It is HOT in Ohio. It broke 90° F today and has been so humid it’s almost intolerable. All I want to do is sit on a shady porch with a cold beer and eat watermelon with friends. Unfortunately, my research has me sweating in a buggy field for about 4 hours and sitting in my window-less office writing for another 4-5 hours each day.
So when I came home from school today, I consoled myself by making this light, but flavorful dish using some baby summer squash and zucchinis I picked up from the farmer’s market earlier this week. I used some left over pasta that had been sitting in my fridge, but even if you had to cook the pasta, I’d estimate this dish would take you a max of 20 minutes to make, from prep to plate. Perfect for a 
day when it’s too hot to be all up in your kitchen.
I ate this with a nice slice of spelt -flour bread that I also purchased from the farmer’s market, and a lemony summer ale.
Disclaimer: I decided to post this recipe after the entire meal was made, and thus am writing this from memory. Not only do I have a terrible memory, but I am estimating the measurements of all of the ingredients. Play with it and make it your own, and don’t fault me for my lack of precision.
Serves two
3-5 baby summer squash and zucchini – cut julienne style
1.5 cups of your favorite pasta (I used whole wheat angel hair)
3 cloves of garlic – pressed
a big ol’ handful of fresh basil (I picked a bunch off of my plant and didn’t really measure) – finely minced
extra virgin olive oil
parmesan cheese – freshly grated
coarse salt
black pepper
What to do:
While boiling water for pasta, clean and slice squash and zucchinis. In a heavy pan, heat a small amount of olive oil over medium low heat and add squash/ zucchini. Cook and drain pasta.
In a separate bowl, add three pressed cloves of garlic and fine minced basil. Drizzle olive oil into bowl, stirring consistently until a desired consistency is reached (think salad dressing). Add a pinch of salt and a healthy dose of pepper to pesto-like mixture.
Add cooked pasta to squash in pan and pour pesto on top. Heat thoroughly, tossing occasionally until pesto is evenly distributed.
Plate pasta, grate parmesan cheese, then take a big bite and enjoy.
