The Fergus Falls Daily Journal

Pasta Primavera for an insomniac

By Allison Myhre

May 6, 2008

3 comments

I’m not sure what sun my moon is in, but for some unknown reason I’m in a restless and unsettled place. I can’t sleep. I think our family routine is out of whack, and while I’m sure it would be a good idea to try reestablishing a familiar pace in the day, I just don’t want to right now.

In the last few days I’ve read two really great books. The one I just finished is Night of the Radishes, by Sandra Benitez, which is an interesting mix of Minnesota and Mexico, bound nicely together by webs of guilt and sorrow, leaving me with enough to ponder that I truly will never get to sleep…

But even better was finally finishing Jim Walsh’s oral history of The Replacements: All Over But the Shouting. For those who weren’t bewildered and thunderstruck by the careless, anti-establishment garage band that came out of the Twin Cities in the 1980’s, The Replacements’ music influenced many a disaffected Midwestern teen, including this one...

After reading this book and playing Let It Be over and over, I have this urge to crank up Unsatisfied and drive 50 miles an hour down Union Avenue with my middle finger sticking up out of my moon roof.

I’ve even conjured up fond memories of the high school boyfriend who turned me on to the band Black Flag for god’s sake.

So for the sake of trying to get back to normal, my daughter and I faced each other at the kitchen island tonight and had a wonderful time preparing veggies for a nice and simple pasta primavera. She giggled as she snuck red and orange peppers from my pile, and I thanked the heavens above that I have a wonderful child who loves peppers and zucchini and wants to help me cook.

And as we move in slow-motion back to our daily grind, I’m reminded that we’re happiest when we eat simple foods, fresh and true to the season. I sometimes get wrapped up in complicated dishes that get raised eyebrows because they don’t make it to the dinner table until 8 p.m.

And maybe when I start a cooking routine again, I’ll finally sleep.

Here’s something simple: Boil a big pot of water for whole wheat spaghetti. Cut up the veggies in your refrigerator (I used red, orange and yellow peppers, zucchini, red onion, minced garlic, edamame and broccoli), sauté them in olive oil for 6-7 minutes. While the noodles and veggies are cooking, melt ½ cup butter and ½ cup half & half in a small pan, and then add ¾ cup freshly grated parmesan along with salt & pepper. Mix the white sauce with the cooked veggies and toss them with the noodles. Wonderful.