I love pasta and I am done trying pretend that I don’t, or that I can eat Primal or Paleo for more than a week or two before I realize that life is too short to not eat pasta (or beans for that matter). I’m sorry, but Italians have been eating the stuff forever and Italy has produced some pretty freaking legendary cyclists– none of which I recall being fat in their racing days. So as I often say on this blog (and in my daily life) “fuck it.” Or in this case, “Fuck it, I’m eating pasta.” Moderation and miles on the bike seems to work best for crushing pasta and not having to move up a belt size.
But hey, don’t listen to me, I am not Italian, a legendary cyclist, a nutritionist, doctor, chef or even thin. OK I’m “thin” by most ‘Merican standards, but by cycling standards I am fat. I can live with that… so long as that means I’m eating pasta.
With me and pasta back on eating terms I was jonesing to make some and couldn’t decide if I wanted to make the super simple and delicious Cacio e Pepe (Cheese & Pepper) Pasta or the slightly more involved Spaghetti alla Carbonara. I decided that I didn’t need a stinking recipe and settled on a dish somewhere in the middle, tossing together some spaghetti*, EVoO, sweet stallion sausage, garlic, kosher salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Those of you who didn’t have the time nor the inclination, to look up from your steak harvested from grass-fed steer, raised on wheat free pastures sown with the locks of dairy-free Brazilian virgins, don’t know what you missed. It was awesome.
The good thing about the meal was that it was fast and simple, something I needed before hustling B-Man to soccer (God that sounded middle class white person). The best thing about the meal was that at no point did I start to think that Crossfit is for me or that buying a whole cow might be a good idea. However, I DID start thinking about how good a glass of wine would have gone with the meal, how cool the Giro is, and how I should probably lay off the carbs for breakfast and lunch tomorrow… so I can crush more pasta for dinner!
*NOTE: I love that Ric’s down the street from me here in Mt. Pleasant, MI carries DeLallo’s stuff. I used to live just 15 minutes from their store in Jeannette, PA and used to buy their stuff all the time. I remember going there as a kid and watching the guy make sausage through the glass window in the meat department. Mmmm… sheep’s intestine.
By the way T shirts and stickers with the above graphic will be available in the lobby as you make your exit.