Two Good Green Things

One: A Lieutenant in a flight suit.
Monday, the Hus got promoted by default. He says they promoted him because he was still breathing. I think it's because he looks so good in a flight suit. Either way, I sewed the insignia on over the weekend, but we had ourselves a 2 minutes ceremony at home, where I placed his new patch (with his new rank) on the velcro of his suit and we said, "Yaaay!".

Then he kissed me and left for a normal day of work. Which was flying a helicopter.

Two: Basil, fresh from our garden, picked within minutes of adding to a favorite pasta dish. Nothing smells better than that.

I get this one from Giada DeLaurentis' Everyday Italian, so it's not original, but it's soooo good. I changed some of the quantities, to what we have available and what I think tastes better.

Wild Mushroom Ravioli with Basil-Pine Nut Sauce

Small Package pine nuts
Salt
2 (9 ounce) packages of Buitoni Wild Mushroom Angiolotti
1/2 stick of butter (her's calls for a whole stick, but mine is less fatty)
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 tsp freshly grated black pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg (I upped this from "a pinch")
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan

Heat oven to low broil and place pine nuts in oven, on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast until light brown, about 3 minutes (keep close watch on these - they burn fast!)

Boil large pot salted water, add angiolotti and boil until cooked - they'll puff up and float. About 5 minutes. Drain.

Use hot pot from pasta to melt butter on medium. When it's melted, add basil leaves, cut into pieces, and cook until butter browns and basil gets crispish. (2 minutes). Stir in salt & pepper & nutmeg. Add cooked ravioli and toss gently to coat. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Serve with parmesan and pine nuts sprinkled on top.

This whole recipe takes about 20 minutes, at most, to make and it super simple. I keep the fresh pasta in the freezer for whenever I don't feel like cooking much. Pair it with a salad and you have a meal!