yup.
because rules is rules around these parts,
and it's beneficial to everyone to observe 'em-
so,
whenever it's the frickin' first of the effin' month?
that's when you do the thing, neighbors-
the first word jump start pronunciation-
intentionally echoed in repetition to conjure the consonants that compose the spoken spell,
cast on blast past my pursed lips,
summoning the spirit and memory of fortunate and favorable Folk Life, liberty,
and cultivated coincidences...
you know what you're s'pose to say, right:
rabbit! rabbit!
that's IT!
i said it, i meant it,
i bent my full focus to a microscopic pinpoint in order to concentrate
all the Positive Mental Attitude activation available towards making today,
and the whole dang rest of the month,
as expert as possible, and to make the most out of all my minutes
as masterfully as i am able to manage.
WOOOOOOORD.
-
also,
i am powered by molto molto ravioli right now.
uh-huh.
whatcha know about homemade pouches of powerful pasta
stuffed with the most fulfilling filling,
and bathed in a brutally beautiful and devastatingly delicious rich tomato sauce?!
well, you're about to learn, dudes.
check the bye-bye-april-type teleport:
GIVE ME THE FORMUOLI!!!!
hahaha!
maaaaaaaaaan, y'all can't even feel this enough.
i'm serious.
from scratch ravs, from scratch sauce, AND from scratch bread.
i'm repping a homemade life pretty hard right now,
and i'm basking in the bounty of intentional effort.
yeah.
get a closer look at these muh-fuhhhs:
WOW!
not every meal is a masterpiece,
but the ones that hit the hottness just right transcend simply being sustenance,
and become an inspirational and nuanced nourishment for your whole being, bro.
mmmmmmm.
is that too grandiose?
says you- if you'd had a rav or two, you'd be singing a different song, for sure.
here's the haps, in case you're feeling motivated to make a little magic of your own:
-
*
RAVIOLI DOUGH!
-
in your stand mixer, combine:
1 cup semolina flour;
1 cup a.p. flour;
1 tsp salt;
3 T olive oil;
1 cup warm water.
knead it for ten full minutes on medium-low speed,
adjusting flour and water if necessary to get a perfect, shiny dough ball.
rest it for at least ten minutes, wrapped, before rolling it out on a well floured surface
to 1/8" thickness, and cutting your ravs out-
i got 32 two and a half inchers out of the batch- that's sixty four circles, kids.
you can do it. you should do it.
...do it.
-
and the filling?
y'all's're unprepared to prep something so tight.
but, here it is anyway:
-
*
SWEE'PO'SPINACCHIO!
-
in a medium-sized pan, on high heat, with a tablespoon of olive oil, saute:
one heaping cup of petite-diced skin-on sweet potato;
3 T tiny minced carrot;
1/4 cup diced sweet onion;
2 big cloves crushed garlic.
add 1 T red wine vinegar;
1/2 tsp ea. GPOP;
2 T nootch, and a dash of fresh cracked black pepper;
toss in:
4 fat handfuls of shredded baby spinach
(which will yield like, a spoonful, of cooked spinach),
and 1/2 tsp rubbed sage.
drizzle on a tablespoon of water, cover, reduce heat to medium-low,
and let it all steam for five minutes.
-
cool that off, marvel at the wonder of wilted spinach,
and then toss it with MORE nootch,
before dropping a spoonful into the direct center of half of those round ravioli flaps.
now, i always lightly moisten the rim of the bottom rav-flap,
before i seal it with the top one.
it seems to make a big difference, and it glues 'em up tight...
i still fork-crimp the rim anyway, just to be safe.
nobody likes a bummeroni ravioli, bruh, so it's better to err on the side of overkill,
rather than to rely on good vibes and poor prep.
real talk.
...ANYway,
y'gotta get a big ol' pot of very salty water boiling.
heck, y'might wanna start that when you start the dough-
and all you've gotta do is toss 'em in and pull 'em out when they float.
...i'll warn you- they get bigger (and better) in a hurry in that water...
i like to add 'em to a big ol' bowl, with a ladleful of pasta-water,
and a ladleful of sauce, and give 'em a big fat sloppy nasty freaky-diki flop-and-flash
to totally cot and saturate the outside prior to serving.
that's MY thing, but it could very well become our thing if you try it out.
just sayin'.
-
we should probably talk about the sauce, huh?
it's a chunky champion, and it rocked our socks off, no joke.
-
*
FUOCO FORZA!!
-
in a dry-A* pan, char up 1/2 small sweet onion, cut into slabs,
until they're all blackened on both sides;
also, add 3-4 T minced carrot into the same pan, and do the same sh!t,
to maximize that great grilled taste.
add the finished product to your food processor
along with one 15oz can of fire-roasted tomato chunks, in juice.
pulse all that up into one still-chunky blarpity bowlful, and set it aside for a second.
.
in a medium saucepot,
saute 2 T dried fire-roasted tomato flakes in 1 T oil,
and add in:
2 big cloves crushed garlic;
1/2 tsp oregano;
1 tsp dried sage;
1/2 tsp ea. dry basil, parsley, GPOP;
and 33 craxxx of fresh black pepper.
drizzle in 1 T red wine vinegar,
and 1 cup crushed tomatoes.
next, add those furious fiery tomatoes carrots and onions,
and 1/2 cup water -
simmer that sh!t on medium-low, with a wooden spoon right in there,
for as long as it takes to make all the ravioli dough, filling, and assembly.
that's the way to doo-doo that dirty dopeness, duders.
i added 2 T fresh af hand-torn basil in the last thirty minutes, as well.
it made on heck of a difference to an already expert and elite sauce.
why?
because too much is the right amount, obvi.
-
and then there's the add-ons!
damn, friends, the garlic and basil and tomatoes really took it to eleven.
olive-oil fried garlic chip sprankles,
with blackened tomatoes seared up IN the leftover garlic-infused oil,
and molto fresh basil leaves for good measure?
this was a triumphant exxxplosion of italian heritage,
victoriously veganized and shark-gluttonously shoveled into our faces.
yup.
dylan joined me for the meal and he helped assemble the fattest of the ravs.
that's how we do it.
we said bye-bye to a wild month in style.
*
it's MAY DAY!
and while there's distress calls sounding off inside my raging, stormswept, barbarian heart,
i'm thinking about spinning around a pole,
and belting out a beltaine ballad to springtime freshness.
this is it.
today is the day.
the merry merry month begins now,
and we're headed into light skies and warmer weather.
it's an all-new page on the calendar,
and it's a new day for doing all the best things.
i'm pretty F*ing grateful for today,
and i'm excited to see what it holds for me, and you, too;
never quiet, never soft.....
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