Fresh vegetable pasta

First of all, why do you guys feel so negatively about your cooking? We know there are some really good cooks among you, but so far, "messy" and "boring" are leading in the poll... What's up with that?

Secondly, today's cooking is dedicated to the Sweetest Fig, Figgaro, the cat with a thousand names and at least as many expressions.

Sanne made a trip this week to Russo's, an amazing vegetable market in Watertown. Take a look at her booty...

We decided to make an arugula and mushroom pasta with lemon basil sauce. And playing our other favorite game, "I'm gonna play your song". It's where you say, "I'm gonna play your song, and then pull up an old music video on youtube.

We started by sautéing 5 or so cloves of minced garlic for a few minutes and then added 1c milk and 1c chicken stock, and brought it to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add a taste of pepper.

the greatest smell

In a separate bowl, whisk together juice from 1 fresh lemon and 2T corn starch. Add to garlic sauce and let simmer. Because it was a little too lemon-y, Sanne added a little greek yogurt. This neutralized the lemon and made it a little creamier, too.

I chopped up a big, beautiful fresh basil leaf and added it to the sauce. It was probably about a teaspoon, and I'll add more if needed.

We thickly sliced a handful of mushrooms, since they are the meat of this operation. Add them to the sauce and let simmer. Cook and then drain 1lb. penne pasta.

Toss pasta with sauce and fresh chopped arugula. Garnish with cherry tomatoes, halved.

This would be great with chicken, but it is excellent without. The lemon makes the sauce less heavy than other cream sauces. A perfect Saturday lunch for our first Spring-like day of 2011! Hooray! Enjoy this pretty weather, Massholes!

I'm gonna play your song:

...and so reignites my childhood crush on Harry Belefonte.