If there are two trades I love, it would have to be cooking and house painting. I started life as a painter, not a cook...a fifth generation painter, to be more precise. The family joke was that we had been at it for so long that we Downies had thinner, not blood, coursing through our veins. Strange though it sounds, I enjoyed the painting life. But after a much-loved mastiff pulled me down a flight of icy stairs, the unhappy disc in my neck that resulted demanded that I choose another trade. That's why I am a cook and not a painter.
With the siding of our new old house looking pretty sad, I recently struck a bargain with that disc: "Let me paint my house, just a little bit at a time over the course of the summer, and I promise I will otherwise continue to give you the less-strenuous treatment to which you have grown accustomed."
So this weekend, I set myself up with scrapers, brushes, rollers, buckets, and ladders and I prepared and painted the North side of the house. It was good to be back at my old trade. I loved climbing ladders. I loved the fresh air. I loved getting a glow from the sun. I loved the uppper body workout. AND, I love the paint color mi esposo chose...I can hardly wait until the other 3 sides of the house are transformed!
With that disc keeping up its end of the bargain, I even managed to get dinner on the table.
I worked hard so I wanted something fresh and summery that still satisfied the appetite I had worked up. What I came up with was a pretty cool concoction...picture this: miniature pasta shells with diced, roasted beets, kumato tomatoes, shallots, crumbled bacon, and a sauce of ricotta and romano cheeses, fresh lemon juice, and a little olive oil served over a bed of wilted swiss chard. Oh, the colors this dish created! Gorgeous! Everything on the plate was a lovely show of vivid pinks and greens. I told mi esposo we were having "Pinkaroni and Cheese" because I feared he might turn his nose up at less-familiar ingredients like beets and swiss chard. To my palate, beets and chard are so deliciously earthy, plus they were never in danger of overwhelming the dish becaue the high accent note of lemon throughout kept things light. The cheese and bacon added some "bottom" to the whole medley and kept it from floating away. Plates were cleaned all around.
It hit the spot for me...after a strenuous day outdoors, a really fresh, gorgeous-looking dinner that was brimming with summery flavor AND was still hearty enough to leave me sated. I'll paint for a meal like that anytime. Maybe next weekend, even!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
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Oh, that sounds good! Would you ever add any meat to the dish, if so- what?
ReplyDeletesounds great
ReplyDeleteIt already had the accent of bacon and cheese, so it's pretty hearty as-is. But if you are jonesing for more protein, maybe just some grilled chicken....
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