Fiji, Kava, and Vodka

We recently returned from a 5 day trip to Fiji. I can't believe I actually made it there. While living in the US, Fiji was an exotic destination on the bucket list of places-I'd-like-to-visit-but-probably-never-will. Fiji is only a 4 hour flight from Sydney which really is just a puddle jump as it takes a long ride in a tin can to go anywhere else - US (CA 14 hrs, NY 20hrs), Europe (22+ hrs), Thailand (8+hrs) etc.

I was left with many positive impressions of Fiji - there are a lot of islands there, it is very lush & tropical, the snorkeling is wonderful, the Fijians are so nice. The Fijian people really stand out in my mind. They are so pleasant, calm and happy despite, many of them, living with very little. I don't know if their seeming happiness is from the heat or the chilled island lifestyle, but I felt very safe there. I was also stuck by the ethnic and religious diversity. Even with a small overall population, there is a diverse mix of Pacific Islanders, Asian and Indians.While exploring one day, we passed one of the biggest Hindu temples in the Southern Hemisphere, a huge Muslim "coliseum" and school and several Christian churches with schools all within relative proximity to each other. It was nice to see that perhaps there can be religious harmony in the world.

We did venture out of the resort and see more local sites. One afternoon, we went to natural mud baths, orchid gardens, a Hindu temple and the local produce market. As someone who likes to cook (and eat) I always enjoy going to markets and grocery stores in foreign countries. Much of the produce in Fiji was foreign, not things I'd eat on a regular basis: chillies, taro, coconuts, paw paw, unknown greens, and kava. Kava...I'd heard about it since we arrived and was curious to try it. What alcohol is to the Western world, kava is to the Pacific Islands. People enjoy it as a relaxing sedative that is not suppose to impair mental clarity. The roots of the kava plant can be chewed or pounded down into a powder mixed with water and drunk. You can see what I thought of it - yuck!  However from my few sips, my lips felt numb and I did feel more relaxed. Hm mm.....

Moving from one stimulant to the next, my dish this week is Penne ala Vodka. I haven't seen this dish served at restaurants nor the bottled sauce in supermarket stores here in Sydney. The origins of where this sauce originated from is still a mystery - a small restaurant in Italy, a restaurant in NYC or a Russian vodka company trying to get more people to drink vodka in Italy? Wherever it originated from, it's a nice alternative to plain spaghetti/pasta sauce and easy to make. Don't worry! It's non-alcoholic, family friendly and just like cooking with wine, Sherry or Marsala, it all burns off while cooking.

Penne ala Vodka
altered from original recipe of Lindsay Hague

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 small bunch of basil/coriander, finely chopped* (optional)

1 400g can diced tomatoes

1 680g bottle of tomato puree 

1/2 cup vodka

1 cup heavy cream*

small container of button or brown mushrooms, washed and sliced thin* (optional)

red chili pepper flakes*

1/2 tsp of salt

1 regular sized bag of penne pasta

grated Parmesan, Pecorino, Pana Grandano

1) In large skillet, heat up olive oil and add onion. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring until onion is translucent and soft. Add Basil/coriander and stir.

2) Add can of diced tomatoes (do not drain) and tomato puree. Turn up heat and when it boils, stir and turn heat down to a low simmer. Cook sauce for 20 minutes, letting the mixture "cook down" and reduce so that sauce is quite thick. During this time, stir occasionally so that sauce doesn't burn. Also, start boiling water for the penne pasta.

3) Once sauce is very thick, add vodka, turn up heat a bit and stir through. After 5 minutes of cooking (and steaming the vodka out), add heavy cream. Meanwhile, start cooking the penne pasta.

4) Lower heat and let the flavours of the sauce mix together. While the sauce is cooking, add the sliced mushrooms.

5) Once mushrooms have reduced in size and are cooked, add some chili pepper flakes and salt to taste.

6) Serve over penne pasta with grated cheese.


Notes: 

- Basil is optional. If you do use it, use fresh or frozen. Don't bother with dried basil as most dried herbs do not have a lot of flavour. Also if your child doesn't like "green things" in his/her food, I would skip it. 

- Diced tomatoes - It is important to use "diced" tomatoes as they add texture to the sauce.

- Heavy cream - you could make it lighter by using 1/2 & 1/2 or evaporated milk. I prefer the rich taste of heavy cream.

- Mushrooms are optional.

- Chili pepper flakes are optional but I really like them as they give a little "kick" to the sauce. Add more or less depending on your spice tolerance.

- This sauce is rich. I serve it as a main course or it is also good as a side dish with meat or salmon.

Driving down under & Easy Tuscan Pasta

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Did you ever feel like a taxi driver? Perhaps 'chauffeur' sounds better, at least fancier. Now that school is in full swing, I seem to be doing a lot of driving for my 2 children - dropping/picking them up from the bus stop, after school activities, sports' training, friends' houses, etc. I'm so glad I got rid of my old station wagon last year and bought a sporty sedan. At least, I can troll the streets in luxury. I was warned by others that getting a 5-seat sedan was a bad idea. It wouldn't be good for carpooling since it doesn't seat 7 people. Do I really want 6 kids and myself in the car, six girls laughing and chatting it up in the backseats? I think not. It all sounds nice but the screaming and singing  is quite dangerous for a driver like myself.  I am a very distracted driver - 'look at that colourful bird....hmm, what kind of car is that....oh, I love that old Stevie Wonder song, time to start speeding and do the white man's overbite while I bop my head around.' Yes, I admit, I am a sub par, female driver. While some people have huge dreams of what they'll do and buy when they strike it rich, mine are simple - I want a chauffeur to drive ME around.

Driving in Sydney has it challenges. For starters, driving on the opposite, dare I say wrong side of the road, is quite an adjustment. My husband has taught me to hug the centre line of the road as it is quite natural to veer to the left. The first few months living here, I drove around with my radio off, clenching the steering wheel while saying aloud, 'drive on the left, Susan, stay in lane, you are too young to die, hug the white line!' just like Rain man, over and over again. Another challenge that I face on a daily basis is playing chicken with oncoming cars in my neighbourhood. With cars usually parked on either side of the street, it is Russian roulette to decide who will move over to the let the other one through first - yikes!

Sydney is Australia's largest city and it is estimated that there are 4.6 million people in the Sydney area. While the city has grown, the road infrastructure is lacking. The roadways are very congested and many of the major roadways are narrow local roads. I cringe when a big city bus is in the lane next to me as I think it could sideswipe me at any moment. Despite my complaints, I find the drivers in Sydney to be quite nice. You don't hear the symphony of horns blaring like you do in New York. In fact, I rarely hear horns at all as you are only suppose to use yours if you are about to get into an accident. The drivers use their turn signals most of the time and are courteous about letting you switch into their lane when your directional is on.

Like learning the Aussie lingo, there are is different lingo for driving too. Your car trunk is the boot, gas is petrol, the petrol station is the servo, the bonnet is the hood and many others.The 'Yield' sign has been replaced with a different warning, 'Give Way'.  The warning of a crosswalk is oddly indicated by a huge snakelike zigzag lines on either side of the crosswalk. There are a lot of roundabouts (aka rotaries) instead of traffic lights. Speed cameras are in effect in various areas and it is a shock if you get a ticket in your mailbox. The fines are expensive, you can't contest them (you must pay), and you lose points on your license. The sad thing is after passing the speed camera sign so many times, it becomes part of the scenery and you forget about it until you get a ticket. (Perhaps that happened to me?) I love seeing the koala and kangaroo signs but unfortunately I haven't seen either in this densely populated area.

With all my driving adventures, I don't have always have the time to make the dinners I'd like. During the week, I am always look for something fast, easy and nutritious. A favourite dish is Easy Tuscan Pasta which can be made in 20 minutes or less, all while the pasta is cooking. It is healthy and very filling.

Easy Tuscan Pasta

Base Recipe:

1 regular sized bag of penne or rigatoni

1 can of stewed or diced tomatoes

1 bag on fresh spinach

1 can navy/cannellini beans, drained

1/2 - 1 container of feta (plain, not in oil)


Add Ons:
sauteed onions, mushroom, garlic, olives, sundried tomatoes, Chorizo sausage, red chili flakes

1) Fill large pot with salted water and boil. When it has reached a rolling boil, add bag of pasta.

2) While pasta is cooking, empty entire can of tomatoes into large saucepan and heat through. Add bag of spinach. Spinach will appear to be overflowing from the pan but as you stir it more and more, it will decrease in size and mix in with the tomatoes.

3) Drain and then rinse can of beans. Stir beans into sauce until beans are well blended and some are starting starting to break. Do NOT cook the beans for too long as they will become glue-like. The beans add a nice creamy texture to the dish; you don't want to lose that.

4) Sprinkle 1/2-1 container of feta cheese in sauce and stir until mostly melted in the sauce and the sauce looks creamy and lighter in colour.

5) Serve over cooked pasta on its' own or with salad, bread, red wine.

Notes:
-  Use penne or rigatoni pasta. Thin pasta, like spaghetti, does not work well.
-  Cooking pasta - cooks often add some oil to their water hoping it'll prevent the pasta from sticking. The oil doesn't help it and only makes the pot greasy. Salted water is best as it makes the water boil at a higher temperature and only very minimally transfers the salty taste to the pasta. To stop pasta from sticking together, add 1 cup of cold water to the pot and stir just before draining pasta.

- This is a base recipe because it is quick and easy but you can also personalise it to suit your taste. I purposely did not put sizes on the ingredients as some may like more or less of the canned tomatoes, spinach, and/or feta.

- If you have the time, I would encourage chopping and sauteing an onion and/or mushroom as the very first step, then adding the tomatoes. Leftover, cut up sausages adds flavour as does chili pepper flakes or olives or sundried tomatoes. Whatever is in your refrigerator that you think would taste good, give it a go!

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