Pasta in Chorizo & Tomato Sauce Recipe - Macaroni en Salsa de Tomate con Chorizo

Last September, my family hosted a wonderful high school student, Dani, from Segovia, Spain, for three weeks. He brought gifts from Segovia for us, including a cookbook written in Spanish. I tried this pasta recipe with a little help from a similar recipe I found online from Lisa and Tony Sierra at the website below. Since I only speak a little Spanish, the English version was very helpful!

The recipe calls for penne pasta (or pasta of your choice), crushed tomatoes, onions, garlic, red bell pepper, Spanish paprika and Spanish chorizo sausage, a firm, dry sausage - I used a Basque chorizo from a local store. See the link for the recipe.

The Sierras say this dish is a very common in Spanish households. For me, it was a new flavor for pasta. The paprika and chorizo give this dish a unique, delicious taste - muy bueno!

Click here for: Pasta In Chorizo & Tomato Sauce recipe

Rayda’s Creamy Dressing

Rayda Renshaw of John Day shared a house dressing recipe she adapted from the Fiddlehead Restaurant, a favorite eating stop of hers in Juneau, Alaska.

I tried this one out using some olive oil and red wine vinegar. It has such a fresh taste to it. I liked it so much that after the salad I even dipped a few tortilla chips in it!

1 large tomato or two romas, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1/4 C. safflower oil
1/4 C. apple cider vinegar, or your choice
1 C. mayonnaise

Roughly chop the tomato, green bell pepper and green onions. Blend the ingredients until smooth. Add sour cream for a thicker consistency. This dressing goes well on tossed green salad, also on rice.

A Fine Hard-Boiled Egg for Easter Fun

Along with religious celebrations that come with Easter are the fun traditions, including children searching for colorfully decorated eggs in the yard to put in their baskets.

A few cookbooks, friends and practice have been a good resources for me in getting the method right for making that perfect hard-boiled egg - let’s save green eggs for Dr. Seuss!

Here’s how I do it:

First of all make sure you have the time to listen out for the timer.

Place cold eggs in a single layer in a medium saucepan, then fill with cold water until the eggs are just covered. Bring to a rapid boil over high heat. Remove the saucepan from heat and cover for 15 minutes - set your timer.

Drain the water off and run cold water over the eggs. I hold the saucepan at the sink, tipping it and letting cold water run over and out of the pan until the eggs are cooled enough to handle.

Crack eggs on a hard surface, roll between your hands and peel the eggshell off starting on the large end.