Perfect pig pasta
Yesterday I was reading through the blogs I subscribe to and I came upon Stephanie’s blog, Dispensing Happiness. She made a delicious looking penne with prosciutto and parmesan. I was already hungry since all I’d had for lunch was a scone, a cup of coffee, and some chocolate gelato (ah… the healthy diet of carbs and caffeine). To make matters worse I’d just started reading Peter Kaminsky’s book Pig Perfect. This is not the book to read if you are a crazy porkaholic, which I certifiably am. So when I saw Stephanie’s penne with prosciutto I said…hmmm, I should do something like that.
I had a half pound of lovely, porky, Willow Creek Farm bacon in the refrigerator as well as parmesan, and parsley. The garlic and a delicata squash from the pantry seemed the natural addition so I split the squash, tossed the seeds and put the squash in the oven to roast for about 20 minutes. Then as it cooked I chopped garlic, parsley, and diced bacon. When I pulled the squash out of the oven I was able to remove the shell and cut the squash into cubes.
About 20 minutes before I expected my lovely genius husband to walk in the door for dinner I put the water for the penne on to boil. Once it was rolling and the penne was cooking I added the bacon to a skillet heated up on medium. It took about 8 minutes for the bacon to cook on a medium low heat and then I removed the bacon, removed the pan from the heat, added a dash of olive oil and tossed the garlic into the skillet. Once the pasta was done I scooped servings out of the pasta pot and into a metal bowl. For Dexter and Alex I added bacon, garlic, and parmesan. Genius husband and I had the full monty of bacon, garlic, parsley, delcata squash, and parmesan. It was delicious!!!
Now I will confess, while in the thrall of the chapter about Ham I ordered a ham from Willow Creek. I predict a lot of pork while I read this book…and that’s a good thing!
Winter salad…almost local
My effort to remain local is slowly eroding since there isn’t much left that is local here. But this salad is almost local. It is made with english cucumber, cilantro, ginger, and jalapeno (not local), daikon, carrot, and garlic (local). I used my trusty yet potentially treacherous mandoline to do the chopping and I dressed it with a shake of canola and two shakes of rice vinegar. It was very spicy, refreshing, and tasty…I want more!
Double-shot redeye
Every day the genius husband gets up and brews the elixir of life. He uses a hot pot to heat the water, he grinds the beans fresh, and he brews using a french press. I’m a lucky woman because he also drags me out of bed and serves me my coffee. On the weekends I jump into the fray and add a double-shot espresso to our first cup for an invigorating redeye, the brew of those willing to risk going too far. Genius takes his with sugar and frothed cream. I thought his cup looked beautiful on Saturday. For brewing equipment or for research prior to purchasing equipment I turn to two websites: Whole Latte Love and CoffeeGeek
Menu of Hope kicks off today so check out the loot to bid on at Chez Pim. I’ve got my eye on the Rogue Creamery Anniversary Pack. Last year more than $17,000 was raised and I’m sure we can do more this year. This year we’re raising money for the UN World Food Programme
