Good evening, News Viewers and welcome to the weekend. We’re having some awesome weather—mid-80s with our wonderful Delta Breezes, nature’s AC, doing its thing. It will heat back up but right now, oh, such a relief and so enjoyable.
So, tonight I thought we could discuss our favorite foods and what you like to cook when you have the time, energy, whatever.
Tonight, I’m making my favorite…pasta. I keep it simple because I don’t eat meat but I am mindful about those in my family who do eat meat. I’m just sautéing a bunch of vegetables. I just picked up some asparagus and will add some zucchini and Calabrian peppers from our garden, red onions and garlic, mix in a bit of pesto sauce I made from one of my basil plants, and throw it over pasta. For the carnivores in my family, they get some grilled, Italian chicken sausage to go with. Can’t forget the oregano and parm.
It’s finally cool enough to boil water for pasta, which steams the hell out my kitchen and turns it into a sauna. Yes, I have a powerful hood system but, ugh! boiling H2O in the heat blows. When it’s hot, I usually cook pasta early in the day with the backdoor open, throw some olive oil over it so it doesn’t stick, dry out, or turn to ick, and throw it in the fridge. Then, I will reheat it in a sauté pan with whatever I’m sautéing. It also cuts down on the dinner making time.
If I muster up the energy, I’m HOOKED on these blood orange olive oil, dark chocolate brownies that my sons, daughter in law I like, mom, and I recently had at an olive oil store near my mom’s house and might make a batch. They are so good.
We have a blood orange tree and I already told everyone—save the peels; mom’s going to infuse a bunch of olive oil. I do that with my lemons and chili peppers but the blood orange olive oil…to die for! I used to buy it from a local winery because it makes a great, flavorful dressing for spinach salad or a warm couscous salad I make in the fall with persimmons, apples, butternut squash or sweet potatoes, and other stuff.
So, what’s for dinner or what do you plan to conjure up in the near future?
Don’t feel like talking about food? Talk about whatever’s on your mind. But more importantly, enjoy the rest of the weekend and stay safe.
