Thursday Thirteen & a Recipe

Mom's very distracted with Jasmine and all, so I have decided to lighten things up a bit with a post about her silliness. You all know she likes to cook. Mr Karate calls her kitchen "the kitchen of endless possibilities," because she can make practically anything you want with stuff that's already in it. But she says she can't do anything unless these 13 things are in her kitchen.

Thirteen things Mom -must- have in her kitchen

1. Fresh Lemons
2. Fresh Garlic
3. Fresh Parsley
4. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5. Balsamic Vinegar
6. Dijon Mustard
7. Whole Black Peppercorns
8. Kosher Salt
9. Imported Canned Tuna in Olive Oil
10. Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
11. Capers
12. Fresh Parmagiano Reggiano Cheese (that's Parmesan)
13. Eggs

Personally, I think she's crazy, because there is no BEEF on this list, but what can I say? I'm just a cat.

10:24 PM: Mom wanted to post this recipe, which uses 9 of her 13 favorite ingredients.

Tuna, Lemon and Caper Sauce

1 6 oz can tuna (chunk or solid in olive oil), drained

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

Grated zest of 1 lemon

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

¼ cup fruity olive oil

½ Teaspoon salt (but Mom doesn’t think it needs it)

Freshly ground black pepper

2 Tablespoons capers, drained

¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

1. Place tuna in pasta serving bowl and break it into large bite-sized pieces. Add garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and capers and stir gently to combine. Set aside to warm to room temperature.

2. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain pasta well and immediately add to sauce in bowl. Sprinkle with parsley and toss. Serve at once with Parmesan cheese. Pass the pepper mill. Serves 2

Recommended pasta: 4 - 6 ounces penne rigate, medium shells, rigatoni or linguine

From Joie Warner's No-Cook Pasta Sauces

(Mom says you can add some halved cherry tomatoes, and some olives, and some red pepper flakes. She says you can also add some sun-dried tomato pesto. This is the version she made when she visited the Karate Lady last weekend. She says you could add some canned white beans to any leftovers for a nice pasta salad with beans. Mr Karate makes sure there are never any leftovers.)