Summer Is Here!

You know it's summer when local asparagus is in the stores....

Rosé is on the shelves.....

and the Stanley Cup finals are on the TV. Woot!

To use the asaparagus pictured above I dug out a recipe I'd received last year in a newsletter I get e-mailed from Nava Atlas.

This was so simple to make and so delicious. A great weeknight dish.






I'm including the recipe at the end of this post for anyone who would like to try it.





I picked up a foccacia on the way and also made a garden salad and dressed it with Sweet Red Wine Vinaigrette from La Dolce Vegan.






Everything went wonderfully with this bottle of 2000 Hillebrand Showcase Merlot that I had been saving for an occaision just like this.

We had a glass of rosé as an aperitif, pasta with asparagus and the Stanley Cup finals on the TV. Yep. I'd say summer is here!

FETTUCCINE WITH ASPARAGUS AND SUN-DRIED TOMATOES

12 oz. fettuccine

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

28 oz. can diced tomatoes, with liquid

1/2 cup thinly sliced oil-cured sun-dried tomatoes

3 or 4 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced (or 1/2-1 tsp. dried)*

1/4 tsp. hot red pepper flakes, or a few grains cayenne pepper

10-12 oz. slender, fresh asparagus, trimed and cut into 1-inch pieces

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Cook the pasta in plenty of rapidly simmering water until al dente, then drain.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and sauté over low heat until golden. Add the diced and dried tomatoes, dried basil and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer, then add the asparagus and simmer over medium-low heat, covered, until the asparagus is tender-crisp, about 8 minutes.

Combine the pasta, asparagus and sauce in a large serving bowl and toss well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve at once.

Serves 4

*There was no mention of the fresh basil in the cooking instructions. I doubled the amount called for and added it when there was about 2-3 minutes of simmering time left.