pasta e fagioli soup

I have an irrational distaste for certain pasta shapes. I almost never buy macaroni - even if I'm making "macaroni" and cheese. You can forget rigatoni. Farfalle is another scorned pasta, but sometimes it does find its way into my kitchen. Then it sits there for 6 months while I purchase more desirable shapes like shells or spaghettini.

Eventually I come to the realisation that I should probably use the farfalle. This happened the other day and resulted in a comforting and filling pasta e fagioli, which was inspired by the lovely and amazing Shutterbean.

pasta primavera with parmesan and white wine sauce

Guess what made me crave pasta primavera. It would put most people off pasta primavera for a little while... but not me, I guess. I was watching that episode of Seinfeld where Russel Dalrymple, an NBC executive with whom Jerry is trying to start a pilot, orders pasta primavera at a restaurant. Elaine sneezes on it and he ends up getting violently ill.

So of course, I thought to myself.... that's what I want for dinner! Isn't it totally absurd how my stomach and my brain works?

spicy peanut sesame noodles

 

Welcome to my first post from my brand spanking new computer. Woohooo! There were some scary times in the squirrel household this week. Nobody likes the sound of a four year old laptop's hard drive clicking. Luckily I was able to salvage my data - tv series, music and some memorable pictures - and they're all safe and secure on my new MacBook Pro. Badaba ba ba! I'm loving it.

Buying a computer is not fun. It means (if you're on my side of the fence) that you have to go and brave the Apple Store and feel all the usual levels of Apple Store Rage. In order to give them their requisite $1400, you have to track down a genius and give him or her your name for the waiting list. You then get to wait, totally helpless, while employees wander aimlessly poking at their iPads or help people who came in the store after you did. It's exasperating. Apple's corporate arrogance is like... off the charts. Can they seriously have forgotten where they were 15 years ago?!

Unexpected expenses (especially so soon after a trip to New York City) mean that this squirrel is eating on the cheap for the foreseeable future. The first meal heralding my new age of poverty was spicy peanut sesame noodles. Cheap and filling and good!

spaghettini with banana pepper arrabiata

 

Do you know that I was a hair's breadth from becoming a crazy cat lady? It's true. I love my cat. No... really. I really really love my cat.

Why am I taking this moment to introduce you to my favourite redhead? Because she's unwell. Not seriously unwell, only temporarily. I'll spare you the details because they're gross, but she has a bladder infection. She spent the day at the vet on Friday, undergoing a battery of (very expensive) tests. She was shaved, poked, drained, examined, manhandled and had a thermometer stuck up her bum. It was a lot for an old lady to handle. The technicians put a cone on her head for their own protection and wore elbow-length gloves.

classic fettucine alfredo

Fettucine alfredo, because of its simplicity, is often seen as a vehicle for chicken, seafood and veggies. Our high maintenance palates can't handle the idea of eating something so uncomplicated and, well, boring. One glance at the reviews for the recipe on Epicurious confirms this. Hot pepper flakes?! Whyyyyyy....

I want you to take a moment to rethink fettucine alfredo. It doesn't mean that there isn't a place for chicken or broccoli on your alfredo ever again, it's just that something so incredibly magical happens when you use real, high quality ingredients and you keep it simple. Pasta, butter, cream, parmesan and nutmeg. That is all. Try it.