July 7, 2012 - Linguine with a good friend

I was in Paris in the summer of 2008. I was taking my first good look at the Eiffel Tower from the famed Palais de Chaillot when a tourist asked me if I'd take her photo. I said I would oblige on the condition that she took the same picture of me. I recognized that she had a North American accent so I asked her where she was from. "Toronto", she replied. To which I admitted that I also was a Torontonian. We have been friends ever since. I love telling that story. Her name is Tammy. She came over to my place this evening for a nice Saturday dinner. It had been a few months since we last saw each other. I recently returned from a trip to London and she recently returned from a trip to Buenos Aires so we had a lot of catching up to do.

Earlier today my friend and neighbour, Michelle, and I drove down to Hamilton, Ontario to do a couple of errands. While we were in the area we stopped at "Hewitt's Dairy Bar", an old fashioned diner that specializes in the sale of ice cream and fresh dairy produce. We stopped for a couple of toasty deli-style sandwiches but I managed to pick up a litre of 1% Hewitt's milk and some unsalted butter (for prices much better than what I can get in the city). I also bought some fresh, organic, and local goat's cheese during my visit.

Michelle joined Tammy and I for dinner. I had to put that goat cheese to good use! I made a basic Béchamel sauce to which I added the juice of a whole lemon, the goat cheese, sautéed summer vegetables, and fresh parsley. That mixture became the rich, yet refreshing, coating to some ancient grain Kamut linguine noodles. It was a delicious vegetarian treat.

Tomorrow is Sunday which means I have some more cooking to do so I have lunches for the work week. I still have no idea what I'll make yet.

I hope you too have been eating well this weekend.

B

PS: When you add cheese to a classic Béchamel sauce, it becomes a "compound sauce" referred to as Mornay.