Night on my Own

Right now, I am enjoying the lull of my quiet house. Husband is out of town for the night and I get the place to myself- not that he is particurally noisy or anything, it's just nice to have some solitude (especially after a busy and noisy day teaching middle school kids).

After work today I went into town, went to church, and went to the Y. We have now joined our local Y, which requires me to drive 30 minutes to work out rather than 2. At first glance, the chances of me actually doing this seem very slim. However, I do really enjoy that at the Y there are a lot of people working out so it semi-inspires me to keep going and they have pilates classes! I'll start them in the summer since they meet at 6:15 am and there is just no way I could make it there and back in time for work.

I also received my shirt from Loft today that they replaced for me after a small iron-burn incident. So that was a welcome package in the mail! I'm expecting another shirt from there by week's end! I linked them because they're 2 of my new spring favorites.

Tonight for dinner I had Creamy Ravioli with Squash, Lemon, and Chives from this month's Real Simple. Only- mine didn't have chives. I am posting the recipe below (from RealSimple.com) It was really good. I was missing the heavy cream you needed and all I could get close by was half and half. You see, when husband and I went to the grocery store on Saturday, I had composed a long and beautiful list of things to get. Well, while still in the beginning stages of our trip, the list was lost- at which point I became incredibly frustrated. I then tried to compose the list from memory, but it was not perfect, and thus I forgot the heavy cream. I do think the ravioli would be even better with the heavy cream. Here's the recipe & picture.
You'll need:

• 16 to 18 ounces cheese ravioli (fresh or frozen)
• 1 tablespoon evoo
• 1 shallot or half an onion chopped
• 3 squash or zucchini or a mixture of both
  
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (I think these are optional)
  

Here's how:

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water; drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the squash and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper to the skillet. Cook, tossing often, until the vegetables are just beginning to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the cream and lemon zest and cook until the vegetables are tender and the cream is slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Add the squash mixture, parmesan, ¼ cup of the reserved cooking water, and ½ teaspoon salt to the pasta and toss gently to coat (add more cooking water if the pasta seems dry).
   

Well that's all for now...stay tuned for my next posts where I'll be concluding each one with a favorite kitchen gadget!