Phoenix Pasta

Hi! Oi! Hello!

Welcome to my new little corner of the blog-world. You can call me Sammie.

Today one of my favorite my FAVORITE blogger left the blog-world for inspiring and deeply personal reasons. Her blog (Bonzai Aphrodite) was my introduction to food blogging, a resource for gardening, home decor and fashion, and just a plain good read, and I'd followed it for over a year.

While she's still around the internet, on Twitter and such, her departure has left a blog-shaped hole in my heart.

A few months after I started following her blog, I had decided to *someday* start my own. Even my 2012 New Year's Resolution list (written on the back of an old gas bill- classy, I know) included "start blog!!" somewhere down the list between the inevitable "clean closet" and "work out more." So here I am. Starting.

Today I ran across another delicious blog, 101 Cookbooks. During my statistics class (which can only be described as lethargic), I chose a recipe to make for dinner. I took "Pappardelle with Spiced Butter," and added my own unique twists and turns:

-fettucine instead of pappardelle (I can never find pappardelle, and I've had an ongoing love affair with fettucine since the age of eleven, and always have it on hand.)
-I didn't use saffron or cream, coriander or turmeric, mint or parsley. I have no doubt these things would have added to the deliciousness of the recipe, and they wouldn't be difficult to add, but I always try to use just the ingredients I have on hand and not to go out and buy ingredients JUST to use in a new recipe that I think sounds good, unless I know I'll use the remainder of the ingredient in other dishes. I also only use herbs and certain veggies (read: TOMATOES) when they are in season. The mention of parsley and mint makes me nostalgic for my summer garden...

{My scrawled out version of the recipe, with toasted pine nuts and crushed red pepper.}

{Chopped asparagus}

{The commercial is cheesy, but McCormick Recipe Inspirations are actually really handy if you need spices for a recipe that you don't normally keep on hand, and especially if you live alone (and frugally) like me and don't want to pay $4.99 for half an ounce of ginger. This little packet was really affordable and offers a good couple of teaspoonfuls of each spice, even if I don't plan on making Asian Sesame Salmon today. I'm going to use the sesame seeds in a future Thai-inspired peanut sauce.}

{There's something magical about stirring pasta in a bubbling pot; it makes me think of Strega Nona.}

{I tossed in the chopped asparagus when the pasta was around T-minus 30 seconds to al dente. The hot water cooks the asparagus ever so slightly, and it remains green and crunchy.}

{The final product. Absolutely to die for. Delicious and buttery and spicy and robust. Inhaled Savored with a glass of Chardonnay and an old Eureka episode playing on Netflix. Oh, and remember those GORGEOUS little toasted pine nuts? Yep, I was so excited to eat that bowl of pasta that I forgot to toss them in. *sigh* Oh well, this recipe made enough for about three meals. They'll go in the next serving that I warm up for lunch tomorrow.}


While I'm already missing Bonzai Aphrodite, I happily wish her the absolute best in her new, blog-less (and I'm sure less-stressed) lifestyle. From the ashes of her sudden departure, my new little blog finally arises, brandishing delicious pasta from my humble abode in Columbus, Ohio. Stay tuned, kids!