Food Porn

It has been blazes hot lately. Fortunately, by the time you all are reading this, I'll be wearing a fleece in Juneau, Alaska. It's days followed by days followed by days like these that make me appreciative of pools and air conditioning. We didn't have the ac on in the apartment until I caved last Tuesday. I was making dinner with some friends right before Simon left to go home to Innsbruck, Austria. It had to be hotter than 100 degrees in my apartment with the stovetop fired up. Dan popped the window open as wide as it could go, I grabbed another fan and the three boys took their shirts off. Let me repeat that last part: The boys took their shirts off to reveal their sweating not-at-all-unattractive bodies. That's enough to raise the temperature a few degrees itself.

I recreated a pasta dish that my friend Amy had made for a potluck, teaching Justin some basics of cooking (like using whole, fresh garlic and salting pasta water). My pasta didn't turn out as good as Amy's, but the watermelon-tomato salad was just as good as it was last year. I have some more pictures from the evening, but it feels like I'm exploiting my friends' bodies to get attention to my blog, so I'll just post one picture. The sun was going down and we hadn't yet turned on any lights (but had flicked on the air). All I could see were dark silhouettes of glistening bodies in the glare of the sun.

Pasta with Garlic Lemon Sauce: from Cooks.com

1 pound penne, linguini or larger pasta (spaghetti was not the best choice)

2 cloves garlic

2 zucchinis or yellow squashes, diced

zest of a lemon

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup heavy cream

salt and pepper

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup parmesan cheese

juice from a lemon

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to instructions. Drain.

Melt the butter in a pan on medium heat. Saute the garlic, squash and lemon zest until vegetables are softened. Add the cream, salt and pepper, and nutmeg. Reduce heat and saute until cooked through--3 to 5 minutes. Throw in the noodles and toss to coat with sauce. Add parmesan and lemon juice, stir to combine and serve.