Pasta With Corn, Zucchini, and Tomatoes
I have not posted since the weekend, but exciting things have been happening. Two days ago, I saw a woodpecker peck another woodpecker TO DEATH in my backyard, which was horribly disturbing, and yesterday I saw a house get hit by lightning, which burned a hole in the roof and started a fire, which was soon put out, thankfully. This reminded me a little bit of the time that I saw our neighbor's tree fall down, completely out of the blue. I just happened to be looking out the window when it fell. I wondered whether I might have special powers, but perhaps for the best, I have not since been able to fell a tree just by looking at it.
On a brighter note, another source of recent excitement was Maplewoodstock, the annual local music festival. Maplewoodstock features bands you've never heard of, playing mediocre music you can safely ignore in the background while you catch up with your friends.
My own friends include die-hard tent-assembling heroes, who stand on the edge of the park at 4:45am, ready to sprint at 5:00 (both Saturday AND Sunday!) to the coveted spots under the trees and put up the tents under which the rest of us slackers spend two days lolling. This classic post last year from the local Facebook group explains it better than I ever could (partly because I would never be awake at 5am), and this poster's suggestion of a lottery was not adopted. It does sound like a good idea, I suppose.
I don't actually like live music (too loud! terrible sound quality!) but I would not miss Maplewoodstock.
In addition to the social opportunity, a further draw to Maplewoodstock these past two years, for some of my friends, has been Lucas' brisket. That's not a metaphor, and needless to say, it is not a vegetarian brisket. I comment here on the brisket (of which I partook; I'm no angel) as a cautionary tale about music festivals. As Rev. Moore stated in "Footloose," which by the way is a fantastic movie, "Besides the liquor and the drugs which always seem to accompany such an event the thing that distresses me even more, Ren, is the spiritual corruption that can be involved. These dances and this kind of music can be destructive to the planet."
Okay, the Reverend didn't say "to the planet," but that's because in 1984, no one had any idea that humanity was on a path to planetary destruction, and that reducing meat consumption could slow down our joyride off the cliff. But now we know. So let's all be extra vegetarian after we knelt at the altar of that brisket on Sunday.
With that in mind, tonight we had "Pasta With Corn, Zucchini, and Tomatoes" (NYT Cooking; subscription required) for dinner. The produce came from the farmers market and was wonderful. I took courage from Bittman's invitation to "Think of it as a delicious mélange of whatever is on hand," and went heavy on the zucchini and light on the corn, and skipped the onion in favor of more garlic. I used basil from the garden rather than tarragon, and my backup dancer arranged the leaves from largest to smallest before I threw them in the skillet, which doubtless contributed to the great flavor of the final product.
I used half a pound of pasta rather than a pound, and the three of us had just a little left over afterward.
This dish is vegan if you don't use butter and if you resist grating Parmesan on top.
On a brighter note, another source of recent excitement was Maplewoodstock, the annual local music festival. Maplewoodstock features bands you've never heard of, playing mediocre music you can safely ignore in the background while you catch up with your friends.
My own friends include die-hard tent-assembling heroes, who stand on the edge of the park at 4:45am, ready to sprint at 5:00 (both Saturday AND Sunday!) to the coveted spots under the trees and put up the tents under which the rest of us slackers spend two days lolling. This classic post last year from the local Facebook group explains it better than I ever could (partly because I would never be awake at 5am), and this poster's suggestion of a lottery was not adopted. It does sound like a good idea, I suppose.
I don't actually like live music (too loud! terrible sound quality!) but I would not miss Maplewoodstock.
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| It looks a bit like Brigadoon from this angle, doesn't it? |
In addition to the social opportunity, a further draw to Maplewoodstock these past two years, for some of my friends, has been Lucas' brisket. That's not a metaphor, and needless to say, it is not a vegetarian brisket. I comment here on the brisket (of which I partook; I'm no angel) as a cautionary tale about music festivals. As Rev. Moore stated in "Footloose," which by the way is a fantastic movie, "Besides the liquor and the drugs which always seem to accompany such an event the thing that distresses me even more, Ren, is the spiritual corruption that can be involved. These dances and this kind of music can be destructive to the planet."
Okay, the Reverend didn't say "to the planet," but that's because in 1984, no one had any idea that humanity was on a path to planetary destruction, and that reducing meat consumption could slow down our joyride off the cliff. But now we know. So let's all be extra vegetarian after we knelt at the altar of that brisket on Sunday.
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| Adoration of the Magi |
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With that in mind, tonight we had "Pasta With Corn, Zucchini, and Tomatoes" (NYT Cooking; subscription required) for dinner. The produce came from the farmers market and was wonderful. I took courage from Bittman's invitation to "Think of it as a delicious mélange of whatever is on hand," and went heavy on the zucchini and light on the corn, and skipped the onion in favor of more garlic. I used basil from the garden rather than tarragon, and my backup dancer arranged the leaves from largest to smallest before I threw them in the skillet, which doubtless contributed to the great flavor of the final product.
I used half a pound of pasta rather than a pound, and the three of us had just a little left over afterward.
This dish is vegan if you don't use butter and if you resist grating Parmesan on top.
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