Portland, Oregon: We are pretty-much settled-in and back to our "normal" daily life in Oregon. Though, with the Olympic Track & Field Trials looming, My Poor Driver is not even close to "normal". His days are filled with meetings (in Portland and Eugene) and conference calls. When he is not in meetings or on the phone, he is at his computer, pecking away. The man can't type.
It's his only fault.
I have been cooking quite a bit, enjoying having quite a bit of counter space again and the weather has cooperated TWICE so could dine on the deck.

My internet pal, Luisa Weiss (Wednesday Chef) recently had a blog post about Melissa Clark's Curried Coconut Tomato Soup.




I just finished Only in Naples: Lessons in Food and Famiglia from My Italian Mother-in-Law, by Katherine Wilson. It was an interesting book about a well-heeled (she is from the Wilson sporting goods family) post-collegiate girl from DC, who heads off to Naples, Italy for a temporary unpaid internship with the American embassy. Of course, there is a boy involved. The book touches way-too-much-for-me on the idiosyncrasies of the Italian language, but I found the workings of the Italian family to be fascinating. But the book is so much about the foods of Naples, which I really enjoyed. Wilson gives a few recipes at the end of the book, but does not share her mother-in-law's recipe for Pasta alla Genovese - the one dish I had never heard of, tried or prepared. I had to do quite a bit of research - none of my Italian cookbooks even mention the dish.
It is a simple concoction: onions and beef stewed together for hours. What could be easier? I put on my thinking cap and realized a dish that needed to be stewed for hours would be perfectly suited for the crockpot/slow cooker, and that is exactly how I prepared Pasta all Genovese.

Though the aroma filling the house was amazing, I was fairly sure it was going to fail at the four-hour mark when it looked as if someone had thrown-up in my crockpot. Very unattractive! But later, the onions completely liquefied - became a sauce - and the beef easily shredded with the pressure from the back of a spoon. Success! I added one teaspoon of sea salt at the end and served it, tossed with a half-pound of rigatoni pasta and 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan. Even with such a small amount of pasta, this recipe would serve 4-6. I think minced fresh parsley or basil would have been a prettier garnish, but all I had was a tomato.
I will post the official recipe on this website soon (after I make it again), but I bet you can figure it out. Put this in your crockpot soon!
Until my next update, I remain, your simple correspondent.