Food Maker, Chef, and Traveling Diner
One 100 degree afternoon, the three Fujitaki children decided that it’s been long overdue that we have lunch. I’m very lucky to be close to my brother and sister— I love them very much, even if we want to kill each other sometimes. We decided …
Two Saturdays ago, Brandon and I were lucky enough to get out for a date, which never happens because he never has Saturday off. When you date a chef you’re pretty much condemned to mid-week meals with one another, if you’re lucky,which isn’t so bad …
I love food. It’s something that always makes me happy, challenges me, enlightens my senses, creates a sense of joy, and never ceases to carry my interest for more. And as you can see, I’m happily immersed in it most of the time. Lately, my time has shifted—I’ve taken on other ideas, other relationships, and opened myself up to a ton of new possibilities. I’m in my second week of Intensive Yoga Immersion at Rising Lotus Yoga to become a Yoga Teacher, but I find myself a student of more than I could possibly have imagined. I’m open to the experience and I don’t know what will come, so all I can do is keep an open mind, be honest, and show myself a little compassion along the way. I hope everyone can approach life with this sort of childish delight. I feel similarly like I did when I enrolled in culinary school; it’s a whole new world and one I know will be life changing. Balancing yoga, life, family, love, cooking, friends and everything else is still something I’m getting used to and will always be adjusting and learning from. Recently, I’ve learned it’s not easy realigning almost 27 years of thoughts, habits and patterns I never even knew I had. As I write here, I want to share of some of the actions I’ve taken in my own cooking and when cooking with others, to keep myself aligned in my own way.
Whole Chicken two ways Left Pomelo and Garlic Grilled Chicken Right Butter, Herbs and Bacon Oven Roasted Chicken center Creamed Spinach and Roasted Herb Potatoes with a Herb Brandy Cream Sauce
Shrimp and Broccolini Yaki Soba
Mixed Vegetable Stir Fry with Sliced Rib Eye Steak
Baby Mixed Greens with Fire Roasted Red Peppers, Tangerine Segments and Crumbled Bacon with White Balsamic Dressing
Grilled Crostini, Roasted Pearl Onions, Grilled Asparagus and Roasted Mushrooms
Sometimes living deliciously in devilish decadence is just necessary.
Cheers
-Unrivaledkitch
On New Year’s Eve, as young girl I would sit in front of the T.V. and watch Japanese television. I didn’t know what the heck was going on, but every year since I can remember when I was little, we watched this same show. I …
Shattered Cauliflower Farfalle with kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes and spicy garlic rosemary olive oil
Shattered cauliflower is just boiled cauliflower till it melts off of its stems. I kinda wack it with the back of the knife and it shattered into small pieces. I love names for food.
I love this pasta I made it when I came home from yoga, glanced around the fridge and decided that salad just wasn’t going to do. The oil that goes in this pasta I had on hand because I use it as a very beautiful dip for fresh bread or brush over crostini which has gotten good feedback so you should use it as well.
This is Vegetarian and can be made vegan if you’d like by just not adding cheese at the end.
I love simple pastas such as these which are not heavy and loaded with sauce because honestly I could eat pasta boiled perfectly al dente with some extra virgin olive oil and cracked black pepper and rock salt for the rest of my life. I’m forever a pasta lover, I really believe I always have been but it’s something I cook naturally and it comes out wonderful.
I’ve made 100’s of pasta dishes I’ll make a million more in my life time. Pasta station at the restaurant was and forever will be my home. Countless water burns and sauce splashes, I miss those times.
This pasta can be made with short or long noodles whichever you prefer. I like farfalle in this because it makes the dish look elegant. I called it shattered cauliflower because I like this pasta to have the cauliflower a little softer then the way I normally eat my vegetables because it kind of melts into the oil and gives it a little sauce. You are more than welcome to cook the cauliflower less or to your liking.
Shattered cauliflower farfalle with kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes and spicy garlic rosemary olive oil
Ingredients
½ lb of pasta
¼ to 1/2 head of cauliflower
1/4 cup of sun dried tomatoes
About 12- 15 pitted kalamata olives smashed or chopped
6 leaves of basil
2 -3 tablespoons of spicy oil with the garlic and chili flakes
3 tablespoons of pasta water
In a medium sized pot add water and salt to taste bring to a boil
Cut ¼ head to ½ depending on the size of the cauliflower off of the large stems, rinse with water till clean and place inside the boiling water
When it reaches your preferred doneness take out from water reserving water in pot and place cauliflower on paper towel hit it with the back of the knife to break it into small pieces then let dry
Add more water to the pot and bring back to a boil adjust water and use this for boiling the pasta
Cook your pasta as directed for the shape you’d like
To prepare spicy garlic rosemary olive oil
This oil is more than is necessary for the recipe so you can have extra for bread or just store in a jar with lid and can be used for up to a couple of days.
In a small sauce pan place about ¼ cup of good extra virgin olive oil
Add teaspoon of black pepper
1 pinch of salt
1 ½ teaspoons of red chili flake changed on your preference of heat
1 spring of rosemary leaves taken from the stem and minced
2 cloves of garlic sliced
Put oil on very low and add all the ingredients to oil
Heat till oil become fragrant and infused with spice, herbs, and garlic
When oil is done
Take about ½ of it and place it at the bottom of a small sauce pan
Smash pieces of the cauliflower so they become small and then put them in the pan
Sautee till coated with oil and seasoning
Add sundried tomatoes, kalmata olives and chopped basil to the mixture cook till everything is heated through
Then use some of your boiled pasta water about 3 tablespoons to create a little sauce with the cauliflower
Taste for seasoning and adjust black pepper and salt
Toss your pasta in with the cauliflower mixture
If you find it a little dry add a combination of oil and pasta water to create a little more sauce if you’d like
Put on a plate and top with cracked pepper and little Parmesan cheese and basil
Things to remember: Pasta is very much about how you cook the noodles, so make sure you keep an eye on it and know how to make pasta the way you like it. Also this doesn’t have a lot of sauce you’re getting a lot of flavor from the oil and the olives and tomatoes but make sure you season things in stages, don’t add too much salt in the beginning because you have the olives in the dish.
Pastas like this you have to have very good olive oil to make so please look into that and I hope you enjoy it.
Variations:
This can be done also by taking the vegetables and just putting them in a bowl marinating the cauliflower in the oil over night. The next day cook the pasta quickly and toss it all together. I would also add fresh arugula a squeeze of lemon at the end and make it into a salad. Fried capers would be good too.
Cheers
Unrivaledkitch
Twitter and Foodbuzz
So tomorrow is the big day for the Online bake sale to aid Japan
The preview with pretty much everything to bid on thetomatotart.com
Bid Bid Bid
Check out the other bloggers and biding tomorrow will start at 6am eastern time
