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)
• ⅓ 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.