I Have A Boatload of Grapes

And a need to clear some room for the weekend project. This was to have been the summer I explored Faulkner, more on that tomorrow, and I planned some good old Southern grub for tomorrow as part of my goal to get back on that reading track, but right now my fridge seems to have been taken over by a huge amount of red seedless grapes that looked yummy at the farmer's market a few days ago.

I also seem to have a lot of pasta, as evidenced by a bag of pipe rigate that keeps falling out on me when I open the cupboard.

Pipe rigate is a fun shape. It looks sort of like a monk's hood and cowl. But they're headless monks, so the sauce has lots of little crevices to run into. And every time it falls on me, I start singing the monk's chant from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Whack!

A quick search yielded this yummy recipe courtesy of Epicurious and Self Magazine. To go with, I made an arugula salad with peaches, figs, pomegranate seeds, red onion, feta and a lemon and pomegranate molasses dressing. Mangia!

Arugula Salad with Peaches, Figs, Pomegranate Seeds and Feta

Pie lesu domine, dona eis requiem

5 oz. baby arugula
1 large ripe peach, sliced thinly
3 brown turkey figs, cut into sixths
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1/4 small red onion, sliced thinly
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Dressing

Juice of one large lemon
1 garlic clove minced
scant 1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. pomegranate molasses
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the dressing ingredients and toss salad ingredients gently in a large bowl with about half of the dressing, or more if you like.

Pasta with Sausage and Red Grapes

SELF  | August 2011

by Kerri Conan

Makes 4 servings

ingredients

• 6 ounces mild Italian sausage, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon salt (preferably kosher), divided
• 2 cups seedless red grapes
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
• 10 ounces whole-wheat orecchiette (or other short-cut pasta, such as farfalle or penne)
• 2 tablespoon grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil)

preparation

Set a large pot of water to boil. In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat, stirring and breaking up, until well browned, about 15 minutes. Transfer sausage to a paper towel. Add oil to skillet; return to medium heat. Cook onion and garlic with 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add grapes, broth and pepper flakes; increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until grapes soften or burst and liquid thickens, about 10 minutes. Return sausage to skillet and stir; turn off heat. When water boils, add remaining 1 tablespoon salt and pasta; cook as directed on package. Drain pasta, add to skillet, and turn on heat to high. Cook, stirring, until sausage is hot and pasta is coated with sauce, 30 to 60 seconds. Divide pasta among 4 bowls; sprinkle each with Parmesan and parsley before serving.