recipe reviews: farmers' market pasta and bacon-braised green beans

farmers' market season is winding down, and i knew this weekend might be one of my last chances to get out to a market. i'd had this pasta recipe in mind for a while and decided to buy whatever ingredients i could at the farmers market. i used 3 ears of corn instead of 2 because corn was 50 cents each or 3 ears for $1 and, well, i like a deal. i picked up both parmesan and asiago because they both tasted delicious and i couldn't decide which one i wanted. i didn't get multicolored cherry tomatoes because the vendor i bought them from didn't have different varieties available. i also used the whole 16 ounce box of cavatappi because i lost track and decided to just dump the whole box in. that said, this made way more than the 4 servings listed in the recipe. i had some for dinner tonight and was quite pleased.

i also decided to try this recipe for bacon-braised green beans. (the 2nd link will require a login, btw.) i did not buy fresh thyme because the recipe only calls for a teaspoon and i knew i wouldn't be using thyme for anything else i was making, so i used a 1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme instead. oh, and i had "regular" bacon instead of thick-cut bacon. also added some garlic powder because y'all know i rarely trust recipes that don't call for any garlic whatsoever. i had to increase my cook time in step 2 because the beans weren't as tender as i wanted after the initial 12 minutes. i think i went maybe 20 minutes in total? i was pleased with the few bites i tried after i made it. we'll see how i feel after the flavors have more time to meld and hang out.

recipe review: skillet cabbage & sausage

while making my grocery list last week, i saw that green cabbage was going to be on sale. i had a vague memory of clipping a new (to me) recipe that involved cabbage, so off i went to my recipe binders. turns out my memory served me correctly. i had this recipe on file for skillet cabbage & sausage and i knew i had some mild italian sausage in the freezer. win!

i substituted 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg for the grated nutmeg, and i eyeballed some dried thyme for the fresh thyme. i had exactly 4 cloves of garlic on hand and minced all of them for this recipe. i used maybe a tablespoon of olive oil throughout the cooking process.

i made this on thursday night but didn't actually eat any of it until tonight, so the flavors have had time to get acquainted and meld. i'm pleased. if i make this again, i might try some pre-chopped cabbage or a package of cabbage slaw to save a bit of time and effort.