Some may call it an obsession

I can't stop buying rhubarb at the farmer's market! But last weekend I also brought home some peas and six adorable little squash: zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, pale green zucchini and two globe zucchini: one light, one dark. I took a picture but...not sure where it ended up.

Tonight was a night for originality.

Shrimp and Summer Squash Spaghetti (SSSS)

1/2 pound medium uncooked shrimp

1/3 pound (?) spaghetti

3 petite summer squash, sliced on the diagonal or in half rounds

A few leaves of basil

Dried basil

Can of petite diced tomatoes

Olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced


Start the spaghetti.

1. Add the garlic to a hot olive-oiled saute pan. (Talk to your housemate about how good it smells and reminisce about times we've burned garlic. Don't let the garlic burn.)

2. Add the shrimp to the pan. Flip them over after about 2 minutes or when looking pinkish. Let cook a couple more minutes. Add some water, diced tomatoes and dried basil to the pan.

3. In another heated olive-oiled pan saute the squash being sure not to crowd so they get brown. When all the squash is cooked add it to the lightly bubbling tomato shrimp mixture.

4. Toss with spaghetti. Serve with fresh parmesan and garnish with shredded basil leaves.


It felt downright greedy to make this just for myself.

Looking for something new to do with Asparagus?

I was. So was Mark Bittman. Like two peas in a pod, we are, but he's the more inventive and famous pea.

I made a half-recipe of Bittman's Asparagus Pesto and ate it on pasta (ridges a-must!) with peas. It was tasty enough to be eaten three days in a row: dinner, lunch, lunch again.

Plus, using my Cuisinart is fun! Isn't the pesto a beautiful color?

How about that bolognese...?

I wasn't supposed to be involved in the creation of this, but I was too hungry to sit back and let someone else toil over it all alone. I must be clear though that this was not my vision, a beautiful, well-executed vision, but not really something for which I can take credit.

Onion, garlic, ground beef (the 80/20 at my suggestion), hot Italian turkey sausage (to balance the fattier beef), then crushed and diced tomatoes, tomato paste, red and green pepper and mushrooms, Italian seasoning and fresh basil. It thickened up nicely as lunch leftovers 2 days later.