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Can’t Find Right Entree? Create Your Own Recipe

Merri Lou Dobler Correspondent

Who’s got the most cookbooks in their kitchen? I, for one, find that my collection keeps growing. It’s an unsatiated appetite for the new, the different, the delicious.

Of course, I’ve got a valid excuse to have 60-plus cookbooks. Food and nutrition are my bread and butter, if you get my meaning.

Local libraries offer a great variety of cookbooks. The Spokane Public Library boasts more than 2,000 titles. More than 1,000 are available through the Spokane County Library District.

Then there are the cozy nooks and crannies of cookbooks in bookstores.

The large cookbook section at Auntie’s Bookstore in downtown Spokane is spread out on the mezzanine level. Best sellers include celebrity cookbooks and the vegetarian-oriented Moosewood collection.

When people pick up on a new trend such as Thai cooking, says Auntie’s Lois Hughes, the store stocks up fast. Customers enthusiastic about a cookbook will sometimes order 10 copies to give to friends.

But what to do after spending half an hour and still not finding that perfect entree in a cookbook? Why, make up your own recipe, of course.

Today’s Swedish-Style Tortellini takes advantage of the fresh pastas available in supermarkets. There are fresh sauces too, such as alfredo, marinara, pesto and four cheese.

You can try something different and top the pasta with a dry sauce mix reconstituted with nonfat milk. It’s easy enough for an 11-year-old to make.

Slice some kiwi fruit, cook fresh asparagus and serve. You may even have time to check out another bookstore after dinner.

Swedish-Style Tortellini

1 package (9 ounces) fresh tortellini or ravioli filled with beef, vegetables or cheese

1 package (2.37 ounces) Swedish meatballs seasoning and sauce mix

2 cups nonfat milk

Cook tortellini or ravioli in a pot of boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain.

While pasta is being prepared, empty both sauce mix and 1 tablespoon seasoning mix in sauce pan. Add milk and stir. Simmer until mixture thickens, stirring constantly.

Pour mixture over pasta and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 249 calories, 14 grams protein, 41 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams fat (14 percent fat calories), 25 milligrams cholesterol, 260 milligrams sodium.

MEMO: The goal of Five and Fifteen is to find recipes where you can do the shopping in about five minutes and the cooking in fifteen. Merri Lou Dobler, a registered dietitian and Spokane resident, welcomes ideas from readers. Write to Five and Fifteen, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.

The following fields overflowed: SUPCAT = COLUMN, RECIPE - Five and Fifteen

The goal of Five and Fifteen is to find recipes where you can do the shopping in about five minutes and the cooking in fifteen. Merri Lou Dobler, a registered dietitian and Spokane resident, welcomes ideas from readers. Write to Five and Fifteen, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.

The following fields overflowed: SUPCAT = COLUMN, RECIPE - Five and Fifteen