Cooking Lessons

Those of you who know me, know how much I love my family. Being so far away from my siblings, nieces and nephews is a challenge for me. We try to get together as often as possible but time, schedules and travel costs can be prohibitive. About five years ago I became friends with a woman who I now call my sister, Teena, and our friendship extends my sibling count to four. With more siblings come more nieces and nephews, so by extension I experience more love from my niece and nephew here in Florida. Jansen and Todd are now in college so they are home for the summer and we decided that we would have a cooking lesson. I gave them a cookbook, The Whole 30 Cookbook by Melissa Hartwig, because they are very committed to being healthy and Todd is a dedicated college athlete charged with a regime to gain weight. I told them to select a recipe and they chose Chicken and Green Olive Meatballs with Smoked Paprika Tomato Sauce.

The finished product served with spaghetti squash...delicious!

Now the Whole 30 Diet does not seem a likely candidate for our summer reading book Salt Fat Acid and Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking; however the use of the four elements is apparent and the results were delicious. (I did add some grated parmesan cheese to my serving as I just needed to have a little dairy and add a layer of flavor).
While the dinner was delicious and I am excited to make the sauce again very soon, the cooking lessons were a highlight. Jansen is an experienced student as she enjoys cooking at school and she was the resident spaghetti squash expert. This was my first experience working with this vehicle and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it, since I am not a squash eater by nature.
     So, after cutting the squash in half lengthwise and removing the seeds, they drizzled a thin layer of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), massaged it into the flesh and seasoned with sea salt and ground black pepper. The squash halves were then placed cut-side down on a baking sheet and placed in a 350℉ oven for about 45 minutes, or until tender.
     Next we began making the sauce. I am amazed at how rich and flavorful the sauce tasted, given that it took about 20 minutes to make. This recipe will be my go to sauce recipe in the future when I do not have time to do my all day, slow cooker basil-garlic marinara sauce.
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon EVOO
1/3 cup of finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (28 ounces) fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and pepper
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook stirring occasionally, until tender. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or more. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, tomato paste, oregano, and paprika and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for 10 minutes more. Season with salt and black pepper.
Moving on to the meatballs...this is the point when I can confess my kitchen envy because my sistah Teena has a double oven situation, so we could preheat the other oven to 375℉ to prepare to cook the meatballs. Instead of lining a baking sheet with parchment paper, which is a viable option, we used a silicon baking pad for easy clean up. In a bowl we mixed the following ingredients:
1 pound ground chicken (turkey is an option, too)
1/4 cup of finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped pitted green olives
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes *
Using a small ice cream scoop we shaped the mixture into 1 1/2 inch meatballs and placed them on the baking sheet. Be baked he meatballs for 20 minutes, until the internal temperature was 160℉ and no pink remains in the middle of the meatballs.
Once the squash was cool enough to touch, Jansen and Todd used forks to pull the squash into shreds, or "noodles" and placed them in the center of a platter. If all goes well, and for us it did because Jansen and Todd are amazing students and worked very well together, the sauce and meatballs finish about the same time. The meatballs were plated on top of the "noodles." The sauce was added and all was garnished with parsley.
*A few tips and tweaks
1. Sometimes crushed red pepper flakes can be aggressive so I suggest mincing them before adding them to the mixture. You still get the flavor and  the heat, yet it is not too much for dinner guests who may not enjoy spicy food.
2. If your sauce appears too thick, including adding a bit of water to sauce to make it a bit thinner, or if you are not concerned with being Whole 30 Compliant (and kids, if your parents allow), I might replace the water with some red wine.
3. Jansen and I made an executive decision to add a bit of the olive brine to the sauce, which was a nice touch and we used a little less salt as the sauce finished.
All in all, it was a fun night, great food, family, and a delicious, healthy meal.
I have to say, I really dig Hartwell's cookbook. It has some great recipes that make trimming the fat, carbohydrates and sugar from your food world really easy and delicious. She supports what my mother, Ouisee and my sister, Angela have always said about cooking, "it's all about the seasoning, and people should never fear using seasoning to flavor their food." So, with that I say thanks for reading my musing from the Ms. Levans' love and soul kitchen.