use real butter

I felt like total crap this morning. Allergies strike again. I gave my health care provider a call and they put me on the line with a pharmacist who rattled off a list of 6 over the counter meds I could try to relieve my symptoms. I love that woman!

Down in Boulder I met with Beth and Nicole for lunch at Il Pastaio which was awesome. The food was great and we caught each other up before Beth had to get back to work - her last full day before going part-time.

beth and nic humor me before tucking into lunch

But the best surprise of the day was getting the nicest care package from Sam! She remembered that I liked lemony things so she sent an entire box full of them.

kaweah was very curious to see what sam sent

puckery goodness

Thanks Sam! What a sweetheart and such a cheery treat. My new antihistamine eye drops were also starting to work, so hurray for that and I’m feeling a lot less bitchy. My Darling, Jeremy got out our portable AC unit and set it up in our bedroom so I can sleep comfortably without letting all of the pollen in (they say 3-4 am is the worst time for pollen - actually, that’s what some lady on a plane told me). Nice to know when things are in the crapper, that there are wonderful people in my life who make my life wonderful. I’m grateful for all of them.

So often, when I think of pasta, I feel uninspired. I shouldn’t, because I usually like it. I think my problem has been that I haven’t given enough of my attention to it, or perhaps haven’t been satisfied with too many of my experiments.

Last night, by a stroke of luck and perhaps a little forethought when I was at the store, I managed to throw together a keeper of recipe. I had these ripe tomatoes sitting on the counter that needed to be consumed ASAP, and a package of fettuccine that was accidentally opened last week, and some cream in the fridge leftover from making lemon curd and…

shrimp and artichoke fettuccine: a quick and easy supper

Shrimp and Artichoke Fettuccine

1 lb. fettuccine, cooked al dente
1 lb. 21-25 count shrimp, raw, peeled, de-veined
14 oz. artichoke hearts, quartered
2 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups fresh tomatoes, cubed
1 lemon, juice of
4-6 oz. cream or half and half
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste
pine nuts
parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in shallow frying pan on high. Add garlic to hot oil and sauté until fragrant, but not brown. Add tomatoes and cook down until tomatoes have lost their structure, reduce heat to medium flame. Add lemon juice and artichokes and simmer over low to medium flame. Add cream to your liking and season with salt. In another frying pan, melt the butter over high heat. Add shrimp and cook until just pink on the bottoms and flip the shrimp. Continue to cook until just done and remove from heat. Pour contents of shrimp pan into the sauce and mix thoroughly. Toss with pasta and serve with pine nuts, freshly ground pepper, and grated parmesan cheese.

Ah, we finally got around to inviting Tom and Kellie over for dinner this coming week. Even though they live next door, we rarely bump into one another because 1) we all work real jobs 2) they go fishing in their spare time while we go hiking and 3) when they’re indoors they are recording music while we’re inside dorking out on computers.

So Tom will eat anything, and Kellie is flexitarian (eats fish and chicken). I’m brainstorming menu ideas…

appetizer: grilled coconut lime shrimp
main: grilled wild salmon with fresh dill and lemon
side: deadly mashers
side: edamame
side: wild greens salad with carrot-ginger dressing
dessert: chocolate-espresso crème brûlée

I made lasagne today with some of that awesome organic beef from Paidom Ranch. I like my lasagne loaded with vegetables too - so I mixed spinach with the ricotta, and added onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes to the beef and sauce, then layered sliced zucchini and mushrooms in between.

crunchy baked top

loaded lasagne