Spring Pasta Mashup

This is a flavor conflicted dish, born of few ingredients and a desperate hunger.

I started out by finely mincing 3 garlic scapes, which I added to a bowl with one minced clove of garlic, just to punch up the flavor. Added to that was a half a cup of plain greek yogurt, a tablespoon of lemon juice, a handful of crumbled goat cheese, and some crushed black pepper.

After I mixed that all up, I added in a quarter of a red onion, diced. Meanwhile, the water was getting boiling on the stove for pasta. I used rotini. I had some leftover cooked butternut squash, which was cubed, so once the pasta was done and drained, I mixed that and the yogurt dressing in. I sprinkled some dried sage over the whole thing, and voila! Dinner!

It's an interesting dish, not ingredients I would usually pull together. It turned out well though, with the squash lending its subtle sweetness against the tang of garlic and red onion. The yogurt and goat cheese gave it a light creaminess. All in all, yum, especially with a glass of chardonnay.

In Between Days

What a busy weekend. Sorry I'm already failing at updating regularly. Life seems to get the best of me. I flew out to Kansas City for Memorial Day weekend, as my cousin was getting married. A lovely ceremony and the reception was a blast. I love spending time with my family! Here's the view of downtown from the 40th floor:

 And here's me, all gussied up:

The dress is handmade vintage (from the Nitty Gritty, in Louisville). It's the most amazing tone-on-tone rose-embossed silk brocade, with a lovely low-cut back. The peep-toe heels are Frye, and super comfortable. Earrings borrowed from my mama, thrifted bracelets from Unique. Went with a simple side-swept updo and cat-eye liner.

I feel fortunate to have such a large and loving family. It was wonderful to witness my cousin's union with her fiance, as they are such a sweet match, but very realistic about the true nature of partnership in their marriage, which I admire. I wish them the best :)

Another food post shortly, I promise!

Fools Gold

This morning has turned out unexpectedly beautiful in terms of weather and haul, especially for the so-called rapture. I made an effort to get up early, and got my lazy ass to the Bardstown Rd. farmers' market. I managed to make it there only an hour after it had opened (better than an hour before it closed, which is what I managed last week), so there were no sad empty strawberry crates to greet me this time. I even managed to braid my hair and put on a dress!

I picked up a dozen eggs, a pint of strawberries, some purple and green asparagus, fresh dill, some beautiful chard, a couple of tomatoes, and to my extreme delight, some garlic scapes. I've been looking forward to garlic scapes for weeks now, and can't wait to make a tangy lemon pasta dish with them. Here's my lovely asparagus and chard, soaking up some H20:

I couldn't wait to cook up some breakfast, so I went with oeufs-en-cocotte (baked eggs) with chard and tomatoes. Easy peasy:

I preheated the oven to 350, and added a pat of butter to each of my 4oz ramekins. I slid them in to the oven for about 2 minutes, just enough to bubble the butter.

 Meanwhile, I sauteed (over medium heat in olive oil) a quarter of a Vidalia onion with a clove of garlic. I added some fresh ground pepper and a sprinkle of thyme. When they were soft, I added six finely chopped leaves of Swiss chard, washed, dried, with stems removed.

 After the chard was cooked down, I divided it amongst the three ramekins. I cracked an egg into each ramekin, making sure to reserve the yolk until the last minute, so it could sit prettily in the middle. I topped each each with a few slivers of extra sharp white cheddar and a few bits of chopped tomato.

They went into the oven for 10-15 minutes. After they were out, I topped them with a sprig of dill and a sprinkle of kosher salt. Toast up some bread and serve!

They are SUPER hot after they come out of the oven, so watch your little mouth. Sorry these are all crappy pictures from my antique first gen iPhone, but my camera is temporarily dead. Enjoy, lovelies.