Recipe Reduction Regimen Results #194-195

I've just made my first elimination.  Cheating, already? I just can't bring myself to make the Miso Soup 3 I copied out from The Minimalist Baker. I'm sure it would taste fine, but it calls for "sturdy greens" and I forgot to buy some, plus it seems to be a watered down variation (pun intended) of Miso Soup 1 and Miso Soup 2.

Maybe to be honorable about removing this one, I should add one of the two--no--three recipes which have already appeared in my "To Be Added" folder. Oops--wasn't supposed to mention that.

Instead, we have,
Miso Soup 2
from The Kitchn

Bonito Flakes are fiiiiishy!  But the soup ended up being a little bland.  I'd have  added some thinly sliced daikon if I'd remembered I had it. 
It was good, though, much better than my previous effort which lacked bonito.

One question--is the only reason Japanese cooks use silken tofu, instead of extra-firm, that silken is so much harder to cut up neatly?  It's all about the challenge, right?

I'm sure a real Japanese cook could tell the difference. I can't.









Then on to polar opposite--Sicily! 
Sicilian Broccoli and Cauliflower Pasta
from Heidi

I followed the ingredient list pretty near religiously, omitting only the saffron which costs $15 for a tiny bottle because it's a spice obtained from the stamens of a flower!  How precious is that?

Admittedly I'd like to try some real saffron sometime, but I'm not paying $15 to add a "pinch" to a great big huge bowl of pasta. In addition to that omission I cheated on the technique--the recipe said to stir-fry the broccoli, wipe out the pan, stir-fry the cauliflower, wipe out the pan, then saute the onions and put it all back together. I was about one minute into stir-frying, when I realized I could just throw it all into the oven and roast it for thirty minutes. Hands off == happy cook.

After that I threw it all together--whole wheat penne, vegetables, onion, garlic, hot pepper flakes, rosemary, Parmesan cheese, toasted pine nuts, and a bit of the cooking water--and expected nothing much.  (I skipped the raisins--too icky in a savory dish).  I expected it to taste like a bowl of pasta with boring vegetables on top.

And yoo-hoo! It was actually GOOD. Not boring at all...kind of subtle and hearty at the same time. I'm saving this one...but wait!  what about adding some strips of red pepper? And some sliced Kalamata olives?  And zucchini....

If I liked it so much, why am I trying to change it?