Report (and recipe) from the Weather Catastrophist

Last night, it's fair to say that Todaysfrase was in a weather-related tizzy.  There was a wild-and-crazy thunder and lightning storm, which lasted for what felt like forever (and practically was forever).  Making matters worse, right in the middle of that storm, I needed to cook dinner (requiring me to stand near and actually use the kitchen sink and electric stove -- two things that I am completely committed to avoiding like the plague during a lightning storm).  

Needless to say, it was hair-raising.  And, this morning, I awoke to find my vegetable garden in a state of near catastrophe.  I spent most of the afternoon cleaning things up and restoring tomato cages to their proper positions.  (Yes, TF-ers, it's true.  After all this time, there are still things that you might not know about me.  And one is the fact that I love to garden almost as much as I love murder mysteries and French movies.)

In honor of my tomato plants, I'd like to give you a recipe for a fabulous pasta in a tomato and sauteed pepper sauce.  The recipe comes from one of my favorite people:  Marco, who has come to Manhattan by way of Milan (so you can tell that this recipe is authentic and probably has a very descriptive name that I'm not sure I ever knew).  It doesn't take all that long to make, so before you begin, start bringing a big pot of water to a boil.

Cut up a few red peppers (thin slices, cut along the diagonal).  Saute these in a few tbsp. of olive oil, over medium heat, in a large pan.   Meanwhile, peel lots of fresh, ripe tomatoes (Marco says that you should scald them in boiling water, then remove the peel -- my own thought is that this is an unnecessary step, but I always do it because he tells me to).  How many is lots?  I don't think you could use less than four large ones, but you could use a lot more and I'd recommend this, since leftovers are very good.

After about ten minutes, the red pepper slices should be soft and at least slightly browned.  At this point, add the tomatoes (peel, quartered); cook them over moderate heat until the tomatoes dissolve into a sauce.  Of course, stir occasionally. You should get to the dissolved-tomato stage about 30 minutes after starting the recipe.

Commonsense tells you that there was a point before now when the pasta water came to a rolling boil.  Take action:  Salt the water and add whatever type of pasta you choose.  Cook until al dente, then drain.   (You have a choice here: You might come to feel, now or later, that you need a little extra liquid in your sauce.  Either you could add some of the pasta water -- if that's your preference, reserve a cup of water when you drain the pasta -- or you could add some good-quality olive oil, which is my preference. )  When your tomatoes have dissolved, add 1 - 3 tbsp. of ricotta cheese (depending upon how much cheese you like in a sauce), stir to blend. Proceed cautiously and you can figure this out for yourself.  Add salt and pepper, to taste.  

At this point, mix the pasta with the tomato and pepper sauce, lower the heat to simmer, stir, and cover the pan.  Cook for at least 15 minutes, so that the pasta will absorb the taste of the sauce.  If necessary, add a little of the pasta water or olive oil, stir to blend.  

TF-ers, my tomatoes will be ripe pretty soon  Do you have any good recipes to share?

Struck by lightning

With all the storms we've been having this summer, this may be the right time to mention: TodaysFrase comes from a long line of women who have been hit by lightning.  Okay, it's a short line - just my mother and grandmother - but that's just a little too long for me.  During thunder and lightning storms, I always stay away from running water, telephones, electrical appliances, and golf courses (true, I don't play golf, except the occasional round of miniature golf, but I am especially happy that I don't play non-miniature golf whenever there's a T&L storm in the weather forecast).

This brings me to Alice Hoffman, a novelist whose novels I almost always enjoy.  The only exception is The Ice Queen, which was a little too painfully close to home since a number of characters in the book were indeed hit by lightning (this kept adding to my list of activities and appliances to avoid doing during adverse weather conditions).   

On a happier note, my favorite of Hoffman's books is Here and Now, which is a completely irresistible retelling of Wuthering Heights.  I read it in one day and night and scarcely remember taking time off for meals.

Along these lines, another truly great take on one of the classics is Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea.  Written in a hypnotic, elegant, very spare style, it's the story of the first Mrs. Rochester (as in, the crazy lady in the attic in Jane Eyre).  This is Rhys's best book by a mile.  After WSS, I read all the others, despite my growing sense they all move in the general direction of a bog-down in some type of depressing, usually sodden, incredibly tedious love affair.

I can't endorse the re-tell genre, as a whole, because so many of these books are just plain trashy.  But I'm wondering if any TF-ers have books like these that they'd recommend?