Asparagus!

Today the Boogie has been an unbelievably fussy eater. He is showing his almost-two year old personality for sure! So, when I went to make this asparagus pasta I was not optimistic that he'd be eating it and was expecting to be making him a bowl of cereal instead. That is the alternative that I offer he truly doesn't like his dinner but has given it a genuine try. Anyway, he loved the pasta and picked out all of the asparagus first! Yay! The recipe I used was from Epicurious, it was quite tasty. Next time I think I will add a few shavings of lemon zest to brighten it up a bit.

Asparagus Pasta

ingredients
4 oz sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut on a long diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 lb orechiette or other small pasta
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 1/2 oz) plus additional for serving
preparation
Zest of 1 lemon

Cook bacon in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer bacon with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet, then add oil and onion to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden, about 4 minutes.
Add asparagus and sauté, stirring, until crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
While onion is cooking, cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water and drain pasta in a colander.
Return pasta to pot along with asparagus mixture, 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, and cheese. Add remaining 1/2 cup cooking water to skillet and deglaze by boiling, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Add to pasta and toss over moderately low heat until combined well, about 30 seconds. Mix in bacon, serve with additional cheese and lemon zest sprinkled on top.

Gourmet, May 2002

Before dinner I also made a nice loaf of banana bread to use up all of the bananas that I had bought for last weeks banana phase, which was short lived. It turned out nicely and we enjoyed a small slice for dessert.