Sunny Weekend

What a great weekend.  As you can see by the few pictures, the knitting on Friday night went well.  I had fun and I think the girls and leaders did too.  I left at 8pm and the troop still had many activities planned for their sleep over, badge earning night.

Saturday was fun.  I went to Bloomingdale's to demo some KitchenAid equipment.  I used the pasta attachment and made some basic egg pasta which I served to my demo guests with marinara sauce.  I also used the wonderful blender to make a raspberry vinaigrette which I served over salad greens.  The pasta was a hit and all guests were excited that it was so easy with the pasta attachment on the stand mixer.

After Bloomingdale's I zipped over to the yarn store and bought some yarn for my next project.  I am in process of making sleeves for a sweater so I want to be ready when I finish this sweater.  Of course the new project is a shawl, and it is now almost summer, but come next winter it might be ready.

For dinner Saturday I went back to pasta from Everyday Italian.  Very good, pretty quick and an all inclusive meal.  I had never used broccoli rabe before and loved it.  It's kind of a cross between broccoli and greens so I enjoyed it.  I used a large pinch of red pepper and the pasta was perfectly spicy.   

Orecchiette with Turkey Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

2 bunches broccoli rabe, stems trimmed
1 pound orecchiette pasta
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound turkey Italian-style sausage, casings removed
3 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch dried crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Cook the broccoli rabe in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp tender, about 1 minute. Transfer the broccoli rabe to a large bowl of ice water to cool, saving the cooking water. Bring the reserved cooking water back to a boil.
Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up into pieces with a spoon, until browned and juices form, about 12 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, when the reserved cooking water is boiling, add the orecchiette and cook until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.
Strain the broccoli rabe and add it to the pan with the sausage mixture and toss to coat with the juices. Add the pasta to the skillet. Stir in the Parmesan and serve immediately.

Sunday we went out to lunch with friends and then had our bible study at our house.  We will be finishing up with Living Your Dream next week.  We may continue as a group since a new series started this past Sunday.  Our group is a little behind because we like each other and talk a lot!

Tonight it is back to Jazzercise.  I took some time off and regret it.  But back I go.  I still enjoy Jazzercise, I think I was fighting to not get sick last week and used all my energy on that.  It worked though!