Hot summer evenings

Outside the kitchen, or more accurately outside the context of an oven, I can't think in Fahrenheit.  Tell me  it's 250ºF, 350ºF, 475ºF in the oven, and I'll quickly grasp what that means for food.  Mention that it's 65ºF, 83ºF, 90ºF outside, and I'll need a few seconds to do some mental math (minus 32 times 5 divided by 9) before I can rejoice, commiserate or react appropriately.


After a few summers in Kansas, though, there's definitely one thing I've become accustomed to not converting:  100+ºF.  I just immediately know now that it means Freaking Hot (or hovering around 40, for those who speak Celsius).  Yeah.  And that's not even counting the humidex factor.  Just thinking about it makes my skin crackle.





Coming home after work, the two best things to do in freaking-hot-40 weather (in my opinion) are:
1) Sip something chilly in a pretty glass - frosted, of course - poolside.  Repeat drink as needed.  Take a dip if you are in need of further cooling.
2) When you've had enough of (1), pull on a cardigan and freeze in your on-purpose-over-abundantly-air-conditioned home*.  Then, have dinner.  Or skip it, if the heat has killed your appetite.  Anyway, you know, you already had all those frosty drinks at the pool ...


Oh, wait. This isn't a "Dreaming of the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" blog.

*Kidding aside, please air responsibly!

So how does my hot-day-après-work dream translate to reality?  We do have access to a great outdoor pool, which is convenient.  My son loves it.   We do too.  Have you ever been swimming with children, though?  So we're on the same page, right?  Bye-bye, leisure and lounging.  And let's also blow a kiss goodbye to the mojito, piña colada, strawberry daiquiri, or whatever frosty we had in mind.  Hey, at least the water's nice.


A good swim creates a ravenously hungry child, which therefore means that mommy's dinner services are required.  Here's something that came together really quickly and easily the other day: pesto on ravioli and fagiolini.  We had it with piles and piles of green beans - way more than what you see in the picture, which is all that was left after we were through with it.  My son had seconds and thirds. Green beans! Seriously!  I like to think that it was because he actually liked the veggies, not because he was so famished that he would've eaten just about anything.





Let me tell you, I may not have had a lovely sip or two while lounging lazily at the pool, but playing with my son in the water and then watching him enjoy a healthy supper really made my day. Funny how being a mother can shift perspective, eh?

Pesto on Ravioli and Fagiolini

Cook in a large pot of boiling, salted water:
  1 package ravioli (usually about 1 kilogram; 
    can be found in the refrigerated section of your supermarket)
  340 grams (¾ lb) fresh green beans


For cooking time, follow the indications specified in your ravioli package.  The one I used had large ravioli (about 3" diameter), and those took about 6 minutes to cook.  The ravioli will float up and the green beans will sink - this is just fine, because your pasta will likely be ready before the beans are.


Scoop the ravioli out and into a bowl when they are ready.  Try the beans and let them cook longer if they are not yet tender.  You are aiming for tender, not soft, not mushy.  The beans I used were fairly slim, and they needed about 10 minutes in boiling water.


Scoop the beans into the same bowl as the ravioli.  Gently mix in:
  ¼ cup pesto*


Serve immediately, topped with a generous dusting of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.


*For a really convenient meal, you can use prepared pesto sauce.  Just read the label and make sure to choose one that has a really short list of ingredients, including basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, and parmesan cheese.  I make mine from scratch and freeze it in little containers for use throughout the year, so the batch I used for this meal came from my freezer!  I don't measure when I make pesto so I don't have quantities for you right now, but the next time I make fresh pesto I'll take note of how much I'm putting in and I'll report back here.