Andrew had his friend over today for a play date. It happens that his mom came for a play date with me too! The boys had a great time playing and Andrew impressed me with his generosity in sharing his toys. They played until they were exhausted and Andrew took a nice afternoon nap.
For the lunch part of the play date I made a great pasta dish for the moms. A friend had given me the recipe, but I ended up altering it a bit to fit with the ingredients I had on hand.
Brie and Tomato Pasta
1 cup grape tomatoes halved
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup of pesto sauce
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper, or to taste
1/2 pound of brie (or a nice sized wedge) without rind, cubed
1/2 cup olive oil
8 oz Ancient Harvest Quinoa Spaghetti (available at whole foods)
Assemble all ingredients, except pasta, in a large bowl and combine. Let sit out for an hour or so. Cook pasta according to the directions on the box. Combine cooked pasta with tomato/cheese topping and toss. Serve warm or at room temperature.
The original recipe calls for half a cup of basil leaves instead of the pesto, but my basil plants had been attacked by bugs with all the rain we've had and I forgot to buy some at the market. I actually liked the pesto instead. I did not actually measure all the ingredients, but these are my best estimates to the quantity. The original recipe also calls for linguine, but I really like the Quinoa pasta, although it would be good with a whole wheat pasta too. This was an easy meal to make and it was enjoyed! We had brownies for dessert to conquer all that garlic flavor!
We are having a family bbq on Saturday. Fifteen people for dinner, including 6 kids all 6 years or under. It should be lots of fun. So far the weather forecast is looking good, so I am happy! I am planning to make an apple pie and blueberry crisp for dessert.
I received my belated birthday gift this week--a new dslr camera. I am still learning to use it. Of course I forgot about it today and didn't take any photos of anything! Andrew has enjoyed being my test subject and even says "more cheese mommy" when he wants me to take more photos of him. I'll post photos soon, really!
