This past Saturday began innocently enough, but then SO MUCH FOOD ensued LOL. To be fair, though, I had planned SOME of it ahead. I’m trying my best to focus on MINDFUL COOKING as much as possible, especially as we stare down another month of quarantine – using leftovers, saving bits for a whole other meal, freezing scraps for stocks, etc.
The night before, to celebrate 6 weeks of quarantine (SIX weeks! SIX WEEKS!! Who would have even thought?!), I made two Thomas Keller’s MasterClassÂ
F O U R  D A Y   (yep, you read that right) Roast Chicken that I started on the Monday prior. In short, it spends a day brining, then 3 days in the fridge to ‘dry out’, to somehow become the most sultry (See? I didn’t say MOIST!), crispy, decadent roast Chicken you’ve ever had in your life. I made two knowing we’d eat one, I’d have lots of bones for Soup stock, and I’d have enough Chicken + beautifully roasted veg for Chicken Pot Pies for lunch the next day. In freshly made crusts, OF COURSE.Â
The Chicken Pot Pies were A M A Z I N G, and did well to honour our little leftover Chicken bits.
As I was in the Kitchen, I remembered I had some bread that didn’t rise… Still working on a batch of wild-yeast, no knead bread (vs the labour intensive sourdough that it usually works with), so I did a dozen Flatbreads. Oddly they didn’t crisp the same but maybe because I left it too long and it wasn’t quite as dry. Will chat about that ongoing failure later this week LOL!
I can’t remember what I made earlier that needed some crushed tomatoes, but having opening my gigantic Costco jar, I knew I had to finish the Puttanesca Sauce today and get it in the freezer. It’s seriously the easiest thing on the planet as it doesn’t take ANY COOKING AT ALL to prep for the freezer, and tastes delicious when you don’t have a ton of time and have pasta on the go.Â
BULK-for-Freezer Puttanesca Sauce : Find Recipe at bottom of the page!
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Since I was making the Puttanesca in a massive batch anyhow, I separated a bit of the Tuna and made a Flatbread Tuna Spread. AND separated a few of the Olives for a quick blender Tapenade.
TUNA SPREAD
Tuna (drained)
alison kent home kitchen
Celery, minced
Mayonnaise – to taste
Salt/Pepper – to taste
splash Lemon Juice + fine Rind
2 cloves Garlic Confit, mashed
Stir. Taste. Add flavor. Taste. Serve.
Best with Flatbread!
DELICIOUS!!
As was the Tapenade…
NICOISE TAPENADE
Pitted Nicoise Olives
alison kent home kitchen
Sprig of Parsley
Salt/Pepper – to taste
splash Lemon Juice + fine Rind
2 cloves Garlic Confit, mashed
Pulse in Blender. Slow drizzle EVOO just to bind.
OPTIONAL:
Capers
Taste. Add flavor. Taste. Serve.
Coincidentally, ALSO best with Flatbread!
My son made an amazing lemon-onion-tomato white Fish for a snack (as teenage boys do LOL), so he and I ate it with the Tapanade on flatbreads and HELLO was that ever good! I kept feeling like I was lunching in Greece! I’ll have to get him to write that one down for me.
A few ideas, with some planning, sparked into multiple meals, snacks, and sauces for future dinners. Scraps and extras can easily be re-imagined into many meals, creating less waste AND potentially fewer grocery trips! Mindfulness in cooking is a simple as planning ahead. After awhile, you’ll find you are always cooking with mindfulness.
AND, that was it. I spent the rest of the day transplanting my wee seedlings (all 300 or so?!) into the front Gardens. Praying they take and grow into food for the summer!!! 72 of them are Basil, which typically means at least 3 harvests topped off for Pesto for the freezer. Still working on the ‘perfect’ Pesto recipe. It’s tricky in the blender as it overheats the leaves and oil, but I have too much to mortar + pestle, so … I’ll figure it out eventually.
In the meantime, here’s your EASY bulk-for-freezer Puttanesca Pasta Sauce recipe!! ENJOY – and don’t forget to tag me in your Insta-stories if you try them!
BULK-for-Freezer Easy Puttanesca Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 XXL Can of Diced or Crushed Tomatoes (or 1 of each)
- 1 XXL Jar of Pitted Nicoise Olives, Chopped
- 1 4-pack Capers (at Costco they come in a 4-pack)
- 4 tins Anchovies, Rinsed, Chopped
- 1 XXL Can of Tuna (optional), Drained
Instructions
- Stir well in an XXL pot. Put in 'dinner serving' containers (enough for Pasta for 2 or 4 people, as you like). Freeze.
- To defrost, remove from container and steam covered with a few Tbsp's of water
- Stir in your cooked Pasta and ENJOY!!
Notes
Try some of these!
- Add dried herbs to your liking! Thyme and Oregano work well
- Love a lemony kick? Drizzle in lemon juice to taste when you re-heat the sauce for dinner
- Tired of Pasta? Try this sauce on Gnocchi!
- If you have a pressure cooker (not water bath), you can CAN this sauce – making it easier to give away if you make especially large batches
