Succulent Squash Pasta Toss

I must once again thank my friend Leni for the influx of magazines. Recently BAMBI came home with 4 or 5 different magazines, and then proceeded to methodically start looking through them for recipes she wanted me to make for her. I am not sure how many she has earmarked for me, but I am sure that it will take me quite a few weeks to get through everything. I don't think I can manage a new recipe every day, and I also still need to produce meals that my kids will eat. Today's dinner recipe came from the July issue of "Cooking Light" magazine.

This Basil Squash and Tomato pasta toss was bright, full of flavor, and easy to make. I was even able to convince my oldest son to help me with some of the prep work on the dish, though I think the big attraction to that was him being allowed to hold one of my sharp knives. I will say that he did a reasonable job cutting up my summer squash for me, and stayed very safe while holding my 6" utility knife. I WAS hoping that by enlisting his help with the cutting of the ingredients I would be able to get him to taste the finished dish. While he did eat most of it, he still stayed well away from pretty much anything that was not pasta.

The thing that really made this dish good - for me - was the parmesan cheese. I normally think of parmesan cheese in something really heavy, like on a big pile of pasta with red sauce, in an alfredo with shrimp, or - perhaps my personal favorite - melted in a mushroom risotto. The thing about all of these dishes is that they are really heavy, wintry dishes. I was expecting a dish with as much parmesan as was called for to be a lot heaver than this was. The sauce was fresh and airy, the cheese added the right amount of umami to the dish, and the rest of the ingredients were light as a feather mixed in with the pasta. I will say that I used a whole box (12 ounces) of rotini pasta - rather than the 8oz that was called for in the recipe, so I used a little bit more cooking liquid and a little bit more parmesan than was in the recipe, but it all worked out well in the end.

Basil squash and tomato pasta toss paired very nicely with a shandy. 

So this was tonight's dinner - keep an eye out for more magazine-inspired dinner menus in the weeks to come. I am sure this meal will not be the last one from this latest batch of magazines. Where do you get your inspiration for new dinners? Blogs? Websites? Email newsletters from recipe sites? Let me know how you find new meals in the comments below or on Facebook!

A quick tip for using onions

In my endeavors to try to have more cold or room temperature meals this time of year, I eventually run across recipes which use raw onion. It is great in a coleslaw, in a black bean salad, or in a cold veggie salad, but the strong taste is definitely not for everyone. Some people love it, others abhor it, but there is definitely a way to make (mostly) everyone happy.

Firstly, a note about cutting onions. If you just glance at an onion, you might think that chopping across the circles is the best way to cut an onion, but if you look a little closer you will see that the structure of the onion actually runs top to bottom. This means that cutting across the belly of the onion is actually cutting "against the grain" and will release more liquid, which will result in more tears. The best way to cut slivers of onion is to chop off the top and bottom of the root, and then cut lengthwise from one side of the onion to the other keeping your knife parallel to the grain of the onion. This will release less moisture, and result in less tears. If you really like to get those nice round circles, you are just going to have try my next tip for dealing with raw onions.

Another tip for serving raw onion is to give it a soak before serving it. Once you have it cut however you want it, give it a quick soak in some warm water for about 5-10 minutes. Giving it the warm water bath will pull out some of the sulfur-containing compounds that irritate the eye and the palate, and give a milder and less acidic taste.

Do you have any other tips for dealing with these veggies? Share in the comments below or on Facebook!

One lucky DUDE

If I haven't said it before, I will say it now. I am one lucky DUDE.

Today is Fathers Day, and apart from being tucked inside one more INSANE weekend it is the day we recognize Dads all over for their contributions to our lives. These days more and more Dads are taking over the reins at home and joining the ranks of the stay at home dad, and for many of these Dads - like me - it is a conscious choice. A choice to be more involved in our children's upbringing, to experience more of those little moments of joy, and to help run the family home. I will never claim that I am perfect, but a work in progress - just like my children - and we are figuring out how to be better people and work together as a family more and more each day.

So today for Father's day, I got one of my recent dreams to come true. I am now the proud owner of a knife roll. I have often been over at a friend's house or somewhere else and really wished that I had brought one of my own knives. A good sharp knife is a cook's best friend, but unfortunately many people don't pay as much attention to these tools as they should, and I have found myself trying to cut tomatoes with a dull knife. Apart from not working very well, this is rather dangerous as well. Dull knives are more likely to slip and cut the user as a sharp knife, and the extra force required to actually make the cuts can be damaging to the food and reduce the quality of the meal you are preparing.

My new knife roll!

This knife roll will let me bring along a wide assortment of knives with me - enough to be prepared for any task set in front of me. Whether it be dicing an onion, cutting a chiffonade of basil, or cutting up the thanksgiving turkey, I will be ready with a good sharp knife.

Knife roll - with the knife flap closed. 

One of my favorite things about the knife roll is that - with the flap closed to keep the knives secure - there are several additional pockets for cards, pens, pencils, and a few other assorted items. I plan to procure a few good quality whetstones and keep them in here. Another thing that I received were the colored knife guards - which are essential for safety when storing and transporting knives in a roll such as this. I did already have a few knives that came with guards, and those are the knives in the black guards. All in all here is what is in my kit:

• 8" Chef
• 8" Santoku 
• 8" Slicer
• 6" Utility
• 5" Santoku
• 5" Utility
• 3.5" Paring

Once again I am a very lucky DUDE, and if you ever want me to come hang out and cook with you, just let me know. Have knife roll - will cook!