Canned eats

Photograph by Evan Sung for the New York Times

The Minimalist, as Mark Bittman is known in the New York Times, cooked out of his pantry this week, and his creation shows just how necessary a well-stocked pantry is for those times that you just can't go out to shop.

But why do all recipes have to serve 4-6 people? This one is easy to cut down for two or three people, and can serve four who are watching their weight, or who like big salads with their dinner.

Pasta With Sardines, Bread Crumbs and Capers
serves 2-4

Ingredients
Salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup bread crumbs, ideally made from stale bread
1/2 onion, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound long pasta
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon drained capers
1 cans sardines packed in extra virgin olive oil (about 4 ounces)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish.

Instructions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Put half the oil (1 tablespoon) in a medium skillet over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant, less than 5 minutes, and then remove. (Wipe out the pan so you don't get burned crumbs for the next step.) Add the remaining oil and the onion to the pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until just tender; drain, reserving some of the cooking liquid. Turn the heat under the onions to medium-high and add the lemon zest, capers and sardines; cook, stirring occasionally, until just heated through, about 2 minutes.

Add the pasta to the sardine mixture and toss well to combine. Add the parsley, most of the bread crumbs and some reserved water, if necessary, to moisten. Taste and adjust seasoning, garnishing with more parsley and bread crumbs.

14 carrot gold salad

Roasted carrots are a true winter comfort food, but as spring rolls around, raw rules.

If you or a loved one don't particularly like the taste of raw carrots, here's a salad that practically shouts "Spring!" because it's so fresh tasting and easy to put together.

Spring carrot salad
Serves 12

Ingredients
14 medium carrots (don't use baby carrots; they will make the salad too wet)
1 cup loose flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 shallots

3 lemons

6 tablespoons rice vinegar
Kosher salt
1 cup olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
Peel carrots, cut off tops, and shred finely. Mince parsley. Mix together in a medium bowl and set aside.
Finely mince the shallots. Juice the lemons and put the juice in a small bowl or 16-ounce jar. Add a little salt, the shallots and the vinegar, and set aside for 15 minutes. Add the oil to the liquids, and mix well. Pour over the carrot/parsley mixure and toss well. Refrigerate until serving, and toss again before plating.

Taco Bell rings in India

When I saw the item that Taco Bell had opened its first store in Bangalore earlier this month, I was wondering how a chain so dependent on ground beef was going to be able to make it in India, where cows are revered, not eaten.

But according to their press release, half of the menu at the Bangalore Taco Bell consists of vegetarian products crafted specially for Indian consumers. Items include crunchy potato tacos and burritos made with potatoes and paneer, a fresh, unripened cheese used to add protein to a wide range of Indian foods. The remainder of the menu is composed of spicier versions of Taco Bell’s signature foods, such as nachos, quesadillas and Crunchwraps.

I quit eating at Taco Bell shortly after working there in the late '70s, disgusted with having to ladle meat from the pans of ground beef swimming in grease into tacos, then topping them with a cheese-like product.

Heck, with options like the ones to be offered in India, I might reconsider my aversion.

Shiner light on me

Today is National Bock Day, a day to celebrate bock beer. And, not to go all Texan on you but just to brag a little, Shiner Bock was, before microbrews took hold, the best beer to come out of that state.

It's still really good, and I still haven't tasted any other beer from the Spoetzl brewery that tastes as good.

According to Wikipedia,

Spoetzl was founded in 1909, and claims to be the oldest independent brewery in Texas. A group of businessmen incorporated Shiner Brewing Association and placed Herman Weiss in as the company's first brewmaster. In 1914 a German immigrant brewer named Kosmas (or Kosmos) Spoetzl co-leased with Oswald Petzold with an option to buy in 1915. Spoetzl had attended brewmaster's school and apprenticed for three years in Germany, worked for eight years at the Pyramids Brewery in Cairo, Egypt, and then worked in Canada. He moved to San Antonio in search of a better climate for his health, bringing with him a family recipe for a Bavarian beer made from malted barley and hops.

The Cajun alternative

Cajuns didn't celebrate St. Patrick's Day traditionally, although there were enough Irish in New Orleans to celebrate that holiday from early on. But they did have a holiday where the rules of Lent were lifted for a day, and that was St. Joseph's Day, March 19.

March 19 always falls during Lent and, according to Roman Catholic canon law, if the feast day falls on a Friday, the obligation to abstain from meat or do penance is lifted.

Apparently, it's even a bigger deal in Italian homes, where elaborate altars are constructed and decked out with festive breads and desserts. Anyone can come by and eat, and offer their prayers and donations.

We always had pain perdu, literally "lost bread," which the English call French toast, on that day, and usually steak that evening. My mom always made it with old bread, the better to soak up the egg mixture, and then griddled it. This version is easier if you want your whole family to eat at once, and you can make it the night before, so it's ready to go in the morning.

Baked French Toast
(serves 12)

Ingredients
12 slices thick French bread (not sourdough)
3 cups 1 percent milk
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
Butter (for baking dish)
Cinnamon (for sprinkling)

Instructions
Combine milk, eggs, vanilla, salt and 2 tablespoons sugar; mix well. Arrange bread in one layer in a pan and pour the mixture evenly over all the slices. Cover and put in the refrigerator overnight.

In the morning, set oven to 425 degrees with a rack in middle position. Butter a 13x9-baking dish and transfer the slices to it. If there is any remaining liquid, pour it on top.

Mix about a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon with the remaining tablespoon of sugar and sprinkle top evenly with it. Place baking dish on the middle rack and bake until center of each slice is set and top is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Serve with Louisiana cane syrup, maple syrup, powdered sugar or fresh berries.

A cabbage dish sans aroma

Many people find vegetables in the cabbage family hard to choke down and even hard to digest. And if you've ever boiled cabbage a bit too long, you know the horrible smell that fills the air. To sum up, success in cooking cole vegetables depends on not overcooking them.

If I do eat cabbage as a side dish, I core the head and cut it into quarters, then steam it in a bag in the microwave until it is just tender. I salt and pepper it, and usually butter it lightly.

But my favorite way to eat cabbage is in colcannon, an Irish concoction usually served as a vegetarian main dish.

Colcannon: Fire when ready
(Lori K's way; serves 4)

Ingredients
3-4 medium potatoes, washed and quartered
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped onions or green onions
2 cups chopped cabbage or kale
3 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Instructions
Cook potatoes in a pot of boiling water until tender.
As the potatoes cook, heat butter in a skillet over medium heat and add the onions. Sauté for a minute then add the cabbage or kale. Turn down to low, cover and cook while the potatoes boil.
When the potatoes are tender, drain and place in a large bowl. Mash. Add the onions and cabbage and blend. Add the milk, salt and pepper and beat until fluffy. Serve while hot.

A beef with corned beef

Having cooked corned beef year after year the same way, following the directions on the package on the stovetop or in the crockpot, I decided this year to see if there was some other method to cook it.

It's a brisket, right? So maybe a slow cook in the oven like a regular brisket would give the corned beef a little added flavor?

The good news it that it did have a marvelous flavor. The bad news is that it came out like a big hunk of beef jerky, impossible to slice.

So don't try to improve on perfection. Put the corned beef in the water, don't let it boil, and enjoy your St. Paddy's Day!