Friday Favorites
Five Minute Tortellini Dinner, Far and Away and AYR on repeat!
Welcome to Friday Favorites! This quick glimpse of my week goes out to all subscribers (free and paid). I include a fan-favorite recipe, something I’m watching, reading, or listening to, a recent find and a weekly win.
What I’m Cooking
Guys. I only cooked one thing last week. After a week in Madrid, I came home to a mostly empty fridge. There were eggs for the morning, and some yogurt that was still fresh. With jet lag, I was waking up super early, and my rhythms were completely off. So I was up at 6 am sharp, hungry and ready for caffeine, and then I was on the hunt for my second breakfast around 10. As it should be! One night for dinner, after rooting around in the kitchen, I found some good cheese tortellini that I’d thrown in the freezer before I left for Spain. So I made a tasty pasta dinner with some extra protein. I had tomato passata from an Italian deli and whipped up a delicious fresh sauce with just 2 cups of passata, about 1/2-1 teaspoon each of onion powder, garlic powder, kosher salt and crushed red peppers. If you have fresh garlic, you can grate a clove or two with a microplane and add it to the sauce. I don’t think it needs a base of sauteed onion because it’s a fresh summery sauce that’s light. Anyway! After I cooked the tortellini for 2-3 minutes (for perfect tortellini, follow package directions and then deduct 30 seconds), I scooped out some salty, starchy pasta water and tossed the drained tortellini with the simple tomato sauce. In went a 15-ounce can of drained garbanzo beans and 1/2 cup of starchy pasta water, then everything got reduced and cooked down a little on low heat. If I’d had fresh basil, I'd have added a chiffonade, or even a handful of spinach leaves. What I did have in my bright and empty fridge was some fresh parmesan (score!) that got heavily grated on top. It was a delicious 5-minute meal that didn’t heat up my kitchen on a 100-degree day! If you want a more detailed recipe, you can whip up my Easy Tortellini Casserole, but then you’d have to turn your oven on. Just sayin’.
If any of you are interested in joining me for my July Smart in the Kitchen School online cooking class, we have a delicious grilling menu this month. I’ll be teaching from our deck in Sun Valley, Idaho, where it’s a lot more pleasant to be outdoors and grill. As I’m writing this at 8 am on Thursday, I can hear the birds chirping and having a full-blown conversation with each other, and there’s the nicest cool breeze. I feel very fortunate to have escaped the Texas heat for a minute. This month, I’m teaching the most delicious grilled flank steak, which I’ll use in steak salad with green goddess dressing, but it can also be used for ciabatta steak sandwiches with romesco and pesto. YUM. We’re also doing a simple grilled rainbow trout and herbed yogurt sauce. I hope you’ll join my online cooking school and come to the class on July 8!
You can find all the SITK recipes I’ve shared on Substack in my Recipe Index.
What I’m Reading
I’m still working on a summer reading post, and I apologize for not sharing it with you all before the 4th of July weekend. If you’re looking for immediate recs, you can always head to Beach Reads and Bubbly, who is also on Substack. Hi Katie! My flight home from Madrid didn’t have WIFI, so I ended up reading an entire book and I wholeheartedly recommend it. I loved the characters so much, and I also loved that they were middle-aged women who were written as interesting, desirable and pretty bad-a$$. The finished product was a beautiful story of a blended family, and friends as family, with some armchair travel thrown in for good measure.
What’s In My Cart
You guys know I’m obsessed with AYR jeans. The first pair I got was an investment that quickly paid off when I wore them 100 times and my teenager complimented me once (that’s all it takes). I’ve been noticing so many cute drop-waist dresses and saw this light and flowy linen one on AYR, and decided to give it a try. I shipped it to Idaho, so I’ll report back soon. I always want sundresses here that don’t feel dressy and aren’t made of fussy material. I think this blue one will be perfect. I was also intrigued by this black cotton dress, which seems lightweight and ideal for summer travel, and would look cute paired with a jean jacket and sneakers or sandals.
This Week’s Win
Hands down, this week’s win was stepping off the plane in Sun Valley, Idaho, on Wednesday night to a bright blue sky at 9 pm in the evening. The scent that hits me when I walk out the doors of the airplane in Idaho is always wet sagebrush and something herbal. There’s almost always a mountain breeze. My nervous system immediately mellows out, at least a smidge. It was a long travel day (6:15 am to 9:45 pm door-to-door), but it was all worth it. And I must say, the people waiting for my flight were the sweetest and kindest bunch. Maybe it was because I had my dog in tow, who one woman dubbed the communal therapy dog.
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Looks delicious.. Can’t wait to have some……
Far and Away was delightful! Now I need another good book recommendation 😊