Back to work...

Monday morning, when I awoke, my right ankle was a mess! The site of the latest yellow jacket attack, it must have itched during the night and I must have scratched it. So, I cleaned it with rubbing alcohol and then smeared Neosporin all over it before I put on my sock.

But, the raw flesh, rubbing against my high-sided shoes I wear to work, was much worse when I got home as now I had two blood blisters as well (talk about adding insult to injury!)

Tonight was more watering (it sprinkled here, but the promised rain never showed up). I got all the front container gardens watered, then went out back and watered the newly planted thyme, the clematis (still in the pot from the store) and the topsy-turvy planter. I refilled the bird bath and set the oscillating sprinkler up to water that grass seed for 30 minutes.

Back inside, it was already after 7:00 PM, so I made dinner. I had spotted a new pasta from Buitoni (they make various refrigerated pasta and it's sold in most grocery stores now), so I bought it when I was food shopping last Saturday. It's a type of ravioli called Wild Mushroom Agnolotti (according to the package, it's "generously filled with fresh portobello & crimini mushrooms, imported Grana Pandano and Parmesan cheeses and fresh roasted garlic).

I made a tortellini sauce I like for it, though I had to cut it in half (it calls for a pound of frozen tortellini and I have but nine ounces of fresh pasta). So I reserved 3/4 cup of chicken broth and used the rest of four cups to cook the pasta in (4-6 minutes after the stock is boiling; stir occasionally).

Meanwhile, I added one tablespoon of cornstarch to the reserved broth and whisked it together. I added 1/8 cup of butter to a large saucepan and when it was melted, I put in a clove of minced garlic and one teaspoon of dried basil and saut�ed that for two minutes. Then I added the cornstarch-broth mix and whisked it until it started to thicken and came to a boil.

I added the ravioli to the sauce, topped it with grated Parmesan cheese and then plated it. I went in and ate dinner (excellent, BTW) watching my taped Sunday shows.