Pear Pasta

Weird, right? Wrong. So very very deliciously wrong.

I made this at Brandon's request since he loved the pear ravioli he had at Barolo's a while back.
Italians have been paring gorgonzola and pears for a long time, it's a shame that the US is barely catching on because pear is one of my favorite fruits. As an added bonus this is one of the easiest things I've ever made. The recipe I got didn't call for bacon, but let's be honest, there isn't a whole lot that bacon doesn't improve.



Pear Pasta
1 lb pasta
1/2 cup Italian parsley, thinly chopped
1 lb. pears (about 3), chopped
3-4 oz gorgonzola, or any other blue cheese
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp. corn starch
4 strips of bacon, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
salt, pepper

1. Cook pasta in salted water. Meanwhile, put pears, lemon juice, gorgonzola and parsley together in a bowl. Stir and let sit.
2. Put broth and corn starch in a pot together and let them boil, while stirring. Let boil for about 2-3 minutes.
3. Cook bacon and toast walnuts.
4. Mix cooked pasta with pear mixture and broth mixture then add bacon and walnuts on top. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I served this with fresh spinach on the side, but I'm sure a caprese would go over quite nicely.

Want

I can't think of a band I want to see more than Colplay in concert. Such a breath of fresh air from the punk crap. This is, to me, in competition for the best song of the album. Sorry about the bad word.

VIOLET HILL


Their new album is amazing. Every song has something to offer. They have grown up as a band. I was listening to Parachutes the other day and even though I still like it, it sounds different to me. I realized I have grown up too.

Not everyone is lucky enough to have a great band to grow alongside. They're my band. Not everyone has "that band". That band that when you hear in a store somewhere you can't help but smile. That band that has seen you through your awkward years. That band whose CD is one of the three things you would take to a deserted island (my other two things would be Brandon and the White Album - you didn't think I had abandoned the Beatles...).

Healthy Stuff, Part Un

I've been trying to cook very healthy and have found it rewarding and yummy. Through my adventures I've found that all it takes is to make everything yourself. Easier said than done, you say? Well, true, but with a little planning ahead it's not that hard.

The trick I've found is to not buy anything that is pre-pepared. When things are already made for you the sodium and MSG contents are through the roof becuase it's how the flavor is kept. You just have to be disciplined enough to be your own sous chef in the morning. Sometimes it's really tiring but sometimes you have an accident that turns out real nice.

DipSoup
This was a total accident, and like an idiot I forgot to take a picture. What happened was I made garlicky white bean dip, which goes like this:
1. Get northern white beans, stick them in a food processor and and a little olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt/pepper and a ton of garlic.

The problem here origniated with my happy pouring of the olive oil and lemon which made the dip way too runny so then I added more beans and it didn't help at all, it just made more dip. So I was left with runny dip. And hating to waste anything I turned it into soup.

I added yellow crook neck squash, chicken stock and let it cook down and added more chicken stock and it was great. We ate it with vegetarian paninis.

Vegetarian Paninis
1. Grill a bunch of your favorite grill-able vegetables, spread some pesto (I made chimichurri)on some bread.
2. Put vegetables in said bread.
3. Eat.

Retch

In my youth - and even into my adulthood - I've always imagined I was different cool objects and things. For example, if I were an animal I'd probably be a cat. If I were a car, I'd be a Cougar (a good year, like '67), which incidentally is a cat. Brandon says that if I were a piece of clothing I'd be a clean sock. But never in my most horrid nightmares did I think I would be this shoe.

Oh, the humanity.


This may be the ugliest shoe I have ever seen. No wonder it's on sale.