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October 16, 2006
Give A Little Bit
Today I was at Publix picking up the ingredients for a couple of dishes that are family staples: Bowties with Peas and Prosciutto and Pork Lo Mein. As I was placing ginger, sugar snap peas, and pork on the conveyor belt, a girl stood behind me and began unloading her cart.
She looked familiar. I am notoriously inept at recognizing people in when I see them in a different setting than I am accustomed to, such as when I see a fellow church member at the mall. I thought she might be a school mother transplanted into the Publix setting, so I did what I usually do in these situations and introduced myself.
“Hi, I’m Anne Glamore,” I said. “You look awfully familiar. I feel like I know you.”
She told me her name, which I didn’t recognize, and said, “Actually, I feel like I know you, too. I read your column.”
Well. Here was a chance to get some real live reader feedback. I asked her which columns she prefers. She was a fan of The Breast Wars but said that in general she likes to read about the children, what they’re doing, and how we handle parenting problems we encounter. Then she pointed to the prosciutto in my shopping cart and asked where I had gotten it. I directed her to the cold case across from the bread.
When she returned, I extolled the virtues of our Bowtie dish which my middle sister, Aunt Su, has described as “so good it will make you cry.” I promised her the recipe in exchange for her thoughts on my writing.
Now I’m offering you the same deal. I’ll give you the recipe; you tell me what you like (or don’t) about the Tiny Kingdom, but please keep it civil. I’d like to keep writing what you want to read, so here’s your chance to share your opinions.
And here’s my recipe.
Bowties with Peas and Prosciutto
1/4 C olive oil (or less) (or add a little butter)
1/2 C finely chopped onion (more or less)
12 oz frozen peas
6 oz prosciutto cut into strips (more or less)
10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 LB bowtie pasta
1 T olive oil or butter
fresh grated Parmesan (the real thing)
Saute the onion (in a skillet big enough to hold everything including the pasta at the end) in the oil or butter until lightly browned. Add the prosciutto and basil and saute until the prosciutto changes color. Add 2 cups of water to the pan to deglaze it (pour water in and stir everything around, scraping up the browned bits of stuff from the bottom of the pan so they’ll melt into the liquid). Add peas, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer until peas are tender.
Meanwhile, boil a whole lot of water and cook your pasta. Drain it and add it to the prosciutto mixture and stir everything gently so the pasta soaks up some liquid. Put it on plates and top with FRESHLY GRATED REAL PARMESAN and enjoy.
Serve with bread and a salad or do like I do and serve alone and say, “Here’s dinner. Put your napkins in your laps and quit grabbing bowties with your fingers before we’ve said the blessing. After we’ve said the blessing I expect you to use a fork.”
Don’t go buying any fancy-schmancy prosciutto for this; the packaged brand is perfectly fine. Once I got the deli prosciutto and frankly, when I tasted the result I was compelled to
sing, “Who been cookin’ that nasty food?” in a near-perfect Janet Jackson imitation. It scared my boys to death until I played the song for them. Then we threw out the Bowties and had scrambled eggs and bacon for dinner.
Also, devote some time to browning the onion. The more slowly you do it, and the browner it gets, the better the overall flavor of the dish is. But stop if you’re producing carbon, of course.
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Now your turn: comments, please!
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October 22nd, 2006 at 1:07 am, tee Says:
i love hearing about your boys:)
October 24th, 2006 at 9:09 am, Susan Richards Says:
I am so glad to have found you again. I am a relativly new reader - last 2-3 months - and can honestly say that I do not prefer one post over the another. I think they are hilarious. It always brightens my day to read. Please keep up the good work.
October 26th, 2006 at 8:02 am, SlushTurtle Says:
My favorite posts are the ones in which the boys need some parental intervention and you come through hilariously and appropriately.
I have to say that my feelings were seriously hurt when you were on ivillage and after my comment about UNICEF, you still encouraged it in your next post. But of course, my feelings are pretty raw as I had to hand my 15 day old son back over to his foster mother in Guatemala on Monday and come home without him, knowing that because of the money UNICEF is waving at the Guatemalan president, who knows when we will be able to bring him home. But I know, that’s not your problem, it’s mine.
I still love your stories.
October 28th, 2006 at 7:34 am, christine Says:
Anne, I love to read all your stories but the breast wars in particular had me in stitches LOL
October 28th, 2006 at 10:14 am, Sue Says:
My favorite stories are about your kids. I particularly enjoyed the one about explaining sex (and saved it for future reference), the one about the sore bum, and the one about Propel. You didn’t ask, but helpful as I am:-), here are some ideas I’d like to hear more about: People in your community that annoy you or amuse you, your take on some of the more popular television shows, and maybe some humorous columns about the more ludicrous aspects of some current events from your point of view. For example, what are the local hot topics in your community that you will be voting on soon. Is there anything that can be run through your unique perspective and twisted around in there resulting in an article you can post for our entertainment?
October 30th, 2006 at 2:45 pm, Alyce Says:
I stumbled across your site one day while on iVillage. I sought it out for a while, though I never could remember the name. And when my other iVillage blog favorites began to disappear, I found you one last time and bookmarked this new (old) location).
I have forwarded posts to my husband and girlfriends. I find you amusing and empathetic and love to hear how you keep house and manage 4 boys, husband included.
You write well.
There isn’t anything I’d change, per se. I enjoy your photos, so I suppose if I had to change anything it would be to ask that you include more photos.