Pasta Primavera with Tuna; play nice with your phone!

Question:

You’re standing at the service desk in a store.  Said service person is taking care of your problem when his/her phone rings.  He/she immediately turns away from you and answers the phone.

Is this rude?

Or not?

In my opinion, it is not rude if the person answers the phone, speaks for a moment, then puts it down / on hold / whatever, and finishes taking care of the human that is physically present.

In my opinion it is rude if the person spends the next 10 – 20 minutes talking on the phone, ignoring you or only giving you half their mind.  Many of them don’t have enough to begin with and half is certainly not adequate.

This has happened to me twice in the last week – thus the musings.

In the first case, getting my oven repaired (again), I barely noticed that he answered the phone.

In the second case, it was my local fishmonger, who proceeded to talk rather than pay attention to me, throwing the fish I asked a question about into a bag and handing it to me, without answering the question… Forcing me to stand there while he finished the conversation, hand him back the bag and tell him I wanted something else.

He was not pleased.

Neither was I.

I’ll not return to that shop!

Questions #2:

How about interrupted personal calls?

If you are talking to someone on the phone, and they get another call, should they answer?

If they do, doesn’t it imply that they are hoping for someone ‘better’ to talk to?  That you are uninteresting / not worthy of their time / a bother?

In my opinion it is not rude if they say: Can you excuse me for a minute, I’ve been expecting a call, let me see if this is it?’  And actually wait for you to respond.

In my opinion it is rude if they say: ‘Oh, I’ve got another call’ and you hear a click before you can utter a word.

It’s particularly egregious if they have called you in the first place.

Is it simply a case of the unknown always holding more excitement than the known?

Is everyone so afraid that they’re going to miss something important?

Are people worried that if they don’t answer the call, the caller will never, ever call back?

And don’t even get me started on ‘text’ing / talking / eating at the same time.

Technology is wonderful…. But, just because it exists doesn’t mean we have to use it constantly.

It’s supposed to be a tool for we, mere mortals, to use to make our life easier and better.

It’s not supposed to be the master that permanently enslaves us.

Damn, this soapbox is getting high….

I did a Pasta Primavera Salad a few weeks ago.

Never being one to let anything alone I changed it from a salad to a warm main course…

Added some tuna….

This is my entry for Presto Pasta Nights, founded by Ruth of Once Upon a Feas, and hosted this week by Kitchenetta, of Got No Milk.

The round-up will be posted on Friday – don’t miss it!

Pasta Primavera with Tuna

I’ve made this Primavera’ a little more ‘spring-like’ and added some tuna to make it a full main course, rather than just a hearty side dish.  It’s finished with a light egg/Parmesan sauce.

1 1/4 cup bite size pasta, penne, rigatoni
6oz (200gr) asparagus
1/2 red bell pepper
2/3 cup (3oz, 90gr) cherry or grape tomatoes
4oz mangetout, snow peas
9oz (270gr) tuna, canned
2 tbs olive oil
1 egg
1/2 cup (2oz, 60gr) Parmesan plus
1/4 cup (1oz, 30gr) for sprinkling

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.
Grate Parmesan. Open and drain tuna.
Trim snow peas and cut into half or thirds, diagonally. Cut red pepper into matchsticks. Cut tomatoes in half. Snap off asparagus ends. Peel if using white. Cut asparagus into 1 1/2″ (4cm) lengths.
Bring a medium saucepan half full of water to a boil over medium high heat. Add asparagus and boil for 2 minutes (3 for white). Remove, drain, rinse thoroughly with cold water and drain again.
Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add red pepper and sauté 2 minutes. Add asparagus and snow peas and saute 5 minutes or until vegetables are lightly browned. Add tuna, breaking it into large chunks.
In medium bowl whisk egg well. Add Parmesan and whisk.
When pasta is done, drain, reserving 1/2 or all of the cooking water. (We only want 1 tbs, but we want it boiling hot.) Immediately put pasta into skillet with vegetables and toss well. Slowly pour 1 tbs of hot pasta water into egg mixture, whisking. Pour egg mixture over pasta, tossing well. Toss in skillet 1 minute, to heat through, then quickly put into a serving dish. Add tomatoes, herbs, combine and serve, remaining Parmesan on the side.

For more recipes check out my internet ‘cook book’ Easy Gourmet Dinners