Pasta For The People

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I'd been planning to type up my recipe for Congee Tom Yum, the soup I delivered to the Village on Friday night when, on Tuesday morning, I read my e-mail.

Well, wow.

Occupy OC thought it important enough to put my name in an e-mail blast call to attend the Irvine City Council meeting that night. I guess I'd better do something. I mean, they even said "Please"!

So I set about making arrangements to get a ride (thank you Laura!) and to have my husband take charge of the pasta I had on the menu for that night. And I spent a lot of time thinking about what I would say to the City Council about the Occupation.

Let's get this clear, here. I am not a public speaker. I'm an introvert. The adage "three's a crowd" is not far off for me. I work from a home office and see my co-workers face-to-face about twice a year. And I like it that way. Out of my comfort zone? Understatement of the decade.

As soon as I'd gotten the pasta prepared (recipe follows) and warming in the oven, I prepared myself for the meeting. I did my hair. I put on my Monday Morning Go To Texas clothes. I donned jewelry like it was armor.

Laura and her car full of laundry picked me up at 4:30. We stopped at the village and then walked over the grass to City Hall just after 5:00 PM. It feels like one of the bravest things I've ever done, lining up to fill out that form to request time to speak to the Council. I made my way up to the back of the auditorium, found a seat next to new friends and took in the proceedings whilst making notes for my upcoming three minutes.

After about two and a half hours (yes, really) the question of renewing the agreement between the City and Occupy OC was finally heard. The presentation by the assistant city manager was crisp and unbiased. After she finished, it was time for public comments. I gathered my notes and prepared to watch my fellow Occupiers speak and wait my turn.

Mayor Kang and Fate had other ideas. I do believe I muttered a "holy shit, that's me" to myself as I heard my name called as the first commenter.

Honestly, I didn't say much more than I'd said in my first post here, other than to thank the City council for honoring the First Amendment and to iterate that the importance of Occupy isn't in any single initiative or issue addressed, but that people feel they have a place to be heard. Something they haven't had in years.

I was neither the most, nor the least, eloquent speaker that night. In the end there were over 35 speakers in favor of the Occupation and seven against. The council voted unanimously to extend the agreement for an additional two weeks to the spirit hands and applause of many.

If you really must, the video can be found on the City's website. Jump to agenda item 5.2. My segment starts around 2:32.

And now, what you've really been waiting for, the easiest recipe I have:

Pasta For The People

1 #10 can crushed tomatoes in puree

1 #10 can tomato sauce (preferably unsweented)

2 pounds of yellow or white onions

4 - 6 zucchini or yellow squash (optional)

Seitan or other protein-rich meat-analog in amount equivalent to 2-3 pounds of ground beef

1 cup of vegan sugar

1/4 cup garlic powder

1/4 - 1/2 cup Italian seasoning

salt

pepper

4 pounds penne pasta

olive oil

4 aluminum half-size steam table pans

(Note: #10 can are the really big-ass cans you find at Costco or other warehouse places - they hold about 13 cups of actual food)

Open and pour the two cans of tomato products into a really large pot (I use a 16 quart stainless steel pot for most of my cooking). Use a cast iron flame tamer if your pot has a thin bottom and place the pot over medium heat. This is your sauce.

While the tomato sauce is heating, chop the onions into a medium dice. Heat a wide skillet or sautee pan on medium-high heat and pour in enough oil to coat the bottom. Add the onions once the oil starts to shimmer. Sprinkle the onions with a little salt, reduce the heat to medium and sautee until transparent, stirring occasionally. Don't allow them to brown! It could cause your sauce to taste bitter.

As the onions cook, chop the zucchini into cubes or wedges about 1/2" in size.

Once the onions are transparent and soft, add them to the tomato mixture.

Place the skillet or sautee pan back on the burner over medium high heat and add more oil to coat the pan again. Once the skillet is hot, add the zucchini. Cook the zucchini at medium-high heat until it is slightly soft and the edgest start to brown a little.

Add the zucchini to the tomato mixture.

You want your seitan or other protein source to have a texture similar to crumble-fried ground beef. If it isn't already in this texture you can either pluse in a food processor or chop it by hand to get the desired texture.

Add the seitan to the sauce.

Finally, add the sugar (omit if using pre-sweetened tomato sauce), garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to the sauce. Stir to mix completly and cover. You'll want it to simmer gently until all the pasta is ready to be sauced.

You will probably have to cook your pasta in stages. I've found that I can cook about two pounds in my largest stock pot (barring my Occupy pots), which is about 10 quarts.

Put water on to boil and cook pasta in as many batches as it takes. Follow the package directions.

Preheat oven to 210º.

Line up your aluminum pans on the counter and drizzle each with a little bit of olive oil (you can really use other oil for this part if that's what you have - it doesn't make much difference).

Pour the cooked pasta into the pans one at a time. If you've cooked two pounds at once, divide those equally between two pans. Stir the pasta to coat with the oil.

Once you've cooked all the pasta and the sauce has simmered for at least half an hour (an hour is better)

Pour about 6 cups of sauce into each pan of pasta. Stir. Add a bit more sauce if any of the pans appears dry. You may have sauce left over, I usually have 2-4 cups left over that I use for home or add to other recipes.

Cover the pans with aluminum foil and place in the oven on the top and middle racks. You can leave them there while you go shower and get ready for General Assembly.

When you're ready to go, remove the pans from the oven and take them to your car. You can fit two pans on a typical cookie sheet, and it will make it easier to get the pans transported, as they're a little bit flimsy.

Head to the village and be prepared for some exhuberant smiles.