Last night my friends reminded me about some of the joys of blogging. The writing, the eating, how it can be so simple, how it’s part of who we are and how we communicate. You should read their blogs – Eat More, Drink More, District Brit, Frijolita, Florida Girl in DC – especially if you’re in DC. Beyond their blogs, they inspire me in many many ways.
We were also talking about restaurants with menus that haven’t changed. We were split. If it was a good restaurant, we had a great experience, but yet it’s not a place we frequent often, are we satisfied with the same menu every time? Jenna wants to go back and have her favorite dish there – a simple but lovely pesto gnocchi. Russell wants to see what else they can do. They both come from a place of adoration.
It reminded me of my Sunday pasta routine. Sometimes I just want the same thing over and over. After all, the point of Sunday pasta is ultimately comfort – at the end of a busy weekend, at the start of a busy week. But seasons change and so does the produce at the market, and new ingredients and combinations get my creative vibes moving at a time when they’re probably programed to wind down. It’s good for me. (Hint: Nikki, do this more often.)
The ingredients are really the way I’m going to get somewhere new. Everything else remains the same…the boxed pasta (sorrynotsorry that I don’t have time to make fresh pasta every weekend), the garlic and olive oil and butter, tossing everything together in a big pan, making a mess, West Wing or a 90′s pop music playlist playing in the background, my mom calling halfway through.
In this case, I changed things up with a spinach walnut pesto. Nothing groundbreaking here, but it was different than just typically throwing the spinach into the pasta to wilt a bit. Sautéing the asparagus instead of roasting it, kept the dish feeling lighter and added some texture. And how can you not be inspired by that bright pop of green? I’m sooo healthy even though this is full of carbs, yeah? Let’s pretend.
Sunday Pasta: Orecchiette with Spinach Walnut Pesto and Asparagus
In a food processor, combine handfuls of fresh spinach, fresh basil, walnuts, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper until volià you have pesto. Chop asparagus in small pieces and sauté in butter and olive oil until cooked through (depends on how much of a crunch you’d like). Add the pesto and cooked pasta to the pan. Toss. Buon appetito!
Sunday pasta has taken on new meaning this summer. It’s still my chance to cook, unwind, and zone out at the end of the weekend. But it’s also been a bit of a refresher too. A creative stimulant that’s just for me before the week starts. It’s helpful that it’s light out so late and the weather is perfect around dinner time. The day doesn’t have to end so quickly.
