I Have a 30-Year Old Kid {Milestone}

As a middle aged parent, milestones happen, but they become fewer and farther between. October 29 was a milestone. A big one. My first born child turned 30. 

And what did I do to mark this momentous occasion?

I wrote a birthday poem and posted it on Facebook!

It's October 29 and oh my wordy,

Today my first-born celebrates birthday #30!

The year was 1984 and in the morning wee hours at 3:46

A nurse place a baby boy in my arms, ahhh motherhood bliss.

Your favorite stuffed animal was Doggie the bear

And with you he went everywhere!

As a little boy your food tastes were a little bit picky

You really loved fish sticks and thought Grandpa's steak was icky.

Soccer was your sport, starting at the Y when you were 5

And playing through the days at Fairmont High.

Miles and miles we put on the cars

Driving to practices, tournaments and games...some were really far!

From your first day on the school bus to your move to Columbus,

You've made Dad and me proud, but I'm not going to gush.

Yes, your 20s are gone but 30 has begun

This is the start of plenty of new fun!

Thirty years ago
You forever changed my life
First born baby son

Wordless Wednesday {Fall Colors}

Roasted Butternut Squash

It's Fall and I love this time of year...the crisp days, the bright blue sky, and the colors: the oranges and the golds, both in the landscape and on my plate.

And I am a sucker for pumpkins, especially these warty pumpkins. These bumps add so much personality to these autumn squashes!

Speaking of squash, 'tis the season for butternut squash. (An FYI tidbit: butternut squash is known as butternut pumpkin in Australia and New Zealand). Anyway, it's in abundance right now and so is the sage in my garden. These two fall flavors make a great combination. Sage pesto has now taken the place of basil pesto and it's just as tasty as the summer basil version.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Sage Pesto

1 butternut squash
1 bunch of sage
1/3 c. olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1/4 c. pine nuts, toasted
big pinch of sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Peel and slice squash into 1/2 inch slices, removing seeds. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease with oil. Place the squash on the baking sheet in a single layer. 

Prepare the pesto: Put the sage, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts and salt in a food processor and process until fairly smooth. 

Coat the squash slices with the pesto. Bake for 30 minutes or until tender.

Fregola Sarda

I love pasta. I love the names. I love the shapes. I love pasta's versatility. My pantry is full of pasta. There's ditalini, mini penne, mini wheels, stellette, fettucine, rigatoni, paccheri, orecchiete, folie di ulivo, and fregola sarda. Yep, that's a lot.

It's a rainy October day, one where it's damp and chilly, and a pot of soup sounds warm and comforting. And I made a pot of soup, Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup. The recipe calls for orzo and I usually have orzo, except not today. And my goal is to use a lot of this pasta before I buy anymore and plus I just didn't want to make a trip to the grocery store in the rain.

In place of the orzo, I used fregola sarda. What is fregola sarda? First of all it's pronounced FREG-o-lah or FRAY-go-lah. 

Fregola is made from course semolina which gives it a rustic character. The pasta is rolled into tiny bits, dried, and then toasted, which changes the color and gives it a nutty flavor. 

The fregola worked very well in the soup. It got soft but not mushy. Orzo gets mushy.

So, I'm kind of in love with this fregola and I'm looking at all kinds of recipes to try with it. There's about 3/4 of a package left so I must choose wisely. I'm NOT going to buy anymore fregola until there's a significant dent in my pantry pasta supply. Wonder what my family will think of pasta for the next two weeks...

Ciao!

(You can find the recipe for Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup at http://housedustandwanderlust.blogspot.com/2013/01/italian-sausage-vegetable-soup_22.html)