de Provence or thyme.

With this soup, I Declare World Peace. Enjoy in the most mindful way possible.

Peace in Greece Pasta

We had pasta in the pantry. But, we have also had a lot of Italian meals of late. I skimmed my cookery books, searched the internet, and went through my somewhat but not quite orderly files, and not a one said "You must make me just like this." However a bunch of recipes said, "Oh look! Why don't you use this or that from this idea?" Others said "well, I'd be much better if you only added these things and took out that thing." They were starting to cause quite a ruckus and I was not about to allow the violence to escalate. So, I decided it was time, once more, to Declare World Peace with Pasta. I let all of the nice recipes contribute a little something, added some ideas of my own, and ended up with Peace in Greece, a not at all authentic Greek recipe - but a delicious one.

a mountain of yumminess

Peace in Greece Pasta

This peace filled recipe is dedicated to a fellow Peace Blogger that passed away today (January 29, 2012): Sarge Charlie was a retired Army man that understood the importance of peace.

Ingredients mindfully chosen and applied with great thought and gentleness:

1 pound whole wheat pasta

4 T olive oil

about 1 1/2 pints of cherry tomatoes, rinse and slice them in half - you can use more if you like, but this amount worked well. When you put them in the bowl, make sure that you include every bit of liquid.

garlic - usually I use fresh, but this time I had a jar of chopped garlic in the pantry so I used it. Because the jarred garlic is not as strong as fresh, I put in three very large scoops using a teaspoon (the eating kind, not the measuring kind and I do mean mounded scoops). I would suspect that an equivalent amount of fresh garlic would be four large crushed cloves - at a minimum, but then our family adores garlic.

a goodly splash of white wine - about 1/3 cup. Please use a decent wine, you can then serve it with the meal.

1 t Greek or Mediterranean Oregano - or 2 t of fresh.

1/2 - 1 t crushed red pepper, to your tastes. If you are not a heat person, do still add about 1/4 t of it anyway, trust me.

a number of twists (I think I counted to 8 or 10) of fresh cracked black pepper.

about 1/4 t of nutmeg

1 cup fresh rinsed and torn basil - I wondered afterward if more would have been good, and will let you know the next time I make it.

6 oz crumbled Feta, plus more at the table. I bought a 12 oz container, used half and we probably added 2/3 of the rest at the table.

with olives, why I will never know, but they liked it.

Now, the husband and son added black Greek olives to their portions. No accounting for taste, but I am sure there are a few of you odd olive eating people out there so I did want to let you know that you could do that. They loved it. To the left is a pic of what their plates looked like. Notice how it does not look quite as attractive as my plate did. No, I did not go out of my way to take an unattractive pic, it's the olives.

How I put together a Pasta Worthy of World Peace:

I filled my great large pasta pot with water and a little salt and heated it to a boil - do please use cold water and never hot from the faucet. The reason for this is that there are things like rust and unspeakable sediments that accumulate in water heaters. These particles are delivered to your cookery pot mixed with the hot water after the heater agitates itself to do your bidding. You do not want to add rust or the other things to your dinner, and can avoid it by using cold water.

I cooked the pasta to a nice al dente and drained it in the colander where it would sit waiting patiently and peacefully while I made the sauce.

Then I added the olive oil to the same pot - no rinsing or anything, I just added the oil and returned it to the burner now set on medium high. I sauteed the garlic in that for about a minute. You just want to release the garlic's lovely aroma and not burn or over cook it. Then I poured in the tomatoes and their juices - it may look like not enough liquid, but it is. Stir a bit.

After this began to boil, I added the white wine and all seasonings except the basil. It boiled happily for only a couple minutes. Then I added the drained pasta to the pot and began to stir. I had to use a spoon and my pasta grabber to do this - needed both to plate it too. Once this was done, I added the basil and stirred it up again. Finally, I added the feta and stirred... all the while the pot was over that medium high heat.

By now the pasta had reheated nicely and the sauce was thickened a bit from the melty feta. This is a good time to give it a taste and make any adjustments you need to make it yours. Remember, that a recipe is just a template. You need to bring your own views and opinions to the structure.

As you can see, I don't add salt (except for the water), as the Feta has a sufficiently salty presence. You may be used to salt though and will want a bit. Please take the dish to this point and taste first - never ever just add salt because you always do, ok? Much more peaceful to learn to love the flavors of food without all the salt that only leads to high blood pressure and then to arguments and then to war.

It is with great mindfulness, that I Declare World Peace with this offering of Peace in Greece Pasta. Enjoy.

Recipe also posted at The Peaceful Palate.

Peace and Pappardelle

Any day that promotes peace should include a peaceful offering at the table. On this most excellent day (November 4, 2011), when bloggers world wide are writing BlogBlasts for Peace, it struck me that if the entire world could sit down together and enjoy a purposefully mindful and peaceful meal, world peace could be achieved in one evening. Mindful and peacefully prepared, served, and consumed food is a balm for mind and soul, so today, I will prepare Peace and Pappardelle. Please join me and serve a peace-filled meal tonight.

Pappardelle is perfect because its luscious wide ribbons offer a comforting texture with a substantial and satisfying presence on the plate. Fresh tomatoes - carefully peeled and hand crushed (with apologies and thanks to the plant) - will be combined with handfuls of fresh basil and parsley from my garden along with excellent thin ribbons of zucchini, a few cloves of garlic, red pepper flakes, and thin slices of either leek or onion gently sauteed in pure olive oil. The warm mountain of healthy goodness will be liberally sprinkled with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

I declare world peace with my offering of Peace and Pappardelle.

If you are interested in nutrition facts, I've set them here.

8 oz pappardelle 

1-2 T pure olive oil

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup chopped onion (or 1/4 cup chopped leek)

2 medium zucchini

4 cloves garlic

2 1/2 cups hand crushed tomatoes (peeled or not as is your preference)

1 handful fresh basil (approximately 1/4 cup but this is really to taste, I like a mix of regular and purple basil)

1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves do not pack (or to taste)
black pepper to taste

freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

I like to prep all the ingredients before beginning to cook. This is mindful in so many ways. I don't forget to add a critical ingredient, I don't have to put things on hold while I quickly and thoughtlessly chop that parsley, nor do I have to try to do too many steps simultaneously.

Make lovely long thin ribbons of zucchini and place them in a bowl - cut them as thin as you can or use a mandolin (I don't have a mandolin and will just use my best knife and pay particularly mindful attention so I do not slice me which would not further the peace).

Mince the garlic, chop the onion or leek, and prepare the tomatoes (you could use a couple cans of crushed or chopped tomatoes if you prefer). Place all in their very own little bowls. Harvest, rinse, and chop the parsley and basil. I like to leave the basil pieces a little larger than the parsley and usually just tear the leaves into two or three pieces. These can be mixed together in the same bowl. Save a few whole basil leaves to use as a garnish for each plate.

Once you have the ingredient preparation completed, fill a large pot with water and set it to boil - yes I do that separately from the chopping as that removes all pressure and allows me to be mindful as I chop.

While waiting for the water to boil, heat the olive oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. When the oil thins and shimmers, add the onions and crushed red pepper flakes. Saute, stirring every once in a while until the onion softens. Add the zucchini and saute another three minutes. Then add the garlic and saute one minute. Add the crushed tomatoes and simmer until the pasta is ready to cook. Turn off the heat and stir in the fresh basil and parsley and allow to sit. Taste after a minute or so and adjust seasonings.

When the water comes to a boil, add the pappardelle and boil only just until it is firm to the tooth (al dente) according to package directions. Drain the pasta, add the tomato sauce, and toss peacefully.

Plate and top with a few whole basil leaves. Very mindful with a good Chianti and pretty salad. Crusty chewy bread is also an excellent addition for those that have no need to be mindful of waistlines.

You may want to add a splash of red wine or a tsp or two of brown sugar if your tomatoes are acidic or if you've used canned tomatoes. Salt and pepper are always optional. I often use pepper, but never salt and some of you will need it. Those that like more of a kick from the crushed red pepper may want to add more at the table with the cheese like I did.

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