One-Pot Zucchini-Basil Pasta

As a child, I yearned for the romantic prom dresses I saw in teen magazine ads. I pictured my future self as someone along the lines of the woman in Roxy Music's 1982 music video, "Avalon." 

And sure enough, I have spent most of my adulthood twirling in a metallic, poufed pink dress through an elegant mansion that is stalked by falcons, and giving icy looks to men wearing eyeliner and white tuxedo jackets.

Ha ha. But the dream persists! About a year ago, it dawned on me that even though I was too young to go to prom in the 80s, I COULD STILL GET AN 80s PROM DRESS. Like a falcon scouring the grounds of an English manor house for prey, I began hunting on eBay for my long-ago fantasy dresses.

There are THOUSANDS of them! The ones that are in great shape and most quintessentially 80s, with tulle and exaggerated sleeves and lamé and a Jessica McClintock label, can easily run you well over $100, but I thrill to find the bargains. This pink Zum Zum dress, which I wore at a party in February, was only $20 including shipping:

Me on the left in vintage Zum Zum, my friend Ginge on the right

And this past week, I wore a pristine Gunne Sax dress ($41 including shipping) to a concert at the Mayo Performing Arts Center, featuring three bands that each had exactly two hits in the 80s. But those hits still hold up! In fact, "Dance Hall Days" is one of my favorite songs and I sing it all the time in my car, even with the windows open, to the embarrassment of my backup dancer.

My concert attire was vintage Gunne Sax

The concert was a lot of fun. My friend Aimee and I were among the approximately 1% of concertgoers who were cool enough to dress for the occasion. She got a lot of compliments on her 80s charm necklace, which evoked nostalgia in many other women of a certain age.

Me, Aimee, and Naked Eyes

Not only can you live out your 80s fantasies by shopping for secondhand clothes on eBay, but you're helping the Earth by interrupting the consumption and waste cycle. My younger self did not anticipate that sustainability would be important to me, but now I think about it constantly while I'm spinning around my mansion in taffeta, gazing inscrutably at the gargoyles.

Back in the 80s, I also wasn't worried about how my diet impacts the environment, and I didn't have to avoid any foods for health reasons, so I get nostalgic for that freedom. But as I noted in my last blog post, there are more good recipe options than I originally thought for people who want or need to minimize or eliminate meat, milk, and gluten. A few days ago I modified a NYT Cooking recipe, "One-Pot Zucchini-Basil Pasta," by making it with gluten-free lentil/rice rotini, and tofu-based sour cream instead of a dairy product. 

The thick GF pasta needed a few minutes longer to cook than the recipe suggested, so when I make this again, I will use more liquids to start. I added the zucchini with 7 minutes left in the cooking time, and that was perfect. 

The dish is a winner. I bet it would bring a smile even to faces as disdainful as these. 

1988 photo published on Just Seventeen: https://justseventeen.tumblr.com/post/158740376566/march-1988-j-reynolds