I don’t know jack about pasta. I have to look it up when I see the names. Maybe I should go to Italy and hang out for at least 3 months and soak up the culture and learn the names of pasta!
Orzo is hard to find. Maybe I don’t go to right places? Normal commercial grocery stores might have it. Haven’t seen it at Trader Joes… OR even boxed at my favorite happy place produce market in Berkeley. Turns out it was in the bin. Yippie!!
But how do I cook it? I surfed and found that Jo-Anna Rooney who writes a blog called A Pretty Life, sautés the orzo in butter, browning it first. Please visit her site as her blog has some great recipes. Her site: aprettylifeinthesuburbs.com
I kind of live in the burbs, but more “urban burbs”. I’m on a busy ass street with the occasional zombie walking past or yelling. Before Covid, garbage cans were gold mines. This morning a homeless group moved in front of the strip mall a block away as developers are tearing down a building that everyone used to sleep in the doorway.
What I don’t get is what happened to Section 8? If you can’t afford housing, isn’t the government (FEDS & Local) supposed to help a person out? How come they aren’t? They got money for everything under the sun, right?
In the Bay area, they claim to include “low income” units when building apartments and condos. I am not seeing it. Recently, a complex was built on the corner near me. Average staring price was $800 grand. That’s affordable for folks earning a modest living? Were there any units available to them? Not that I see. WHAT is going on? It’s happening all over the country.
All I know to do is keep reading and researching the local and sometimes scum politicians that are in office signing away bills that deteriorate my life and yours with high density in the working class neighborhoods while the rich will still be protected. AS ALWAYS….just saying.
In the meantime, I’m cooking my orzo today as I have a few pounds of very ripe tomatoes. Heirloom from Full Belly Farm box, a few cherry tomatoes from my plants (whooo-hoo!), and my favorite dry farmed tomatoes from Sea Level Ranch I got at Monterey Market.
The sauce is simple. Chop up your tomatoes, add some chopped garlic gloves, basil, maybe a bit of onion or peppers and drizzle olive oil. Throw that pan in the oven and bake for apx 30 min at around 350 degrees. I’ve been using my Cuisinart table top oven as it’s too hot- even for the Bay area to fire up the stove. I have to watch it as that Cuisinart gets hotter than a firecracker on the 4th of July. OTHERWISE, I burn everything…. It helps to sip a beer or a nice wine while watching.
Happy Cooking!
Weir Talk 