Tuna Beans (Tonno e Fagioli)

When the cupboard is looking really bare, make tonno e fagioli for a filling pantry supper.

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 onion, chopped fine
Olive oil
1 can tuna (packed in oil is yummier)
1 14 oz. can of tomatoes - San Marzano best, but any will do in a pinch
Basil
1 14 oz. can of white beans (other beans will do; chickpeas make a decent variation)
Chopped parsley for garnish
Salt and pepper

Saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat until it is clear and softened, at least ten minutes; then add garlic and saute until tender but not brown. Add tomatoes with their juice, breaking up fruit if whole. Simmer for fifteen to twenty minutes until tomatoes are cooked. (By the way, this is a marinara sauce - if you have no tuna or beans, you can serve this over pasta). Add dry or fresh basil to taste. Add drained tuna and drained beans, stir all and heat through. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped parsley.

This is really good served with a loaf of crusty bread. It makes a nice topping for toasted bread rounds, too. If it's your main course, then just add a green salad and you have a meal. White wine? Yum!

Written on Monday afternoon, posted Tuesday through the magic of scheduled posting. Yes, I really am offline on weekday mornings and all weekend.

Safeway specials for your emergency kit

I shop Safeway for staples, paper and cleaning supplies, and other household necessities. I also keep an eye on the specials to stock our pantry. Remember I told you to build up your cupboards so that you have two weeks' worth of food stored in case of an emergency? And of course, eat what you store - use the food regularly and replenish.

Well, this week Safeway is running a $.75 cent sale: mix-n-match. I bought lots of Dennisons' Chili and canned tomatoes. If I needed canned green beans or corn I would have bought that, as well. I may go back for more of the chili before the sale runs out - my husband is eating it. I had thought it would be good to have some cans to take camping this summer, but clearly ten cans is not enough chili to keep in storage.

The Fruitvale Safeway across from Dimond Library also stocks an unbelievable value in chickpeas. It's a 29 oz. can sold in the Mexican food section - $1.19 regular price, on sale for $1.09. The cheapest price for a 14 oz. can of chickpeas is usually $1.25 on sale, and right now those 14 oz. cans are around $1.99. So the 29 oz. can is nearly ONE QUARTER the price.

Of course you can always make hummus with one of these cans! Double the linked recipe.

But we enjoyed the chickpeas dressed with a lemon-garlic vinaigrette and garnished with chopped parsley, scallions and cumin. I thought I was making a lot of this salad but my family demolished it all in one sitting.

The Safeway on Redwood Road carries Chicken of the Sea solid tuna packed in olive oil that was on special for under $2 a can. It's better quality than the usual sale tuna. I've been eating it dressed with lemon and pepper. Yes you should limit consumption of tuna due to mercury worries, but once or twice a month is fine, and the Omega 3s are so good for you, they make up for the mercury (so claims Erik Peper, Ph.D. and exercise physiologist).

Pantry Cooking

I want my neighbors to lay in a good supply of emergency food in their pantries, but I want it to be fun and useful and tasty, not a dreary slog of dried milk and Spam. Therefore I'm going to post a series on cooking out of your pantry.

Why should you do it?

• The earthquake - ok obvious, but remote in time (or not!)
• Save money - when you have a well-stocked pantry and know how to use it, you don't HAVE to order takeout.
• Eat healthier. Out of the pantry? Yes. Learn to cook with beans and whole grains and you've got a good dinner instead of KFC.
  
• Stay tuned for a list of healthy pantry foods everybody needs more of.

The SF Chronicle did a pantry cooking article last year that focused on higher-end ingredients like dark chocolate, mirin sauce, and top-quality honey. Recipes included. Read it and stock some yummy delicacies to jazz up your emergency supplies.

Vegetarian ideas for the pantry from the Chronicle.

Cook unplugged - useful for planning to cook under earthquake or power outage conditions. The SF Chronicle published this during our energy crisis of 2001 - remember rolling blackouts?

List of my recipes that work with the pantry:

Bulghur and Tomatoes
Hummous
Pumpkin Tahini
Rice Pilaf
Egyptian Red Lentil Soup
Basic Lentil Soup with variations
Mjaddarah - lentils and rice with caramelized onions

I will post tonno e fagioli soon, another pantry dish I love. My current pantry recipe list is incomplete online so stay tuned for more.