Stress and fear appear in
disguises; they slink into your life, and as Chef Emeril Lagasse would say, as he
spices up a recipe, “Bam!!!” they destroy you.
I have to admit that I don’t like his recipes much; just seem to have
too many ingredients and steps to the final result. Very rarely do any of my personal recipes
have many ingredients and/or steps, and that’s mainly due to my own lack of
patience. Actually, I’m much better at
being patient than in earlier days, and that has attributed to helping to bring
my stress level down. Take a deep breath
and count to ten, or more if needed; smile and nod; imagine yourself in a
happier, quieter place…yes, these techniques all work a lot better now. Not perfect, just better.
In cooking, I have, more
and more, turned away from using premade, packaged meals; and found easier,
tastier ways to make them from scratch.
Better for health to get away from all those preservatives and
additives, and lots better for the ego, “Hey, look what I made!” Yes, better seems to be the catch word
for now; not perfect, just better. Some
recipes, that started out as just a side dish, found their way to becoming a
meal of their own. Just an additional
ingredient here or there, or different technique; nothing long drawn, seems to
make the difference.
A favorite pasta of mine
is Tortellini; little pasta rings filled with cheese, spinach, chicken, just
about anything nowadays; the larger version is referred to as Tortelloni. It comes dried, frozen, and fresh; packages
small enough to take up very little storage space in the freezer or
pantry. This pasta can be served with
virtually any type of sauce, in soups, salads, as a side dish, or a main meal;
you can’t go wrong with it. If you
haven’t tried it yet, give yourself a little taste adventure; play with
ingredients to add with it. Have fun
playing in the kitchen, create something unique, smile and see how much better
you feel. Not perfect, just better…for
now.
Ingredients:
1 (16 oz.) package
tortellini
½ cup olive oil2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. dried Italian herb mix
4 Tbsp. Vidalia sweet onion relish (jarred or fresh made)
Preparation:
Cook tortellini according
to package directions.
Place cooked tortellini
into large bowl; add remaining ingredients and mix together gently so as to not
break up the pasta.
Makes 4-6 servings; can be
served warm or cold.
Or, for the more adventurous:
Tortellini Salad
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
½ lb. asparagus spears,
trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces½ cup mushrooms, chopped
2 Tbsp. (packed in oil) sundried tomatoes, diced
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. fresh marjoram (if not available, use dried)
Dash each of sea salt and ground black pepper
1 lb. tortellini, cooked
Preparation:
In a large skillet, heat
oil on high; sauté asparagus spears, mushrooms and tomatoes for 7 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add in vinegar and
garlic; let simmer for 5 minutes.
Add in marjoram, salt,
pepper and tortellini; toss gently to coat and remove to serving dish.
Makes 4-6 servings; can be
served warm or cold.
Mary Cokenour
