There are days when I feel slightly under the weather, but don’t want to spend the entire day in bed and covered in blankets.
I don’t like waking up in the early evening to find that the sun is about the set, people are coming home from work, and there is a general sadness of having wasted a perfectly good day being home alone.
Today is one of those days, where there is a silence in the house, a peaceful stillness settling over me, and I feel the freedom of having my personal space, to read, sleep, write, eat, or whatever comes to mind.
I spent much of the morning lazing in bed, thankful for the Thanksgiving holiday, and so glad to spend time lying down and just dazing at the ceiling. But the bed is a very terrible addiciton, and the more I sleep, the more I feel that I need to sleep. So I finally got up at noon, before the rest of the day slipped away without my knowing.
I read a little, texted a little on my phone, and before I knew it, it was already time for lunch, if I was planning on having any. At first the lazy lethargy that clung to me, still dazed from the holds of sleep, took over and I was on the verge of deciding not to eat.
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But then a food magazine lying seductively on the kitchen table shook my senses and woke me up.
On the cover of the magazine was a beautiful bowl of pasta, brimming with cherry tomatoes and colorful bell peppers.
Ahh……PASTA.
What a delicious word, a constant reminder of why I love Italy and Italian food, and why I should live in Italy one day.
In Cinque Terre, Italy, August 2007
Now my mind couldn’t let go of the picture of pasta it had just seen, and before I knew it, I was in the supermarket buying ingredients to cook lunch, for me, myself and I.
Cutting, slicing and chopping the fresh vegetables, the pasta boiling and bubbling softly in a pot, and then sauteeing the colorful vegetables and breathing in the beauty of their aromas, my day was beginning to feel so much better.
I ended up eating every bite of the pasta, which was really meant for two, but I ate it all anyway, because I was hungry and greedy, and because I just delight in pasta moments, which I believe are meant to last forever.
BEAUTIFUL, GLORIOUS PASTA.
Spring Vegetable & Ham Spaghetti
SPRING VEGETABLE & HAM SPAGHETTI (Serves 2)
Ingredients:
1) 1 red bell pepper, sliced
2) 1 green bell pepper, sliced
3) 1 medium onion, sliced
4) 2 small tomatoes, sliced
5) 1 large clove of garlic, chopped
6) 1 handful of spaghetti pasta
7) 200g of ham, sliced
8) Salt & pepper to taste
Steps:
1) Slice bell peppers, ham, tomatoes and onions length-wise, and then cut slices into half
2) Chop garlic
3) Cook spaghetti pasta in boiling water as indicated in package instructions, then drain pasta and set aside
4) In a pan, sautee garlic, onions and bell peppers until cooked
5) Add in ham and tomatoes and stir for a few minutes
6) Add in cooked spaghetti pasta and stir well, adding salt & pepper to taste
7) Serve hot
Fresh ingredients:
Ingredients sliced and chopped:
Cook the pasta:
Drain the pasta:
Sautee onions and garlic in a pan:
Add in bell peppers:
Stir until bell peppers and onions are cooked:
Add in ham and tomatoes and stir for a few minutes:
Stir well:
Add in cooked spaghetti pasta:
Stir well and add salt & pepper to taste:
Beautiful Spring Vegetable & Ham Spaghetti:
I love your 1st sentence– I hate that feeling too….wasting a perfectly good day…. I also LOVE Italy and your photo—you are just beautiful! I’ve never been to Cinque Terre but I love the Amalfi Coast and hear they are similar. Thanks for the recipe!!
Hi Ruthanne!!
that was alot of compliments in one comment! you are absolutely so sweet!! thank you!!
I’ve never been to the Amalfi Coast, but I just wikipediaed it and it looks very similar to Cinque Terre and very stunning too! Am adding it to my wishlist of countries to explore when I live in Italy wishlist
🙂
Felicia, thank you for dropping by my blog and leaving such a lovely comment! I quickly hopped over to your place and was pleasantly surprised by such a yummy recipe! The men that share my home will be glad I am incorporating new recipes into my recipe box! I too had a relaxing day but if I’m honest, I’m still trying to rouse myself from the Thanksgiving Day coma! hee hee! And I, unlike you, was naughty and did not practice Carpe Diem. I slept until noon! ha! 🙂
Hello Bella!
Thank you for dropping by and following my blog!! Hah, you wont believe it, but even after telling the world that i was going to practice carpe diem and not let the day waste away, I cooked, ate, and tried to read for 10 minutes before falling asleep till 6pm!
Enjoy your long weekend!!
😉
Wow, This dish is really enticing – especially the spring colors. We were cruising along the Italian coast and had so much of the Italian cuisine during our recent trip. Daddy likes them best without the cheese but I am fine with them. Hee Hee Hee…
Hello mummy!! You must have enjoyed all the Italian food! U can make pasta for daddy without cheese too!
I’m right there with you my friend; I would LOVE to live in Italy for a bit of my life. I went once when I was a teenager and I’ve missed it ever since. What a lovely pasta dish to remind me of those days! Delicious 🙂
Hi Jess!
Yes, I think Italy is a place for everyone to live in for a while at least once in our lives – a place where good food, wine, happiness, and the art of doing nothing combines to produce life’s simplest but greatest pleasures!
Hi Felicia!
Heavenly spaghetti recipe! I always mix up a spaghetti dish before a marathon.
And I love Cinque Terre. W and I were there 2 years ago. We did the hike from town to town. It was drop dead gorgeous (as well as lots of hills…hahaha). I miss it too!
Have a great weekend!
~Irene
Hi Irene! Omg, can’t believe I fell asleep after eating the spaghetti…and just woke up!
Yes, cinque terre was gorgeous! I went with a couple of friends from schoole (we were on exchange in Europe and travelled around Italy before the term started). Italy is definitely one of the places i have to go live in one day!
Hope you enjoyed your thanksgiving & managed to snag some terrific black Friday deals! 🙂
happy weekend!
Great post! Thank you for sharing this great recipe!!!
You are most welcome! I hope you like the recipe as much as I did! let me know if you ever make it 🙂 Happy weekend!
:0)