Just Another Summer Day

In the sultry summer air
I sit on my balcony chair
Sky blue
Pasta on my plate glaring white
And green
The green I saw and left in the deep grove of memories

As I sip my fizzy drink, overthink
The cicadas sing their song
Pasta twirls on the fork
The day grows long

In a summer that feels so long
Slipped through my fingers like the last firefly of August
The present fades into the heat haze
As I chase the past into dainty wild flowers

Walnut Pesto Pasta with Burrata

Ingredients:

Walnut 50g
Fresh basil leaves 40g
Parmigiano-Reggiano 50g
Garlic 2 cloves
Sea salt 1 teaspoon
Sea salt for pasta water 1 tablespoon
Freshly ground black pepper To taste
Extra virgin olive oil ½ cup + 2 tablespoons, plus more for drizzling
Spaghetti 90g
Burrata 1 piece

Steps:

1. Toast the walnuts on a dry pan, set aside. Removes the leaves from basil stalks, rinse and dry well. Grate the Parmigiano-Reggiano and peel the garlic. Boil a pot of water.
2. In a food processor, add the walnut and pulse until the nuts are coarsely chopped.
3. Add basil leaves, garlic and salt, and process until they are finely chopped.
4. Add olive oil, blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
5. Add the grated cheese, blend well.
6. Salt the cooking water and cook the spaghetti according to the direction on the package.
7. In a mixing bowl, add three big heap spoons of the pesto, add the cooked pasta and mix well. Add two tablespoons of pasta water and mix thoroughly for a creamy finish.
8. Plate the pesto pasta, tear open the burrata and set it on the pasta. Grind black pepper over the cheese and drizzle olive oil on top. Ready to serve.

Jo Liu

It’s raining outside, crisp and bleak. Three chubby sparrows took shelter on my balcony and I gave them the baguette bits left on my breakfast plate but they flew away. I stayed in, played Damien Rice on vinyl and made apple crumble. Repeat.

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