Using Up The Last of This Week's Share

The pea shoots went bad...quickly. How do you know pea shoots are bad? They stink! It's just awful. I didn't even have 24 hours before they began to reek. Oh well.

After our sumptuous breakfast yesterday of soft-boiled eggs (again, organic and free range) with boiled asparagus spears for dipping, we were left with only a few eggs and some apples from our original haul. I was really surprised at how quickly we ate up our shares. I really thought we'd have food in the fridge when we headed out for our second pickup. Well, there probably will be a few apples left.

Inspired by an egg poaching technique I saw on one food blog or another (wish I could remember which), I phoned home the second I got off the train and instructed J to boil up a pot of water and grate up the remainder of the Parmesan cheese in the fridge. My goal? Fettuccine aglio e olio (made with a prosecco we've been saving for a special occasion - well, yesterday WAS our wedding anniversary, right?) topped with poached eggs and slices of fresh mozzarella left over from the giant sandwich we enjoyed over the weekend.

Have I ever mentioned my obsession with red pepper flakes? I put them in everything (and I use them in abundance). My Pugliese olive oil, fresh garlic slices, and glass of prosecco reduced to a rich golden syrup with an overly-generous sprinkling of red pepper flakes bobbing around amidst the bubbles. Pardon me if I wax poetic about my pasta, but I am talking about olive oil, garlic, prosecco, and red pepper flakes here. What more could a girl want in the world?

After I got the pasta and the sauce all tossed together with a little more olive oil (one can never have too much good olive oil) and a snowy mound of Parmesan cheese (yes, the good stuff - not the green can stuff), I plated it up with some slices of fresh mozzarella (melting lovingly over the ribbons of pasta) and a couple of poached eggs perched atop. Word to the wise, break open those yolks right away and stir, stir, stir the glistening yellow puddle into each and every strand of pasta. Oh yeah...

I'm still working on my bowl of pasta and J has downed his super-sized bowl and a half. I know he's thinking about the quart of ice cream he's got in the freezer. He's welcome to it. I'm going to sit here and slurp up this pasta, strand by strand, thinking about the ways to use the half-dozen eggs I get to pick up on Saturday. Oh my.

And the apples we've still got around? I read a recipe for salted apples somewhere that I'm dying to try. Sliced rounds of apple sprinkled with flaky sea salt? Sounds awesome to me!

If you're reading this and jonesing for a plate of creamy-spicy-garlicy-rich pasta right now, I'll consider this a job well done on my behalf. Now, get out of here and let me finish mine!