16 nov 06
There’s an Italian restaurant near Shaun‘s apartment where we like to eat: Osteria 832. It’s delicious, and they have a large outdoor patio area for dining al fresco, something we’re still holding onto in November. Last weekend may have been the end of it, though.
Italian food uses a lot of pasta and tomatoes, and thus can be unfriendly to low- or lower-carb diets. I never make pasta although I do have it in Lean Cuisines and sometimes when I eat out. One time at Osteria I ordered their Rustica pasta, which is rigatoni and sausage in a spicy tomato sauce. And if that’s not enough carbohydrates for you, they sprinkle the whole thing with breadcrumbs before they serve it. Delicious. I’m one of those annoying diners who asks everyone else what they are ordering, half because I am a girl and lack the ability to make decisions, and half because I cringe slightly at the idea of ordering the same item as someone else in my party. This past Friday, I asked Shaun what he was getting and he said he didn’t know yet, but he was pretty sure it would be “a big bowl of carbs.”
When I got home from work tonight I didn’t feel like cooking much of anything. And neither bacon and eggs nor canned soup (the standbys) sounded very good to me. Then I remembered somewhere in the back of my cabinets I had some leftover pasta from the last time I made vegetable-beef soup, as well as some jarred spaghetti sauce. Topped off with parmesan cheese from the refrigerator, it was the perfect (carb-y) dinner. I ate it all with relish. I bet I haven’t cooked pasta at home in two years.
David / 21 nov 2006 / 11:13 p.m.
Last week i was fortunate enough to be at a conference sponsored by the University i work for. It was in Tucson, AZ. We got to dine al fresco every night (as well as have some midnight drinks in 55 degrees on the veranda). =o)