Rigatoni with Asparagus and Ricotta

Since much of my cooking has been experimental lately, I don't really have recipes, but I'll try to explain the process. I usually guess on quantities, and I end up with one or two servings.

-1/4 lb. rigatoni
-10 to 12 asparagus stalks
-1 T. olive oil
-2 to 4 T. fresh ricotta
-salt and pepper
-Italian flat leaf parsley

1. Cut asparagus stalks into 1.5 inch pieces. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water. About 2 minutes before the pasta is al dente, add the asparagus. Cook until pasta is ready and asparagus is cooked but still crisp.
2. Drain the pasta and asparagus. Return to pot and toss with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Transfer to serving bowls while still hot. Garnish with fresh ricotta and whole leaves of flat leaf parsley.

I thought this was delightful. Granted, pasta and asparagus are two of my favorite things--add cheese and the combination pretty much couldn't fail. It was a very fast dish to put together, and it was especially good with the asparagus being in season. All the ingredients were all-natural, and the ricotta was from a local creamery. Best I've ever tasted! And the parsley was from my window herb garden (more on that later), which was pretty great too!

"To hold forth a lively experiment..."

That's a quotation from the Royal Charter that Roger Williams received from England in 1663 when setting out to start the new colony of Rhode Island. Since moving here I've encountered the phrase a few times--it's engraved on the state house downtown; it's also the name of a political talk show on Rhode Island public television. It also seemed like it wouldn't mind a bit of recontextualization, and struck me as a phrase that could capture the optimism and freshness that goes along with a new endeavor--particularly one rooted in Rhode Island.

It's been about a year since I made a concerted effort to get better at baking. I feel like I've made some pretty good progress (though efforts will certainly continue), and am now motivated to improve my cooking skills too. I doubt that I'll be attempting anything too fancy, but trying new things (new techniques, new foods) is a priority. Another priority is to use fresh ingredients as much as possible--motivated by the abundance of really beautiful looking produce around here lately, and the reading of a lot of food-related books in my spare time...

To encourage myself, I signed up for a CSA with a couple friends--we should be getting our first load of farm-fresh goodness within the next few weeks, and I'm psyched. And it means twenty weeks' worth of produce, so I'll be set for a good two seasons of experimenting! With any luck the experiments will end well, and the results will show up here.