{Din-spiration}

It's not like I ever cook these days. So, let me be clear.
I'm in no way attempting to operate under a false pretense!

I have, however, been feeling the itch to get back in the kitchen
lately. I found a wonderful recipe online from a fellow blogger.
I followed her directions, and it was received with rave reviews
in my house. It was so good and so easy. I want to share it
and another one I saw on the food network that I hope to
make in the next week.

ONE: Lemon Artichoke Pesto Pasta Salad
You can thank Kim Kwan for this one. She did such a fabulous job
of sharing the idea, I'm just going to refer you there for the details.
{Click here} David loved it! He said it was the best thing I've put
together in a long time. I'll take it! (Thanks, Kim.)

NOTE: If you don't have a Trader Joes, I'm sure you can find a
similar selection of ingredients anywhere. If you do have one, it's
worth a visit for this stuff because the flavors are amazing. I had
it put together in no time at all. Seriously fast, absolutely delicious.

TWO: 30 Minute Meal
All the recipes from the episode can be found here.
I loved the garlic and tomato sauce she made for this pasta,
and that's what you'll find below.

Salt
1 pound penne rigate
2 pints grape tomatoes
8 to 10 cloves garlic, cracked but left in skins
plus 1 clove peeled and halved
3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus some, for drizzling
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup grated Parmigianino-Reggiano
1 cup basil leaves, about 20, torn or shredded
2 cups coarsely chopped arugula

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Boil water for pasta. Cook until just before al dente - still a
little chewy. Heads up: Save 2 ladles of starchy cooking
water before draining, about 1 1/2 cups (or 2 mugs full).

Set your garlic cloves on a cutting board and smash each one of
them with the side of a knife so the skin is cracked but still
loosely hanging around the clove. Place the grape tomatoes on a
cookie sheet with the garlic. Coat both with 3 to 4 tablespoons
olive oil and season w/ lots of salt and pepper. Roast 20 minutes.

Then, remove the skins from the roasted garlic. Place cloves back
on the cutting board and mash them into a paste by kneading
them with the side of your big kitchen knife. Transfer the garlic
paste to the bottom of a pasta bowl. Add 2 ladles of starchy
cooking water. Use a fork to mix the garlic paste into the water.
Add the tomatoes to the bowl and mash them with a potato
masher until a sauce forms and tomatoes are well combined with
garlic broth. Add penne, grated cheese, arugula and basil and toss
a minute or 2 to allow the pasta to soak up flavors.
Serve and enjoy!

Please do let me know if you try either of these dishes. I'd love
hear your reviews. If you have anything else you've tried lately
that you think is worth sharing, please do pass it along either
by emailing me (slinky.asu@gmail.com) or via the comments
below.

Bon appetit!