cooking on a day too hot to cook

today i worked on family farmed volunteer stuff up until raul got home. when he got there i realized i needed to make dinner but i was missing a few things. we rode our bikes to august to get ricotta and parsley. but once there i realized they had no ricotta and after discussing with the girl who worked there, decided plain yogurt would work just as well. i picked up some yeast (cheapest in the city), red wine vinegar and some vanilla too. 

I was making penne with green garlic ricotta sauce (but really it's yogurt sauce).

I also added sauteed mushrooms right at the end while i was tossing the pasta. 

 I N G R E D I E N T S 

1 1/2 cups fresh whole-milk ricotta -- i used the same amount of plain yogurt

1/2 cup finely minced green garlic  

2 tablespoons minced parsley  

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste  

1 pound dried penne or fusilli pasta  

2 tablespoons butter  

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

I N S T R U C T I O N S 

Combine the ricotta (yogurt), green garlic and 1 tablespoon of the parsley in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. 

Start cooking water. Just before pasta is done, remove 1/2 cup of the boiling water. Whisk enough of the hot water into the ricotta (yogurt) to make a smooth, creamy sauce.  Drain the pasta and add to the sauce along with the butter. Toss well. Add 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and toss again, adding a little more of the hot water if needed to thin the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning. 

things i would have done differently:

I would have really taken the time to mince the parsley and garlic enough. alisa kept saying it was stuck in her teeth. and a think a little less parsley next time. otherwise the taste was really great. 

i served it with the last of our one head of lettuce in a nice strawberry, coconut and pumpkin seed salad with red wine vinaigrette. 

we ate it out on the balcony since it was so hot. it was a lot cooler out there and we got to see all the new blossoms - strawberries and serano flowers! 

it was a nice summer dinner.

love,

keighty