Wednesday

Wednesday is supposed to be the transition day (from cold and rainy to warm and sunny). It was still sprinkling when I went into work, BTW.

On the way home for lunch, it was sunny. But on the way home after work, it was gray and overcast, and my new windshield showed signs of an earlier rain.

Once home, I changed clothes and started the Wednesday night wash. Then I went outside to refill the bird feeder and check the rain gauge. The total rainfall since the storm began on Monday was just less than two inches in Redford. I dumped it out and went back inside.

By 6:00 PM. the sun had come out again in all its glory and then retreated. Transition, indeed!

Now, about tonight's dinner, I'm really torn... On the one hand, I still have two grilled chicken thighs left, along with the leftover garlic mashed potatoes and jarred gravy. And, when last I reheated them, they were great! I still have three lamb chops left as well, but they didn't live up to expectations when reheated. And, I ate all the asparagus last night (my bad, but it was good).

However, for some reason, I am craving pasta. But, I have nothing thawed out to go with it (like shrimp, bacon or my remaining frozen meatballs and tomato sauce). So, I decided to adapt my shrimp scampi and pasta dish (not the first time I've made up a recipe and probably not the last).

Just as I was about to start, I glanced out the kitchen window. Now, you know how I kid about having a lake out back. Well, swimming in my "lake" was a pair of mallard ducks! So, I grabbed my camera and snuck out back. I got as close as I could without scaring them and took a bunch of pictures. I posted the best two for you.

Now, Italians say your pasta water should taste like the sea, so I put a lot of kosher salt in the water (otherwise, the pasta ends up tasting bland). I brought that up to a boil while I started on my sauce.

I put a good amount of olive oil into my big saut� pan and heated it up. Then I added six cloves of minced garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes. While that was turning golden, I chopped up about 1/2 cup of fresh, flat leaf parsley.

I added one pound of linguine to the boiling water. Al dente is supposed to be in 10-11 minutes. So, at eight minutes, I added two cups of frozen peas (if you are like Carla, who hates peas, try frozen broccoli).

I removed the saut� pan from the heat and added in 3/4 of the parsley. I drained the pasta/peas mixture and added it to the sauce. I used my tongs to toss it about. When I plated it, I topped it with some of the remaining parsley and fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. I wandered off to the bedroom and TV, waiting for the clothes to dry and ate my dinner. It tasted pretty good, BTW.

I eventually hung up the clothes; put the leftovers in the fridge and soaked the pots and pan in the sink. Then I watched more TV until bedtime.