Oh hello. I didn’t see you there. You see, I’m currently sleep typing. I’m sitting up, eyes wide open, staring at the screen, little (still puffy) fingers typing away, but I’m fast asleep. In fact, this may all be just a dream. Zzzzz….
I often dream of pasta. I don’t often dream that I’m typing blogs about pasta but food dreams are not new to me. I’ve realized that the less I sleep, the more I dream, and, consequently, the less I feel like I’ve slept. It’s a vicious cycle that’s resulted in my fingers typing this blog while my brain is fast asleep. Good for you fingers for being so motivated and independent.
I’m going to come right out and say it. Babies are cruel. They lure you into a false sense of routine, and just when you think you might clock an 8-hour night on the regular, they turn your world upside down. I’m talking about the 4-month sleep regression. It’s a thing. It’s not a thing that anyone talks about – or at least not anyone in my pre-baby life – but it’s definitely an all-consuming, mind-altering, want-to-pull-my-hair-out thing.
In the beginning, you expect the babies to be up all night. You’re off work and slide into an adrenaline-filled groove of two-hour sleep spurts. It’s hard but manageable. But, eventually, the adrenaline recedes and you return to the real world. You can no longer nap at 11 am or 5 pm (or both). You have to brush your hair and put on deodorant. You’re expected to function alongside people who aren’t covered in spit up and have time to go beyond what is considered basic acceptable grooming (see: hair brushing and deodorant) in the work place. There’s no one to commiserate when you walk into a door frame because you can’t see straight after a night where every shush-shush, bottom pat and lullaby was met with a cry of discontent.
So here I am – sleeping through my life. I’m going through the motions half-brained and half-hearted until something jolts me awake. A cry, a laugh, a smile. A simple plate of pasta.
The thought that one day (hopefully sooner rather than later) my little guy won’t just be sleeping through the night, he’ll be sitting at the dinner table with us, shoveling this creamy pasta into his mouth right along side me. That’s something I know I won’t sleep through. Though the subtle flavors of the sauce – a hint of roasted pepper, a touch of spice, an undercurrent of licorice-y fennel and goat cheesy tang – might just lull the whole family into a satiated food coma.
For now, it’s back to dreamland….
Roasted Red Pepper, Goat Cheese and Fennel Pasta
This creamy pasta is light on dairy and heavy on veggies, using just a small amount of goat cheese and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. I used whole-wheat pasta but a brown rice pasta would work really nicely for a gluten-free option.
- 1 pound whole-wheat linguine (cooked according to the package (feel free to substitute brown rice pasta for a gluten-free option))
- 1/4 cup reserved pasta water
- 3 large red bell peppers
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium white onion (chopped)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 large fennel bulb (chopped)
- 1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable stock
- 6 ounces goat cheese
- 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (use 1/2 teaspoon if you like a spicier pasta)
- Coarse salt (to taste)
- Freshly-ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (plus more for garnish)
- Fresh basil (torn, for garnish)
- Sea salt flakes (for garnish (I used Maldon))
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place red peppers on baking sheet and bake 25 minutes, rotating the peppers a quarter turn every 5 minutes until charred. Remove the peppers from the oven and cover with foil for 10 minutes. Uncover peppers, peel off skin and remove stem and seeds. Chop the peppers into large pieces.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onions, garlic and chopped fennel bulb for 7-8 minutes or until tender.
- Add the sauteed onions, garlic and fennel to a food processor along with the chopped red peppers, vegetable stock, goat cheese and crushed red pepper flakes. Process for about 60 seconds on high until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the red pepper sauce back to the skillet and turn the heat to low. Add the cooked pasta, 1/4 cup pasta water and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to the skillet. Stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce coats pasta. Garnish with additional grated cheese, black pepper, fresh basil leaves and sea salt flakes.
What a gorgeous pasta!
Thanks! And thanks so much for stopping by my blog.
Happy Fennel Friday! We love this recipe and it is featured on our Pasta and Fennel Recipes! Thanks!
http://fennelfriday.com/pasta-and-fennel-recipes-for-fennel-friday/
Wow! This is the first time that HRX has been featured on another website. SO EXCITING!!!! Thanks so much. Fennel is great – I can’t wait to read more about your blog! Thanks again!!!
Wow, Michelle, this pasta is calling my name. Love the simplicity of it’s flavours yet the final product must be bursting with every bite! Great dish.
You might want to consider padding the door frames for the next few months! I can’t believe it’s 4 months! Such a cutie pie 🙂
Haha that’s a good idea Robyn! I somehow hit my head on the shower wall this morning while standing in the shower. I think I might need to pad my whole life.
Michelle, you might be sleep typing but I think I am having a pasta dream. Creamy, dreamy roasted red pasta with goat cheese dream and I don’t want to wake up. All I can say as this too will pass. Little kids, little problems. Big Kid, big problems…I loose sleep but now over different kid problems, I say this too shall pass. In the mean time lets enjoy the carbs and the sweet dreams. Sharing and pinning, of course!
Thanks Bobbi! I can’t wait for this phase to pass though I am going to miss the snuggles…
I love roasted red pepper… That smoky flavor is incredible, and it is so sweet. I wish I could just dig in now! It is a tough job to be a mom. I truly admire all the moms out there. I would not want to imagine what it is like to have a baby. Hopefully you can get some sleep over the weekend. 🙂
Thanks so much!! It is a tough job but I wouldn’t give it up for the world. 🙂 🙂 I’m glad you stopped by!
That pasta sauce looks WICKED. Seriously creamy and delicious.. I cannot wait to try the recipe. Thanks!
Thanks Thalia!!
Looks beautiful. I love fennel.
I am on about month 3 in my sleep training book– and it sounds really hard. Now I find out it doesn’t get better? Maybe I’ll just let Baby X stay in my belly a bit longer… only 6 more weeks. Excited, but can’t believe how quickly time has flown!
It is definitely harder to have the babies out of the tummy but at least you get to look at their sweet faces! I can’t believe how quickly it’s flown by either. I’m getting so excited for you!!
Excellent.