Rice Pasta Salad with Raw Tomato, Walnuts and Raw Garlic

Fresh raw tomato, walnuts and raw garlic mixed with hot pasta creates a perfect late summer dish.

I used to make this dish once a week. It fell out of my repertoire a few years back. When these lovely tomatoes showed up in my weekly fruit and veggie delivery box, I was reminded of this recipe.

If it wasn't already apparent, I love to photograph food. I had a great time working on this pasta salad. Maybe it's my back-to-school attitude, or the changing light now that Fall is around the corner, but something shifted when I was shooting this week.

I've become more confident in what I'm shooting, how I'm shooting it and what is ultimately ending up on this site as final images. It has freed me from worrying whether or not I got the shot because I now know that I need to trust that when I download the photos to the computer, the right images will be there.

This version of Non-Reactive Pan was launched the first week in September of 2011. I had 468 visitors that month. Right now, I'm averaging 1500 visitors a month. It has been a good year. I'm excited to see what this next year will bring and so happy to have found my groove while shooting, cooking and of course eating.

Thanks for visiting!

Rice Pasta with Raw Tomato, Walnuts and Garlic

INGREDIENTS

• 1 to 2 cups tomatoes, cut into chunks
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup walnuts
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Red pepper flakes to taste

PREPARATION

1. Place olive oil, tomatoes, roasted peppers, garlic, walnuts, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
2. Prepare enough pasta for two people, drain and pour into the bowl.
3. Mix well, let the mixture sit for five minutes, to help soften the tomatoes and mellow the garlic flavor.

Cook’s Notes: Quinoa, barley or couscous works well with this recipe, instead of pasta.

Chili-Mac: Gluten-Free

I love chili. When my daughter was home sick with a stomach bug, I took the opportunity to break out the chili fixin's for myself.

Weird thinking, I know, but when there is a bonus day off from work (not saying her being sick was a bonus, mind you), I feel inclined to go big with my cooking. She doesn't eat chili and said the cooking smells wouldn't bother her, so I figured since I had to make really bland stuff for her to eat, I'd make myself something extra spicy. I also made oven-roasted jalapeno peppers (recipe will be appearing shortly, needs some adjustments...). Clearly, I was not having any of the bland food myself.

For years now, I've been using a mix for the spices, from Carroll Shelby's Original Texas Chili Kit, which I highly recommend. There are no chemicals or weird fake-foods in the box, just cayenne pepper, corn masa flour, cumin, garlic, ground chili peppers, onion, oregano, paprika, salt. It's just easier to have everything put together for me, especially since I may not have all the ingredients on hand, most importantly, the corn masa which you use towards the end of cooking to thicken the chili.

I'd like to talk about chili-mac now. It's not a dish I grew up with. Maybe it did exist in NY, but it never made its way to me. The first time I encountered it, I was in southern Illinois with my then in-laws at Steak 'n Shake. It seemed to me like an ingenious combination. Why not use pasta as your vehicle of choice for chili? It's a pretty good combination of textures, and the cheese just sinks into the pasta every so nicely.

While I cooked the chili, I looked around for some corn tortillas to serve it with, only to come up empty. Instead, I chose a rice pasta as my base for the chili, making this the first time I've made chili-mac in my own kitchen. There is no cheese in this version, as I'm primarily dairy-free (except for butter, can't leave that behind), but you should feel free to add some nice sharp cheddar and maybe even some sour cream to finish off this great dish.

Gluten-free Chili-Mac

Ingredients:

• 1 box  Carroll Shelby's Original Texas Chili Kit (or the chili spices of your choice)
• 4 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 Shallots, finely minced
• 1 pound Ground Beef (or Ground Turkey)
• 1 8 ounce can Tomato Sauce
• 1 cup Water
• 1 can Black Beans, drained
• 1/2 pound cooked Rice Pasta (I use Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta)

Method:

1. Heat a large non-reactive pot over high heat.
2. Add the olive oil and half of the minced shallots.
3. Cook for 1 minutes. Add the ground meat.
4. Brown on all sides, about 15 minutes of cooking time.
5. Drain the fat from the pan.
6. Add the tomato sauce, water and spices.
7. Cook for ten minutes. Add the drained black beans.
8. Slightly cover the pot. Cook for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
9. While the chili is cooking, take the masa flour and mix with 1/3 cup warm water.
10. Add to the chili to thicken it. Make sure the corn masa flour is not clumping in the chili, break it up with a fork as you stir it into the mix.
11. Cook for five more minutes.
12. Place the prepared pasta into individual serving bowls.
13. Top with chili (and cheese, if you're into that).
14. Serve and enjoy!

Olives

Gran Fran sent me a link to a site with a list of all sorts of cooking and food related contests. For the most part, they ask for a recipe, usually including a food or spice from a particular vendor and a little story about your recipe.

As you know, I likes me a little story, especially when it has to do with my cookin'. I've entered three recipes today in two contests, one of which was for Lindsay Olives. Here is my entry. It truly is delicious.

I grew up eating this kind of dish in my parents' home. It takes me back to grade school, doing homework in the kitchen, while my mom cooked. We'd trade stories of the day, and she'd help with my homework while mincing and browning the garlic.

I especially loved taking the olives from the can and "wearing" them on my fingers. It was a handy way to eat a little pre-dinner snack, too.
The richness of the walnuts against the tang of the onions and salty, warm flavors of the olives create a nice counterpoint of flavors. I choose to use brown rice pasta these days, no gluten for me, but my mom used a whole wheat pasta. Any pasta will work here, even rice noodles, if it's what you have on hand. The sauce is the key, the depth of the flavors and crunch of the walnuts.
This dish is also great cold, as a side dish for a picnic, or holiday potluck.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup  Lindsay chopped black olives, drained
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1 lb pasta spirals (whole wheat or brown rice pasta is nice)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 diced red onion
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
4 tbsps Olive Oil, divided, plus some for drizzling at end

Method:

• Set a large pot of salted water on the stove to boil for pasta.
• Put drained, chopped olives in a bowl, add 2 cloves minced garlic, salt, pepper and *red pepper flakes.
• Leave to marinate while pasta water boils, and pasta cooks.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add 2 tbsps olive oil to pan, swirl to coat.
• Lower heat to medium, add remaining 2 cloves of minced garlic, and chopped red onions.
• Sautee until golden, then reduce heat to low.
• Add chopped walnuts, moving them around in the pan so they brown evenly.
• Cook pasta according to directions on box.
• Just before it's cooked through, add marinated olives to the onion, garlic, walnut mixture.
• Raise heat to medium. Heat until olives are just warmed.
• Drain pasta and place in large bowl.
• Pour onion, garlic, walnut and olive mixture over pasta and mix.
• Drizzle olive oil over mixed pasta, add a pinch of salt and *red pepper flakes.
• Serve and enjoy!

(*red pepper can be omitted for more tender palates.)