We haven’t grilled yet for the holiday weekend, because we’ve had so few people around – all of our kids are off doing other stuff. John’s girlfriend works for Summerfest, so this is a busy time for them, although this is an historic year – no Summerfest on July 4th, because it’s a Monday. So John & Megan get a real holiday like everyone else, and I think they’re going to the Brewer game. Al and 2 of his camp buddies passed through Saturday – just long enough to get a new tattoo, hit the bars, and crash on the basement couch before heading back to camp Sunday morning. They ate out Saturday night, so didn’t feed ’em then – Mark and I had sandwiches. And Mark’s son Ethan’s in his last summer before college, so spending a lot of time with his high school friends, working at the Jewish day camp, and hanging out with his girlfriend. He went to the girlfriend’s parents’ cabin on Saturday, and had a sleepover at a guy friends last night, so haven’t seen much of him, either, although I think we’re finally grilling with them tonight.
At the Saturday farmers market, I bought brats and and hamburger meat and a pork shoulder roast. Last night I re-froze the pork for another time, and we had leftover pasta for supper. I had made ricotta and greens pasta (kinda like this Wednesday Chef recipe, recommended by my CSA, but see below) last Wednesday after I conducted an online advising meeting for new library school students, to use up the greens – a mix of chard from Rach, and mustard greens from my CSA box – that I blanched before leaving for New Orleans, and last night I gratinéed it with buttery crumbs. I made a salad – diced part of a shallot – about a tablespoon’s worth, and soaked it in a couple tablespoons of red wine vinegar, a pinch of sugar and one of coarse salt, and freshly ground black and pepper, in the bowl, then added a mix of lettuce, parsley, and few basil leaves, 3 TBLS olive oil and more salt and pepper, and tossed it all up. The strawberries that I also got at the market were already softening up, so I mashed them into a sauce and we ate them on ice cream, with vampires.
Pasta with Ricotta and Greens
1 pound penne pasta
3 TBLS olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 bunches greens (I used chard & mustard) large stems removed, blanched, and squeezed dry
1 generous cup of whole milk ricotta ( you can use reduced fat, but the whole milk is more luscious)
reserved pasta water, as necessary
about a cup of grated hot pepper cheese
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and salt it. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and reserve about a cup of the cooking water. Meanwhile, pour the olive oil into a wide deep skillet, heat, and add the garlic. Cook a few minutes – don’t let it brown, or it might be bitter, and add the greens that you have sliced into narrow ribbons. Cook and stir a few minutes to coat with oil, and evaporate any un-squeezed-out moisture, season with salt and pepper, and set aside. When the pasta is ready, add it to the greens (you might want to transfer everything into the emptied out pasta cooking pot or a bowl to make mixing easier; the advantage to the pasta cooking pot is that it will be warm, and help your pasta keep its heat). Add the ricotta, and mix well, adding reserved pasta water if the mixture seems dry. Add the pepper cheese and toss again. Serve with grated parmesan, pepper and more olive oil for drizzling.
