Summer Time and the Living is Easy. . .

In the words of Sam Cooke, "Summer Tiiiime, and the living is easyyyy. . ." It took about two days for me to de-program my brain from teacher mode (I kept feeling like there was something I was supposed to be grading!), but summer time has finally set in.

One of the things I have been looking forward to this summer is more time to cook. So what's on my "to cook" list this summer? Well, to name a few things I want to BBQ a whole chiken (please don't ask me why, I'm not really sure), I'd like to make homemade tiramisu (my favorite dessert), and maybe experiment with some seafood like Lobster or Mussels (but that might have to wait until our trip to NH- I don't trust California sea creatures).

So my first dish of the summer is a super simple pasta dish with shrimp.
I kind of just created as I went, but I was very happy with how it came out. Paired with a salad this made a light and tasty summer meal.

1 package whole wheat linguine
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 small to medium white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
4 tomatoes chopped into small pieces
1 Tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/2 pound shrimp

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. In a large skillet heat olive oil and add onion and garlic until they begin to soften.
3. Chop tomatoes- I like fairly large chunks of tomato on my pasta, but feel free to chop to any size you like. Add to onion and garlic along with any juice from the tomatoes. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, adding basil, salt and pepper. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp is nice and pink.
4. Serve over pasta and enjoy!

chicken or meat?

I am fairly adventurous when it comes to cooking with new ingredients and trying new foods, though I am by no means a connoisseur of fine foods (yet). However, previous to trying out this recipe, my only experience with goat products is a vague memory of my mom buying goats milk at a farm back in New Hampshire (I'm assuming this means I drank it at some point?) and eating goat meat during a six week trip to Uganda. Most of that trip I tried to opt for chicken as the question, "Would you like chicken or meat?" always left me with doubts as to the ambiguous origins of the "meat."

That said, I opted to try something new when I was planning my weekly menu and found this recipe at Smitten Kitchen, which also gave me the chance to use the beautiful asparagus I bought at the farmer's market on Friday!


I do have to confess that I'm still not sure how I feel about this recipe. I love the combination of the lemon juice and basil, and the creamy taste without the richness of an Alfredo sauce. Somehow, I just keep picturing those goats. . .




Goat Cheese Pasta with Asparagus and lemon

1 lb. spiral pasta
1 lb. asparagus cut into 1-1 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. fresh chopped basil (the original recipe calls for tarragon, which I did not have on hand)
5- 5 1/2 ounce log fresh, soft goat cheese (not the pre-crumbled variety, which I'm told will not melt as easily)
1 Tblsp. finely grated lemon peel
fresh lemon juice to taste

Begin by cooking your pasta in a large pot of water. When Pasta is roughly 3 minutes from being done, add the asparagus and allow to cook for 3 minutes. Asparagus should still be firm. Drain pasta and asparagus together, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.

While the pasta is cooking, mix together the olive oil, basil (or tarragon), and goat cheese, and lemon peel. After you have drained the pasta and asparagus, add to the other ingredients. Mix together, adding reserved water as needed, until the cheese is completely melted and coats the pasta. Season with salt and pepper as well as lemon juice to taste.