Our First Recipe - Green Pea and Spinach Tortellini

This is a really easy recipe and very fresh. It can be served with a creamy sauce like a Vodka sauce, or I like it with mushroom Marsala sauce and a bit of prosciutto.

Green Pea and Spinach Tortellini
1 1lb package frozen peas, thawed and cooked (I nuke them for 2-3 minutes)
1 15 oz container ricotta cheese (skim, whole, whatever you like)
1 cup fresh spinach leaves (if you have frozen, thaw and squeeze the water out)
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley
2 cloves garlic
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons lemon juice (1 lemon squeezed)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 packages won ton wrappers (some have 48 some 64, this makes about 100)

For Filling: Drain all wet ingredients well and put everything except lemon juice, salt and pepper in food processor. Pulse until smooth like pesto, scraping down sides. Add lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pulse again to combine.

To prepare Tortellini: Remove won ton wrappers from package and lay 4-6 out on your board at a time, covering the rest so they don't dry out. Have ready a baking sheet and a towel to cover prepared tortellini. Get a small bowl of water.

Using a teaspoon or melon baller, scoop a small amount of filling into the center of each wrapper. Do not overfill them or they will fall apart in the water when you cook them.

Wet 2 sides of the won ton wrapper with water using your finger. Fold wrapper in half diagonally pressing air out from the center as you go. fold one corner toward center and wet other corner and fold over top. This makes a nice little tortellini package. Continue with remaining won ton wrappers, placing them on the baking sheet and covering as you go.

At this point, freezing these is very easy. Place on a baking sheet that fits into your freezer and leave uncovered for several hours until solid. Move to a zip top bag and keep up to 3 months.

To cook, either fresh or frozen: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously. Drop in tortellini to cover the bottom and wait until they float to the top. You might need to nudge some of them if you have some that won't come up. Remove with a slotted spoon sauce and serve.

Gardening in Colorado

Finally, Mother's day has come and gone, now we can plant! That is the rule here in Colorado according to my friend Danyell (who I might add now lives in Panama and can garden year round, the bum!) For Mother's day, Ron is taking me plant shopping this week, I'll let you know what I come up with.

Of course most of us can't wait and buy inappropriate plants when they show up at Home Depot or the garden center and have killed off several rounds of basil or tomatoes by the time June rolls around, I know I usually do. In fact, I bought 2 tomato plants in April, planted them and the next 4 weeks had some snow (the first weekend brought 18"). But I covered them with buckets and they seem to be ok. 1 of them even has a little tomato on it already. They may survive yet. Of course it could also snow some more, so I'll keep those buckets handy.

On Sunday, I did pick some baby greens that I planted before our April snowstorm, they were on the menu last night and they were yummy. I also planted some asparagus and saw a stalk come up, but those pesky rabbits seem to have gotten it, but at least I had proof that it grew. Silly rabbits are also eating all the spinach. I'm looking for a hungry coyote to come and hang in the yard till June to eat the pesky bunnies!

Welcome to The Checkered Tablcloth

What is the Checkered Tablecloth?

Well, this blog, like a checkered tablecloth is many things.

The tablecloth provides the foundation for the family dinner at the dining room table; it protects the kitchen table from glue, glitter, crayons and markers; it goes out into the garden for the baby to lie on; it goes to the park to cover the picnic table; it goes to the ball game and provides a place for the snacks; it goes to the pool and ends up as a towel. The threads of the tablecloth create the fabric of life.

This blog is about life. Here you may find out about cooking, gardening, fused glass, woodworking, dogs, kitchen design, hiking, camping, Architecture, construction, wine, beer, martinis, the state of the economy and how it is affecting us, the trials and tribulations of life, and whatever else might be going on here in Centennial Colorado.

I can't say that I'll stick to a topic at this point, because I just don't know. It will likely be a lot of what I think about in the middle of the night when I should be sleeping. This seems like a better way to spend my time than tossing and turing.

I can only hope you enjoy the ride and join in the conversation.

Jan