Stan Laurel Bruschetta and "Puttanesca"

I've been posting about my dinners a day late recently, but yesterday I named the mac 'n' cheese according to the day I wrote about it rather than the day I made it. So while today is June 18, this meal is named after Stan Laurel's birthday: June 16, 1890. That's because, [sic] I played Laurel in my second grade play! I was a shy kid, but my drama / art teacher knew I had it in me to be performatively dopey, and I did. Boy was I funny. No really, ask anyone!* Stunning resonance: the scene we did was in a restaurant. (I can't find a video of that sketch, sorry.)

My parents wanted to give me a break from cooking, so they spent just about two hours (and a bottle of wine) in the kitchen whipping up three different kinds of bruschetta (black olive tapenade, black bean paste and Daiya, eggplant and tomato) and a cannelini bean puttanesca (I don't know what that word denotes, exactly, but that's what my mom called it). [Update: puttanesca usually contains anchovies. No anchovies were killed in the making of this particular puttanesca.] It was delicious and I ate too much.

*That is, anyone who was present for the performance and raised me.

Biggie Smalls Bruschetta and Stir Fry

The Notorious B.I.G. was murdered 14 years ago. We all know the story, so I'll just leave ya with a track. So many classics to pick from, but right now I'm partial to "Juicy". Bringing you back.

The bruschetta's just some slices of bread drizzled with olive oil and topped with leftover sauce from the spaghetti I made a couple nights ago. 18 min. in the oven at 375F.

makes approx. 3-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. long grain brown rice

5 shallots, diced

1 fat clove garlic, sliced

1 lb. tofu, cut into little rectangles

1 1/2 broccoli crowns, chopped

1 hot house tomato, sliced

1/8 c. walnuts, chopped

shoyu soy sauce

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. coriander

1 tsp. black sesame seeds

1 tsp. white sesame seeds

1/2 tsp. turmeric

1/4 tsp. cayenne, 90k Scoville

1/4 tsp. salt

sesame oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Simmer the rice 45 min.

2. Sauté the shallots in a large pan in sesame oil. After they start to brown, add the garlic for a couple minutes, then toss in the tofu and broccoli. Douse in soy sauce, cover for a while.

3. Once the broccoli starts to turn bright green, uncover and add in walnuts, tomato, and seasonings. Heat through, try to get the broccoli a little crispy on the edges.

Here's my review of Mike Leigh's most recent film, Another Year.