MAIN - Stuffed Swiss Chard

it's swiss chard, and it's stuffed. it's stuffed with beef, lamb, tomatoes, rice, and parsley. it feels all very healthy and hearty, because it is.

Here's how you do it, illustrated in photos.

* first make your filling. in a bowl combine 1 lb of beef, 1 lb of lamb, a can of whole tomatoes, a cup of rice, and a handful of chopped parsley, plus salt and pepper. now roll up your sleeves and get in there with your bare hands like your grandma would. squish and mix and masticate and articulate until it's all nice and consistent.

* second make some chicken broth. get it hot on the stove. you don't need much.

* then prep the swiss chard. remove the stems, but you don't need to remove the whole rib. your ingredients are done.

* now get the roll on. put a little of the filling in the chard, and roll and tuck the sides like you're making mini-burritos or eggrolls. it's important to get a good seal... make sure there are no gaps for the filling to fall out.

* as you work, stack the stuffed chard in a pot. when you've done them all, put a few slices of lemon on top. that's just good flavor.

* pour over some of the broth (just maybe an inch worth to cover the bottom), and put the covered pot over a simmer heat for about 45 minutes or longer. the longer the better... just don't overdo it otherwise the chard will fall apart and it'll be a mess. check the broth periodically, add more if needed.

serve with lots of bread.

MAIN - LAMAJOON

when i was a little kid it was so special to get these made for me. it's an Armenian recipe, well, i think it is because my mom was taught it by her Armenian babysitter. they're fun to make and a little messy, but well worth any effort.

first make your dough (See the recipe in the scan above). if you're lazy, you can use pre-made pizza dough from trader joes (just roll it out as think as you can). if you're lazier than lazy, you can also use tortillas or pitas.

roll out the dough into tortilla size rounds. or pancake size. or 6" size.

put a spoonful of the mean mixture (recipe above in scan) on each dough round. the mixture should be spread really really thin. arrange as many as you can on a baking sheet, and put in a 450* oven for 15 minutes. serve with lemon wedges and salt to sprinkle. these are pretty amazing: light and fresh and crisp.

make extras--they freeze really well. Reheat by wrapping in foil and popping in the oven.

SALAD - Easiest Summer Tomato Salad Ever

it's summer, it's back to basics. this tomato salad is absolutely nothing fancy, which is what makes it so good. in a bowl, simply combined some quartered fresh fresh tomatoes, some thin sliced red onion, a handful of torn parsley, maybe some basil, and maybe some sliced cucumbers. toss all this with a glug of olive oil, a glug of red wine vinegar, and some salt and pepper. let this marinate in the fridge for a half hour, and stir again. ow!

PASTA - Rigatoni with Zuchini, Sun Dried Tomatoes, and Ricotta

as a kid we used to go to mangia mangia restaurant in HB, CA very often. it was the best italian place imaginable in the worst strip mall imaginable. after much begging, the chef finally gave my mom this recipe.now here it is from mangia mangia to mom to me to you.

it's so good when summer vegetables start kicking off. i'm proud to say all the veggies in this pasta plate came from our garden. we rule.


first, saute a chopped onion, a pinch of red pepper flakes, a handfull of sun dried tomatoes, a couple chopped cloves of garlic, and salt / pepper in a few glugs of olive oil. just like in this photo:


once soft, put in a bunch of sliced zucchini and some yellow squash (or whatever is available). maybe throw in some swish chard if you're into that sort of thing. add in about a cup of fresh tomatoes. cook until the squash is softer but still firm to the bite. don't overcook it. while all this is happening, cook pasta like you know how.

finish the pasta dish. put the pasta on a big platter, spoon over the zuch sauce, tear some basil leaves on top, and scatter a bunch of ricotta all over the top. done!

APP - albacore crudo with citrus dressing and grapefruit

this is a total rip off from Blue Ribbon Pizza in San Diego. you should still totally check this place out though--the ingredients are local and the food is amazing.

this recipe is presented as an appetizer, but it could easily be a main on a nice hot night. You can change anything here. but think of it as a fresh Mediterranean thing as opposed to an Asian thing.

first, get some albacore tuna. it's cheaper than blue or yellow fin, and works just fine for this since the tuna has dressing all over it. using a sharp knife, slice it so it looks like sashimi in a sushi joint. let it sit on the side.

for the rest:

• segment a grapefruit for garnish.
• get some greens for the bed. i used mustard greens, but arugula could work.
  
• make the dressing of 1 lemon and 2 times as much olive oil. toss the fish in your dressing.

Assemble it all as seen in the photo. bam!

BREAKFAST - Skillet with Baked Eggs and Whatever

The title may not be very detailed, but it's purposeful. You can basically use what's left over in your fridge, crack an egg over it and make an awesome little skillet for breaky. This breakfast comes together in 'bout 10 minutes.

So I had a quarter of an onion, some mustard greens, some bacon, and some mushrooms in the fridge. These are all great, but some rough tomatoes, leeks, sausage, ham, bell pepper, or anything like that would be good as well. So fry your bacon till it's done, drain off some of the fat, and push the meat to one side of the pan. On the other side, put some olive oil and fry up your veggies. This all works best in a cast iron skillet, but anything that can go in the oven will do.

When everything's looking just about done, crack a couple eggs over, letting the whites ooz down but not breaking the yokes. Pop this whole pan in an oven at 400*, and bake until the whites are hard but the yellows are runny. You can even then crumble some cheese over the top, as I did with goat cheese. See?

PIZZA - bacon, mushrooms, ricotta, basil, and baked egg

APP - Kale Chips

Take raw kale leaves, drizzle with olive oil, and put in the oven at 350 until crispy. Sprinkle with salt. The result is earthy and fresh and salty and delicious with beer.

APP - Wilted Grapes with Bleu Cheese and Crustini

We had this at this rad tapas bar called BarAcuda in Hanalei, Kauai. All the tapas there are so simple and delicious (besides the damn fine cocktails), and most are really easy to copy at home. This one, for example.

In a heavy cast iron skillet (because it works well and looks cool), saute a bunch of grapes, stem still on, in some olive oil. Put the grapes in a pre-heated oven @ 350* for maybe 30 minutes, until the grapes are really wilted. Cromble over some bleu cheese for the last 10 minutes. Serve with little toasts or crustini. The result are these sweet and juicy grapes, contrasted with the sharp bleu cheese and the crunchy bread. This is great to serve while you're waiting for your main course to finish.

Breakfast - Mod. Benedict

A twist on the usual eggs Benedict. Did it because holindaise can be very gross if it's not perfect (so why try). And also because it's spring and there are lots of herbs outside... it's just seems nicer to have a fresh, light green herby sauce than a heavy hollindaise in the sun. And instead of ham, we've added sauteed greens, sort of like Florentine. Again, it's spring and there are lots of greens to eat, so eat em. This one has kale and beet greens, but you can also use carrot tops, spinach, radish tops, chard, or anything like that.

Right? Right. So here it is:

First toast some bread. Use a toaster or grill it or drizzle with some oil and get it brown in the oven, as I did. This will be the bottom floor of your Benedict stack.
Next make some green goddess dressing. It's really just fresh soft herbs, anchovie, lemon, sour cream, maybe some plain yogurt, and olive oil with salt and pepper. It's so refreshing and delicious. I posted the recipe some time ago here. You want to make this before you do the things below because the sauce can just sit there on the counter and wait until you're ready for it... eggs can't (they get hard and gross), nor can sauteed greens (they get cold).
Saute some greens. Heat up some olive oil, and wilt the greens until they look like the photo above. This will be the second floor in your Benedict stack.
Lastly, poach some eggs. If you don't know how you should learn... the runny yokes make the breakfast. You could also fry an egg. This will be the top floor of your stack.

To finish just drizzle the green goddess on top. I added toasted bread crumbs, but that's totally optional.

SALAD - Nicoise

• Mixed greens
• Mixed fresh herbs (parsley, tarragon, thyme, basil, mint)
• Thinly sliced red onion
• Red potatoes
• Assorted veg (asparagus/beans/ radish/tomato…whatever you happen to have on hand)
• Olives
• Eggs
• Thick tuna steaks
• Anchovy Dressing (recipe to follow)
• The nicoise salad uses just about anything and everything you might have left over in your fridge at this time. So feel free to improvise.

Add potatoes and eggs to a pot of cold water. Bring to boil, cover and turn off the burner, then let site for 15 minutes. Put the eggs in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Cut the potatoes into wedges. Toss potatoes and whatever other veg you’ve got (I added asparagus) in olive oil, and broil until golden.

Rinse, dry, and salt/pepper your tuna steaks. Sear both sides on high hear in olive oil. Remove from the pan and slice thin.

Toss your greens, assorted fresh herbs, and red onions in the dressing (see recipe below).

Then stack it all on a plate (a big one)…greens, sliced eggs, taters, olives, veg, etc.

If you’re looking to impress your friends, top with some edible spring flowers if you’ve got ‘em: pansies, arugula flowers, Nasturtiums, or any flowers from your herbs that have gone to seed work. Chances are your neighbor has some Nasturtiums growing in their front yard…

Anchovy Dressing:

1 anchovy fillet, drained

Garlic clove

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Splash red wine vinegar

Small spoon of Dijon mustard

Salt/pepper

Olive oil

capers

Mash the anchovy and garlic into a paste. Stir in lemon juice, vinegar, Dijon, salt/pepper. Drizzle in olive oil while stirring. Throw in capers.

SAUCE - #3 - prawns in a sweet tomato sauce

i hate the word sweet. let's not use that word in the print cook zine, SC. Why? I got out of the water and some guy in a cardiff aloha shirt asked me how it was. i said, "it's still good, so get out there." and he replied, "sa-weet." like, two syllables. sa-weeet. it really got to me, and i'm taking it as a sign not to use it here in this, the third recipe of the tomato sauce persuasion.

SAUCE - #3 - prawns in a sweet tomato sauce

there's many ways to do this, and they are all sweet, i mean great.

one--you've made you tomato sauce and have it in the fridge. great. take a few spoonfuls of it and add it with a lob of butter to a fry pan. heat over medium to high heat, get good and hot, and toss in some shrimp (raw ones). give the pan a shake, give it a toss, and mix it all up. you can add some lemon to this... that would be good. lower to a simmer and heat until shrimp are done... don't overcook otherwise you'll have chewy shrimp.

sprinkle some chopped parsley over the top. or some fresh Parmesan. serve as is with some crusty bread. or spoon on top of some noodle pasta.

SAUCE - #2 - putanesca

working girl's sauce. why? ladies of the night used to put this sauce in their windows to attract potential male customers. ow ow.

this is made the same way as red sauce, but after the step where the onion is soft add a handful of Calamata Olives (pitted and halved), a couple tablespoons capers (drained) and a couple of chopped anchovies fillets. if you like really spicy, add more red pepper flakes. cook until the anchovies are liquid... couple of minutes. then finish cooking as with the red sauce.

SAUCE - #1 - basic tomato sauce

gather tools:
- chef knife, cutting board, can opener, sauce pan (medium), big spoon for stirrin'

gather ingredients:
- a few glugs olive oil. two big cans of whole tomatoes. one onion, chopped. four cloves garlic, chopped. dried red pepper flakes. red wine for drinkin' and flavor. salt and pepper.

make:
- in a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
- add onion and garlic and some salt & pepper. The salt will release liquid from onion and keep onion from burning. and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- add the thyme red pepper flakes, and cook 5 minutes more.
- add the tomatoes and juice, crushing the whole tomatoes with your hands as you add them. bring to a boil, stirring often. add a splash of red wine. lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, up to a few hours. Season with salt and pepper and it's done.

freeze this for up to six months. or boil some water, make some pasta and serve sauce over the top with some parm. for a smoother sauce, blend it. or you can spin the sauce four different ways... ways to be posted in the coming days.

SAUCE - tomato

Now kids, we'll add ingredients to a basic tomato sauce to spin it five different ways in the next five days. learn well, study well and by the end of day four you'll know how to make all this:

1. basic tomato sauce
   
2. puttanesca for pasta
3. prawns roasted in sweet tomato sauce
4. portabella mushrooms baked with earthly herbs and tomato sauce
5. tomato cream sauce
6. ribollita

#1 coming tomorrow.

BEET Salad

the shaved beet salad is the best, but here's another interesting beef salad... this one has the beets roasted, and you save the roasting juices for the dressing.

• roast a few beets that have been rubbed with olive oil in a tin foil pouch at 350 for about an hour. remove from oven, let them cool. save the juice that ran into the bottom of the foil packet.
  
• when beets are cool, rub the skin off. the skin should slippidy slide right off. cube the beets into bite size pieces.
  
• make a dressing: mash some garlic, add some lemon juice, and drizzle in the beet juice as you mix. taste, season with salt and pepper, and add more olive oil as needed.
• dress your beet cubes with dressing. toss.
• put dressed beet cubes on a bed of greens. we used arugula. dress the greens beforehand if you'd like. we added some edible flowers and shaved fennel because we had it around. you can also sprinkle some shaved parm or goat cheese on top.
  

CHICKEN PITAS with cool CUCUMBER TZATZIKI

instead of chicken, you can use lamb or shrimp or just veggies. treat them all the same as the chicken below.


For filling:

• a few chicken breasts or tenders, cut into strips and skewered. sprinkle with salt and pepper. let skewers soak in a bath of olive oil and lemon juice for 15 minutes. discard bath afterward.
  
• a bunch of veg. onions, squash, zucchinis--anything. let veg soak in a bath of olive oil and lemon juice for 15 minutes.
• fresh tomato, quartered.
• fresh onion, sliced.

for cool cucumber tzatziki:

• grated cucumber. use a cheese grater and shred a whole cucumber skin and all. put the grated cuc in a strainer, sprinkle with salt, and leave. the salt will remove much of the water from the cuc. after 30 minutes or so, use you hangs and squeeze out more liquid... you want the cucumber to be as dry as possible.
  
• add cucumber to 1 cup yogurt. greek yogurt if you can find it (it's less liquidy and better). But plain yogurt is ok too.
• to that, add 2 cloved minced or smashed garlic, juice of 1 or 2 lemons, salt and pepper, and olive oil. taste it and balance the flavors till you like it.

after grilling chicken and veg over a hot fire, assemble all the above in a warm grilled pita (see photo).

ENCHILADAS ESPECIALES - Cremosas de Pollo

This is from Rick Bayless, one of the best mexican cooks. we were looking to make enchiladas, and these are epic with the leftover rotisserie chicken and creamy green sauce.

SAUCE INGREDIENTS

• 2 fresh poblano chiles
• 1 cup (lightly packed) roughly chopped spinach leaves. or chard, or arugula. any dark leafy green for the sauce.
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 cup flour
• Salt

FILLING

• 3 cups coarsely shredded cooked chicken (I usually use a rotisserie chicken or leftover grilled chicken)
• 12 corn tortillas
• A little vegetable oil for brushing or spraying totillas
• About 1 cup Mexican melting cheese (Chihuahua, quesadilla, asadero or the like) or Monterey Jack, brick or mild cheddar
• A little chopped cilantro for garnish

---

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the Sauce. Roast the poblanos directly over a gas flame or on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler, turning regularly, until the skins have blistered and blackened on all side, about 5 minutes for an open flame, about 10 minutes under the broiler. Place in a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and, when handleable, rub off the blackened skin, tear open and pull out the seed pod and stem. Quickly rinse to remove any stray seeds or bits of skin. Roughly chop and put in a blender jar. Add the spinach.

In a medium (3-quart) saucepan, combine the milk and broth, set over medium-low heat to warm.

In a large (4-quart) saucepan, melt the butter (or heat the oil) over medium. Add the garlic and cook for a minute to release its aroma, then add the flour and stir the mixture for a minute. Raise the heat to medium-high. Pour in the warm broth mixture and whisk constantly until the sauce boils. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Pour half the hot sauce into the blender with the chiles and spinach. Cover loosely (I remove the center part of the lid, secure the lid, then drape a cloth over the whole thing) and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining sauce. Taste and season with salt, usually about 2 teaspoons.

2. Finish the Enchiladas. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Smear about 1/4 cup of the sauce over the bottom of each of four to six 9-inch individual ovenproof baking/serving dishes or smear about 1 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish. Stir 1 cup of the sauce into the chicken.

Lay half of the tortillas out on a baking sheet and lightly brush or spray both sides of the tortillas with oil; top each tortilla with another one and brush or spray those with oil. Bake just to warm through and soften, about 3 minutes. Stack the tortillas and cover with a towel to keep warm.

Working quickly so that the tortillas stay hot and pliable, roll a portion of the chicken up in each tortilla, then line them all up in the baking dish(es). Douse evenly with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake until the enchiladas are hot through (the cheese will have begun to brown), about 20 minutes. Garnish with the cilantro and serve without hesitation.

LAMB AND BEEF BOLOGNESE

What's fun is having lots of people over for dinner. what's not fun is working to make that all happen. what's also not fun is having your friends watch you while you slave over the burners, serving them some feast. so this recipe is one solution to making things fun... it's made all before hand (except the pasta), and it's very easy. it's also very good on cold nights.

Serve with a few bottles of red wine and lots of bread for sopping up the juices. the perfect sunday dinner.

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 white onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef
1 pound lamb
salt
pepper
1 cup milk
1 glass red wine
2 28-ounce cans of whole peeled tomatoes, drained and smooshed with hands


Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or big pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrot and cook until all have softened. 8 minutes. Add the garlic go for about 30 seconds. Add the beef and lamb, breaking it apart with your spoon and cooking until it is just browned. move it around so it gets brown, and doesn't just stew in the liquid and get soggy. Season with salt and pepper.

add milk and bring it up. continue until the milk has reduced completely and very little liquid remains. add wine and simmer again until reduced completely.

add the canned tomatoes to the pot and stir. cover and cook on medium for at least 2 and up to 6 hours. for the last 30, remove the lid to allow any excess liquid to evaporate and reduce the sauce. it sound be chunky, not soupy.

Serve over spaghetti or linguine.

WISDOM

This, and 19 other drops of wisdom here.

TAPA: Pan Seared Spicy Shrimp with Ginger, Garlic, Lemon on Soaked Bread

You can sort of huck this plate out there, and let everyone dig in with their fingers. the bread, all soggy with oil & butter & garlic, is amazing. serve as an app, or as a casual main with a salad. drink with cold white wine... it's spicy.

INGREDIENTS:

about 1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 stick butter
a piece of ginger about the size of your thumb, peeled & diced
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled & diced
a few pinches red pepper flakes
16-20 large shrimp, peeled with tails left on
2 lemons
1/3 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
salt & pepper, to taste
1 French baguette, sliced & lightly toasted

PREP

Heat a frying pan over high heat. When hot, add half the olive oil, butter, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes and shrimp. Give pan a shake. Cook until shrimp turns bright pink, about 3-4 minutes. Turn heat down to low and add the juice of one lemon, parsley, and the rest of the olive oil. Remove from heat, toss, and taste. Add more lemon juice or olive oil as needed, then season with salt and pepper. Serve over a bed of bread, letting the bread soak up all the juices and sauce.

MEXICAN TUNA: with White Beans, Mashed Avocado, and Spicy Cilantro Cream

HOW TO: Nachos

PENNE CARBONARA with peas, bacon, mint. a three-step deal

this is insane. a quick dinner. and it doesn't get chunky or curdled like some carbonaras.

first, fry bacon. set aside, and crumble.

second, make carbonara. in a bowl, beat 1 egg, then whisk in 7 tablespoons cream. season with salt and pepper. set aside.
third, cook pasta. for the last minute of cooking, throw a handful of frozen peas in the cooking water. fresh if you have them. they will get nice. drain the pasta and peas, keeping a cup of the cooking water.in a serving bowl put pasta and peas. while the pasta is still hot, mix in carbonara sauce, then stir in the pasta water... the result should be a smooth, creamy sauce (with no cream). if it ends up chunky, the pasta was too hot. try again. stir in crumbled bacon, and rip the mint leaves over the top.

lamb chops with basalmic reduction.

didn't know how to make lamb, and this was the first recipe found. haven't made it differently since. from food.tv, word for word.



Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary leaves
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• Kosher salt
• 6 (4-ounce) double lamb rib chops (2 ribs) with bones attached, ribs frenched
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 large or 2 small rosemary sprigs
• 2 tablespoons butter
  

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, parsley, rosemary, and garlic. Season with salt, to taste. Set aside.

Set a 12-inch oven-safe saute pan over medium-high heat. Season the lamb with 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the black pepper. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of the oil to the saute pan and place the lamb, fat side down, in the pan. Sear the lamb until the fat has rendered and the skin is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Continue to cook the lamb, turning to cook evenly on each side, about 2 minutes each side. Baste them with the herb and oil mixture. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook until the lamb is rare, about 5 minutes.

Make the balsamic drizzle while the lamb is cooking: Set a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat and add the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the shallots to the pan and sweat until translucent, about 1 minute. Add the garlic to the pan and sweat for 30 seconds. Pour the balsamic vinegar into the pan and bring to a boil. Add the rosemary and allow the balsamic to gently boil and reduce until only about 1/4 cup of balsamic remains, about 10 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Remove from the heat and swirl the butter into the pan. Remove the rosemary sprigs before using.

When the lamb is rare, remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. To serve, slice each double chop in half, and drizzle with the balsamic reduction.

tuna in a cup

go ahead and make this.

there are four parts to this amazing thing, so here's the recipe broken down in four parts, then combined at the end.

1. Wasabi mayo
mix wasabi and mayo in a bowl. if you want more spicy, add more wasabi. it you want more fat, add more mayo.

2. fried wonton crisp
this takes a little finesse. buy some wonton sheets from the store. get a fry pan hot. then add some vegetable oil. once the oil is hot, test one wonton sheet: drop it in the oil. it shouldn't burn outright (if it is turn down the heat), and also shouldn't be greasy upon removal (if it is turn up the heat). when you pull a good fried wonton out, it will be a little pliable at first then set to a nice golden crisp. so get a little bowl and use it as a form to make your wonton into a little cup to hold the tuna as you pull each fried wonton out. make sense? make about 4 per person and set aside on a towel to drain and cool.

3. tuna filling
in a bowl, mix chopped raw ahi tuna (1/3 lb per person), chopped chives, sesame seeds, two garlic cloves mashed to a paste, a squirt of rooster sauce (siracha or something?), a couple leaves of cilantro, a touch of sesame oil, a touch of soy sauce, and a squeeze of fresh lime right at the end (right at the end or else it will cook the fish and make it gray, not brilliant red).

4. avocado
chunked.

on a plate, put a dollop (a lame word, but the best i can think of) of wasabi mayo for each wonton. put the cup on top of each dollop (the dollop is like glue keeping the wonton from tipping). spoon in fresh chunked avocado, a couple chunks per cup. on top of that, the tuna mixture. see photo.

mac and cheese and bacon and chard and breadcrumbs

mac and cheese go together like bacon and swiss chard.

Serves 4.

Preheat oven to 350°F. cook pasta and leave a bit firm since it will cook more after you put mac and cheese in the oven. for toasted breadcrumb topping:
- stale bread, about the size of two fists
- a few springs of thyme, leaves picked
- a couple garlic cloves, peeled and smashed (leave whole)
- olive oil

in a food processor make the bread breadcrumbs. in a fry pay hot with a glug of olive oil, toast the breadcrumbs, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper until the bread is crunchy. remove and put aside.

for mac and cheese: - 1 lb pasta. it doesn't have to be macaroni but should be short and not noodly. - 1 cup milk - 2 slices whole wheat sandwich bread - 2 tablespoons butter, divided - 8 ounce cheese shredded/chunked--like brie or white cheddar? Experiment - 1/2 cup gruyere shredded for melting - olive oil - 2 garlic cloves, minced - 4 strips bacon - like 5 leaves of chard, very roughly chopped cook the pasta. drain and set aside. cook the bacon. drain and set aside and crumble. while it's cooking, in a large saucepan, heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat.

whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute over medium heat. add milk, and whisk the mixture until the flour has dissolved and the liquid begins to thicken. remove from heat and mix in cheese, stirring until melted.

Add the cooked pasta to the cheese mixture and stir in the bacon and chard. put in a oven disk and top with breadcrumb mixture. place on a cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes.