What is "A Season to Savor" About Anyway?
I’m wanting to tell more stories. There are days where I think back to this second stanza (B) of Robert Penn Warren’s poem, Tell Me a Story, and how it captures the reflections I hold; the way the memories I look back on today will make up the stories I’ll begin to share tomorrow. I'm sharing an excerpt of the poem below:
Tell Me a Story
(B)
Tell me a story.In this century, and moment, of mania,
Tell me a story.
Make it a story of great distances, and starlight.
The name of the story will be Time,
But you must not pronounce its name.
Tell me a story of deep delight.
—Robert Penn Warren via Poets.org
As a mom to two neurodivergent children with a range of support needs, I often think how the adage “the days are long but the years are short” rings so true in my world. A single day can hold a tidal wave of interactions and experiences that literally leave me bereft of any evening energy to doom scroll (probably a good thing, actually). In one instance, I’m simultaneously asking myself, “Will we get past this phase?”—and in the same breath, “How did they grow so fast?” It’s a continuous conundrum that I have no doubt I’ll continue to volley in my mind long after my kids become the adults my husband and I imagine they will be.
And, then, I’ll find myself washing the dishes at the end of the day while playing flashbacks in the recess of my mind of a life I once lived before the roles of working professional, mother, and wife were ones I took up. VHS tapes gently placed in the vintage VCR—a highlight reel of ages and stages I’ve experienced as if on an episode of “This is Your Life.” I blinked and the last 20 years have been both vivid and a blur.
“How did I get here?”
Finding My Way Through the Middle
I’m at an intriguing intersection in life at the moment. My husband and I are raising children during one too many “unprecedented times.” I’m building a second career and (possibly, maybe?) saying adieu to the one I first began. The whispers of perimenopause grow louder and more annoying—a new period in time. I am finding myself thinking long and hard about what it is I want out of this one life I get to live. In the Middle of it all.
As someone who’s also building a growing food and recipe website (see: CookingwithOurCSA), I am unsure if this space is the place to share these notes and personal reflections. It’s my storefront, afterall. It is the spot where I publish a number of seasonal recipes, crafted from the many farm produce CSA boxes we’ve enjoyed over the years, and where readers find me from places like Google (hello, Search Engine Optimization.). It’s the place where people can find meal planning inspiration, kitchen tips, and local farm features as I seek to highlight the ways we can cook well—and eat well—all through the seasons while still actively supporting our local food systems. My website is the place to house all of that vital content and delicious seasonal recipes with the growing number of readers who are finding me there.
But now I see the need for a “third space.” A space that shares more of me with you, here, in a forum that I love and have longed to return to—writing. Maybe the answer is in simply creating another tab on my website here and just write what I want to write. I wanted to give Substack a go. Then I realized it didn't make much sense to splinter my content across a number of platforms. Navigating social media is plenty of work to do, anyway.
The Season I’m Savoring
Learning to be more present in my life has been a continued growth point. I’ve spent nearly all of my adult life pursuing a number of accomplishments and goals. Jumping from lily pad to lily pad—professionally and personally—leaves little room to really stop and enjoy the journey, as I’ve come to realize nearly two (or perhaps even three) decades later.
A note written down from one of several therapy sessions I had in SoCal two years ago to help manage elevated anxiety levels I was experiencing at the time still says, “Dr. F asks me, pointedly, ‘How are you savoring the season you’re in?” And, that’s likely the seed that was planted that’s given way to the series I’m starting here.
In the midst of so much happening—personally, professionally, politically—all around us… How do we stay present in our day to day? What lights us up, still? Are we doing the things we said we’d set out to do all those years ago?
How do we find—and make—time to savor the season we’re in?
It’s my aim to share a bit of how I’m doing that with this Substack. From embracing new places and big moves to the humbling points of parenting and balancing professional aspirations to the meals I’m making along the way. I’m striving to slow down and remain present in my days—savoring the big and small moments that make up the fabric of my life.
If these reflections resonate, I hope you’ll join me in this endeavor and the conversations (and recipes!) we’ll share here. You can learn more about this Substack and ways to subscribe here.
A Pasta to Make in This Season
Cooking and sharing food has steadfastly become a way for me to mark the change in seasons. Fruits and veggies cycle their returns to the Farmers Market as if on cue, letting me know that change is on the horizon once more.
My parents visited earlier this month. I’m always so grateful when they can take care of our kiddos so my husband and I can carve out some time for ourselves to rest and recharge. I make it a point, now, to find places where we can enjoy a good meal. I relish both luxurious quiet and conscientious conversation—the things we can talk about when we’re not interrupted or when our assistance is needed.
We stopped for lunch at Angèle on our way to an overnight stay in Sonoma. I opted for their three-course prix fixe lunch menu. The price point is amazing (less than $40)! Each course reflects the seasonal ingredients of late winter and early spring. The pasta recipe below is inspired by the dish I had for lunch that day.
Sprouting broccoli, wild mushrooms, and spinach illustrate the late winter goodies that abound as we prepare for Spring’s arrival. You can use any dried pasta shape you have on hand or prefer. Though, I do recommend a pasta shape that has ridges and can hold or soak up the sauce. The use of chicken stock for the sauce is a game changing move as I opted to cook the pasta in some homemade poultry stock. It imparted so much more flavor.
The straightforward ingredients help us to craft something so comforting and delicious: that’s what I’m after this season. Simplicity. And nourishing comfort.
Notes for the Home Cook:
- A 3 quart sauté pan will be very helpful to contain all the bits and bobs of the pasta elements.
- Homemade poultry stock is really where it’s at here to craft a richly flavorful sauce. But, in the immortal words of Ina Garten, “Store bought is fine.” It really is. Use vegetable broth if you want to keep it vegetarian focused. Beef broth will also work just as well.
- You can scale back the amount of butter but, also, it’s just too good. And life is just too short to not enjoy the good butter.
- If you can’t find a mix of wild mushrooms, go all in for cremini. You can also use a mix of cremini and portobello.
The times right now are no doubt tumultuous; how are you striving to sustain yourself these days? To what extent do you think food can buoy us in nourishing ways? Let me know in the comments here. Let’s cook up some yummy dishes to savor in this season, together. 🧡
Late Winter Pasta with Mushrooms, Kale, and Sprouting Broccoli
Ingredients
- 6 cups homemade or store bought low-sodium chicken/poultry stock could also use veggie stock to keep vegetarian or beef stock
- 8 ounces dried pasta of choice think: farfalle, shells, campanelle
- 8 ounces mixed mushrooms think: Cremini, King Trumpet, Blue Oyster, Maitake
- 1 cup chopped sprouting broccoli
- 2 cups chopped kale leaves stems removed (could also use spinach or chard)
- ½ teaspoon aleppo pepper flakes or sub for crushed red pepper flakes
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt plus more for seasoning "pasta stock"
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried herbs de provence
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons chopped shallot
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup grated parmesan
- To finish: toasted breadcrumbs chopped fresh herbs like parsley and chives, more grated parmesan
Instructions
- For the Mise en Place: Remove woody stems from mushrooms and give them a rough chop before setting aside in a small prep bowl. Remove the stems from the sprouting broccoli and give small florets a rough chop before setting aside in a separate prep bowl. Rinse greens and remove leaves from stems. Roughly chop kale leaves and add to a separate prep bowl. Mince garlic and finely chop shallots. Portion out dried pasta shape of your choosing and fill sauce pan or large pot with the 6 cups of stock.
- Bring 6 cups of poultry stock to a boil and salt, as needed, just as you would salt pasta water. Add in dried pasta and cook about 6-8 minutes until al dente. Use a slotted spoon to drain pasta into a large mixing bowl, reserving about ½ cup of liquid for the sauce.
- While the pasta cooks, heat a high-rimmed sauté pan with 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring often, to allow the garlic and shallots to begin to caramelize slightly, about 4 to 5 minutes. Keep heat to medium-low, and keep a close eye, so garlic doesn't burn. Season with a pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper.
- Add chopped mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms begin to sweat and slightly brown before adding the broccoli and kale leaves, about 5 minutes. Cook veggies for another 5 minutes then add the aleppo pepper (or crushed red pepper flakes), dried herbs de provence, and another pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper. Give the veggies another stir and taste. Adjust seasoning as you like: a touch more pepper for warmth or salt for added seasoning.
- Add in the cooked pasta and add a couple tablespoons of reserved "pasta stock" at a time to help begin crafting the sauce (about ⅓ to ½ cup in total). Add in the butter and stir to allow the butter to melt. Add the grated parmesan and stir until cheese has melted into the sauce.
- To plate: spoon pasta into shallow pasta bowls. Garnish with toasted breadcrumbs, chopped fresh herbs (e.g. parsley and chives), and a touch more grated parmesan.
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