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Saturday, January 23, 2021

Adventures

 When I was a new driver, my mother once told me everyone else just goes out to the store, but "you go out for an adventure". That comes to mind frequently, and believe me, I don't leave home for the adventure.

I had my car serviced yesterday for the first time in over a year because I'd also had AAA jump start my car and recommend I have the battery checked by better equipment. Yes, I needed a new battery.

It was mean cold yesterday. On the way home I pushed the heater button. Its little light never came on. Then, the heat never happened. For the helluvit, I tried air conditioning. No little light, no cold air. Then I badly needed defrost, and you guessed it. I couldn't clear the windows. 

Fortunately it's a short drive. As soon as I'd washed my hands, used the loo and washed my hands again, I called Goodyear. They denied any responsibility, so I made an appointment for ten on Monday morning to bring it back. First available!

I lost my heater coil once, years and years ago, on the road for a show. For the trip across the entire state of Pennsylvania, Ann and I would go until our teeth chattered, then put the heat on for a bit and choke on antifreeze fumes as long as we could bear it, because that's what happens when the heating coil fails. That's all I know and that wasn't going on in this case.

Of course I called Cathy, and we commiserated a bit. Heat on the trip to the station and none on the way home seemed less than coincidental. Of course she called her buddy Dan, the handy man for the park, then called me back.

"He's going to fix your car Monday morning!"

I went diving for this cause of complete change of attitude on the part of the super who made me cry, broke my dishwasher door and I'm still waiting on the replacement part.

"Oh, you gave him two towels when he tried to fix the dishwasher, and now he's in your towel club."

Very long story short, Cathy says Dan says they probably disconnected a radiator hose to seat the battery more easily. Whatever, he can find and fix it. He probably can. But I asked her to call him off. Now I have enough information to stand my ground come Monday.

In other news, check this amaryllis:


Thursday morning

Thursday evening

Friday morning

Saturday morning


And on to the recipe that yielded four to eight servings. I made it for supper Thursday evening. Cleaning up afterward, I put four servings in the freezer for later. This recipe is the childhood favorite of noodles with butter, with the twist of pine nuts in the noodles and butter. Dishes of wonderful things are on the table to put in your serving. Of course, I put everything into the pot and served myself that way. I used penne mezzani rigati, but if I ever make it again, I'll use flat spaghetti noodles.

My other change: 1/3 cup of pine nuts is past excessive. If I use my remaining quarter cup of pine nuts on this recipe, I'll downsize to about a tablespoon. And finally, this is a NYT Cooking recipe and it's not behind a paywall.

Pasta with Bacon, Cheese, Lemon and Pine Nuts

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 ounces thickly sliced bacon, cut across into pieces about 3/4-inch wide
    • 1 to 1 ½ cups freshly grated Parmesan, in a small serving bowl
  •  About 1/3 cup chopped parsley, scallions or mint, in a small serving bowl
  •  Hot red pepper flakes, in a small serving bowl
  • 1 large lemon
    • 1 ½ to 2 pounds pasta
    • 4 to 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 to 1 stick)
  •  cup pine nuts
  •  Coarse salt, such as Maldon
PREPARATION
  1. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Put the cheese, herbs and red pepper flakes on the table. Zest the lemon and put the zest on the table in a small serving bowl. Cut the lemon in half.
  2. Put bacon in a medium-size heavy pot and turn the heat on low. Cook, turning occasionally, until fat has rendered and bacon is chewy-crisp, about 10 minutes. Lift out bacon pieces and drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Keep warm on top of the stove.
  3. When the water boils, add pasta, stir well and cover. When the water comes back to the boil, uncover and stir again.
  4. Put 4 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan and melt it over medium-low heat. When it foams, throw in the pine nuts and cook, shaking the pan, until they turn brown and toasty. Turn off heat and squeeze the lemon into the pan, cupping your hand underneath to catch any pits. Stir and set aside. Transfer bacon to a serving bowl and place on the table.
  5. As soon as the pasta is tender (it will cook a bit more later on), drain it, reserving a cup of the cooking water. Immediately return the pasta to the pan over low heat. Toss in a chunk of butter. Add a splash of cooking water and a pinch of salt, stir well, cover and let rest 1 minute. Taste and adjust the seasonings until the pasta is completely cooked and tasty (but plain).
  6. For those who like plain pasta or pasta with just butter and cheese, set aside a good amount in serving bowls. For others, pour the pine nuts and butter into the pasta remaining in the pot, add another splash of cooking water, and toss to combine. Serve from the pot or in a serving bowl, passing the various toppings.

 

45 comments:

  1. I make a similar dish that I call Butter Noodles. I put "extras" as I like, like pecans, black olives, lemon pepper, bits of meat, whatever I have. We have lots of piñones out here (pine nuts) just growing, but for some reason I don't use them much! Hope the car gets fixed properly. Now you have the information to argue successfully with them (I hope).

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    1. Thanks for joining in. Welcome back from your long absence! Your toppings are wonderful, too. Especially black olives, which I have and never thought of adding.

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  2. This dish sounds yummy! Pasta is comfort food for me. I hope your car appointment goes successfully. I've been poorly treated and blown off by several auto repair places or dealerships. I make sure to let the manager know and then move to a different business.

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  3. Hari OM
    Oh I might have pasta for my tea... only instead of bacon, I have a soy "chicken" niblets to throw in - and walnuts instead of pine nuts... but hey, make it one's own, right??!!! That Amar Ys Rilli Striving to prove a point! &*>

    And well done on turning the Dan knowledge to your advantage - hope it works on Monday. YAM xx

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  4. Some auto places don't have one bit of respect for women. After an accident my car was taken to the GM dealership for repair. The battery kept going dead after the fact. I had to be towed back to town from the lake (about 30 miles). I told the tow driver about the ongoing issues. He said HE would deal with the dealership on my behalf. The issue was finally resolved, that is, a bracket that held the battery shelf was not replaced so it kept rattling loose. He owned the towing company by the way, so I think the dealership had a formidable guy roaring at them.

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    1. oh, I forgot to mention that the dealership kept telling me that I was doing something wrong to make it go dead all the time.

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  5. You'll blow that repair shop backwards bow legged.

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  6. Sigh on the car front. They won't know what hit them when you front up on Monday morning.
    Hooray for simple, tasty dishes - and left overs. That does sound like the sort of dish which can be readily adapted to personal taste and as a reflection of what is available in the fridge/cupboards.

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    1. PS: Love your amaryllis. Ours are missing in action this year.

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  7. When my husband had a car repair shop he had so many older lady customers who knew that he was not going to try and rip them off. They loved him. I called them his "girlfriends." Now I am probably older than they were.
    Sigh.
    Okay. That recipe sounds perfect. And in the spirit of making it my own, I might add some halved cherry tomatoes and greens which I seem to add to everything. Spinach would be good, wilted when the pine nuts are toasting.

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    1. It's just buttered noodles. My grandchildren lived on them! The rest are the grown up fixin's.

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  8. Good for you for standing up to the shop that installed the battery! I get so upset at how some places will take advantage of women like that. Let us know how it goes. It's fair to say you have a lot of people standing behind you on this!

    Your amaryllis gets more gorgeous every day. Looking like that she has to brighten your days especially in the winter.

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  9. I like that you're holding the shop responsible for fixing their mistake...but you always have Dan for a back up if necessary.

    And, the vast majority of the New York Times recipes I've been made have been great.

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  10. Recipe sounds interesting but it is always difficult translating your quantities into ours.

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  11. George is going to love this. Wonderful color in the amaryllis.

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  12. I have dealt with Honda for years because they're the only dealership that talks to me civilly,and has a bit of respect. And they know I won't take any backchat. You sound much the same, Joanne.

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  13. Your amaryllis is so lovely. I have to remember to get one next Christmas! Maybe I will make a note on my November 2021 calendar so I don't forget by then!
    Good luck with the car! Go get 'em, Joanne
    Thanks for posting!

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  14. I've always thought that you are someone who is independent, adventurous, an activist, an artist and always caring person, Joanne. Your amaryllis is ready to give you a glorious gift.

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  15. Someone who knows their way around a vehicle is worth their weight in gold! Husband does most of our car things, but we have a local garage and he deals with them. In a small village, you can't mess with people - everyone talks. At the end of its life (with us), our Highlander would provide heat if you tapped forcefully on the turn knob. I remember a ride in my older brother's Volkswagon Beetle (when I was young), bundled up with blankets because his heater didn't work anymore. Ahhh, life. -Jenn

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  16. Nothing can give you more grief than car problems and a bad mechanic....well computer problems maybe! At least with cars I can talk their language!

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  17. Your noodle recipe sounds delicious. I will try it. Sounds like carelessness or incompetence at the garage. Dan's take on this sounds spot on. Definitely, hold the garage accountable. Many people take no pride in their work..hence sloppy work. Why isn't management demanding quality workmanship and holding employees accountable? These problems are wide spread.

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  18. I am so happy to be able to access your blog again, dear Joanne. I got it working on the computer the other day and today can get it on my iPad. It was a wonderful relief. However, I am not sure that my comment will get published as half of them disappear after I tap publish. Here goes, fingers crossed.

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  19. Mechanics are extremely unreliable. Give them hell. I'll be watching to see what happens.

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  20. I'd be like you and toss everything into the pot for a good stir before serving, but I'd skip the hot pepper flakes and probably wouldn't toast the pine nuts either.
    I hope your car gets properly fixed.

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  21. It sounds delicious Joanne, I love pine nuts but also had the thought sesame would be excellent too.

    Your flower is blooming wonderful!

    XO
    WWW

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  22. "Mean cold" is a new expression for me, but it describes it so well.

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  23. I so admire your determination to get the car fixed. Yes, I can see that life is an adventure for you. Thanks for the recipe.

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  24. H.I. had a big old Citroen with no working heater, so the inside always misted up in the Winter. I picked up a group of people one dark night and before we set off on the 50 mile trip, I instructed them to stop breathing until we got there.

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    1. When I was very young our family car was a 1936 Dodge coupe. I remember this scene like yesterday, so it must have been around 1947, maybe 1948. We were driving home from my aunt's, through the valley, on a cold, cold night. My brother and I stood up in the back; there was no seat, or else the one my father fitted in, made of sheet metal with a foam top. The metal cut our legs sitting there, so we stood. At some point my dad said he couldn't get the window cleared, and instructed my brother and me to stop breathing. And I tried it, and we know how that works, so I just breathed. Suddenly my two or three year old brother gasped, and wheezed, and said "I can't do it any more," and broke into tears.

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  25. Yup. I'd go back to the garage, too. How great to be armed with knowledge against their evasions.

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  26. Is that your rescued amaryllis? Three bloom stalks? Nice! Your recipe sounds good and obviously freezes well. I'll have to try it.

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  27. "I couldn't clear the windows." THAT is always a fear for me when driving in rain... especially when I drove on the highways (which I don't anymore). But when the windows fog up quickly and you can't unfog them, it always scared me. Hope you get your car fixed without any trouble. And that pasta recipe sounds good... pasta, bacon, and cheese - what's not to like.

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  28. unfortunately for me, pasta is on the reduced serving list, at least until my next blood work and we see where the blood sugar level is. after Goodyear fixes what they broke, if it were me, I'd find a new car service company. and life should be an adventure.

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  29. The amaryllis continues to amaze!

    I hope the heater problem is such an easy fix. You have a place to start. I hate the way many men who work in garages treat women.

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  30. So good you have persons to rely on, Joanne - I can only imagine how uncomfortable (and frightening if the windshield freezes up)that was. Some adventures are not so enjoyable - others are, and from the good ones I wish you more!

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  31. Your towel club! That made me laugh. I hope your car is an easy fix! My amaryllis is doing nothing at all, but Saturday, I noticed two large buds on my hibiscus tree. I got that for less than a dollar at an end of season sell-off at a nursery. So cheap that I bought my sister one too. Those things have been a delight for the past two winters, giving us both large showy blooms at the most random of times.

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  32. It's raining and hailing. The washer in the truck, tho full of fluid, won't wash the windshield. Pump works. We had to laugh.

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  33. Good luck with the car appointment. I'm sure you won't stand for any nonsense!

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  34. Made the buttered noodle dish for dinner tonight. We liked it! I used pecans because I had no pine nuts, chopped ham bits and chopped black olives ( bought by mistake a few months ago).
    I will make it again by golly!

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  35. Sounds as if they knocked something loose while working on the car.

    Love,
    Janie

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  36. It is so annoying when you pay to get something repaired and it ends up worse than before. I hope that the problems have now been fixed.

    By the way, I have a similar recipe but I also toss some roasted zucchini slices into the pasta (FYI - in England we call zucchini 'courgette' - like the French).

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