Pasta with Spinach, Mushroom and Goat Cheese
If I could be Alice in Wonderland, and slip through the Looking Glass, I would.
As it is, I'm sitting quietly at my computer, trying to be as small as possible, with my head down and my mouth firmly shut.
I am offering no suggestions nor helpful hints nor ideas nor words of encouragement or consolation.
It has not been a good day.
And my bathroom privileges have been revoked.
Well, so have mon mari's, but he has a distinct advantage in situations like this… So I'm going to ignore that fact….
It all began shortly after we moved in.
We started doing all the things that people do when they live in a house: dishes, showers, laundry, etc.
The drains started getting slower and slower.
This is an old house.
It's last inhabitant had been a cantankerous old man.
It's obvious that the property had not been maintained fastidiously.
Perhaps the septic tank needed emptying.
Perhaps it had not been emptied in the last 100 years or so.
One can tell that this is a common situation here, in the country, by the number of ads in the yellow pages for this service.
I called on Monday, as the drains got slower.
The appointment was set for this morning.
Yesterday, we put a stop to unnecessary things like laundry and showers.
He arrived bright and early this morning.
And couldn't find the tank.
As he was poking around with a big stick, looking for it, our new doors and windows arrived.
They were delivered, coincidentally, by the nephew of the cantankerous old man.
Lengthy conversations ensued, but alas, of no use in finding the septic tank.
He cleaned out the smaller, 'kitchen' tank and left.
Now we had a small empty tank, but still no drainage.
Mon mari spent the morning cleaning 'the pipes'.
I won't go into those details.
At the end of the morning, we could do laundry and take a shower.
We could not use the sink or the toilet.
Did I mention that of all the things mon mari does, he hates plumbing most?
This afternoon he did lots and lots of things in the cellar.
I heard lots and lots of colorful language.
There was one side benefit to all of this…
I was (quietly) doing laundry and I mentioned (quietly) that the dryer wasn't working.
He chose to excise some of his frustration on said dryer….
And the damn thing started working! (Had I been the dryer I would have started working, too.)
Long story short, he found the septic tank. It was about a foot beneath the soil; apparently having slowly been buried over time, much like a bronze age ruin.
We called the service and they'll be back in the morning.
First thing.
Thankfully, we had lots of spinach last night. For a day such as this, one needs one's strength!
Ruth, of Once Upon a Feast and the founder of Presto Pasta Nights, has hinted, ever so nicely, that I am shirking my duties. I promise, once I have running water and a sink in my kitchen, I'll be making lots more pasta….
I did manage to make this last night.
I'll send it over to The Food Hunter's Guide to Cuisine, this week's host. Visit her blog on Friday for lots of Pasta ideas.
Pasta with Fresh Spinach and Chevre
A little goat cheese brings the mushrooms and spinach together for this simple, healthy side dish.
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
4oz (125gr) mushrooms
1 tbs olive oil
6oz (180gr) fresh spinach
2/3 box chevre (goat cheese) (3oz, 90gr) Chavrie in the U.S., Chevraux in Europe
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
2 tbs Greek yogurt
1 cup small, bite size pasta or egg noodles
Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain.
While pasta cooks: Wash spinach (if necessary) and roughly chop. Clean mushrooms. Chop onions and mushrooms. Mince garlic. Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, mushrooms and sauté for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Add spinach and stir-fry until spinach is just wilted, 1 – 2 minutes. Add goat cheese and stir until it melts. Stir in soy sauce and yogurt. Toss with pasta and serve immediately.
Tomorrow's bound to be better…
Don't you think…?
Either tomorrow will be better or . . . well you know we had a saying once
“Eat a live toad in the morning first thing and nothing else bad/worse can happen to you the rest of the day.”
The absolute worse times on the boat were when the “head” got stopped up or down there really isn’t direction with that is there.
I’m so sorry for your plumbing trouble. Your sense of humor in the face of those types of challenges (no bathroom!) is commendable. The most important question here really is – did you learn any new colorful language from “mon mari” while he worked? I’ve found in similar situations that I get all kinds of new words that I can file away in my verbal arsenal. 🙂 Julia
We ALL hate plumbing problems. Soon it will be a distant memory.
The dish however, will live on. I love pasta of almost any kind. And spinach, mushrooms and goats cheese?? I can’t wait to try it!
What a day. Thanks for the submission to PPN.
I love this kind of dinner! And it’s perfect thing for soothing shattered nerves. (I feel your pain!!)
Good lord, Katie…. I know exactly how you feel… maybe not exactly but close. I hate when those things happen. It has happened to me 3 times in our house and it was kind of worse here because the tank overflowed and… no details here… only for your knowledge, the tank is in the garage and I love keeping things in boxes. My garage is full of them packed in piles.
Anyway, I’m sure the day after will be better, anything is better than “that”.
Don’t eat too much spinach or you’ll have to help your Mari!
This looks great! Easy too 😉 The creaminess and the zing of the goat cheese and yogurt make for a great, healthy alternative to traditional cream sauces! I work with Chavrie (the pyramid-shaped fresh goat cheese) and I enjoy seeing healthy recipes that incorporate goat cheese in order to sustain that great rich flavor. Thanks for the post!
Tomorrow IS bound to be better. And thanks for sharing your delicious looking pasta with Presto Pasta Nights. I especially like the goat cheese with the spinach.
And I never get tired of your adventures. What will I do when you’re all settled in?
Tanna, I’ll remember that one!
Henhouse, he was muttering….continually….
Cindy, they really are the worst.
Thanks, Food hunter
Elizabeth, and easy… so it didn’t disturb my wine.
Nuria, thank god it didn’t overflow!!!
Corrine, I love creamy goat cheese – and eat far too much of it.
Ruth, I’ll relax!
Well in my profession, we see lots of clogged sinks, drains, septic and sewer systems.
It seems that the colorful language you speak of isn’t always reserved for the dryer, lol.
Thanks for a very entertaining account of your situation.