Girly Lunch: Home Made Linguini with Cod and Baby Broccoli and Plum Parfait

The other week, I had the most relaxing mini-vacation at my own house. The boys went out of town to see Grandma. At first, I didn't know what to do with only myself and Baby CK, but I quickly realized I could just do whatever I wanted - for FIVE DAYS!

The last day of my mini-holiday, I decided to make a special meal, just for us girls. Lately, I'm into kneading dough. It's such a calming thing to do - repeating a simple task over and over, mindlessly - almost meditating. I like that it doesn't always come out the same, because I'm not good at it yet. But this time, it was almost perfect. My best home-made pasta ever! I'm pretty sure it's to do with my 'ki' (気) being centered, from the slower pace of life.

I made linguini with cod and baby broccoli. Can't go wrong with this combination. I grew up eating fish almost every day, but not cod. I'm from a so-called 'tropical' part of southern Japan. We didn't get to eat cod that much. By the way, have you seen a cod's face? When I first saw one, on a small fishing boat in a middle of nowhere in Alaska, I was shocked that it looked like a scary monster or an alien. Perfect reminder that we shouldn't judge how things taste from the way they look...

I also made a special little dessert for CK. She loves parfait. At the moment, it's her favorite, after smoothie. She loves it so much that she kept stealing her second hepling from the table while I was photographing it. She's not a big eater, so it's really joyful when she loves to eat something I made for her. Totally made my day :) Oh, I also added a little candied ginger. It seemed like the right thing to do...

Recipe:

Linguine with Cod and Baby Broccoli (serves 2):

(Pasta)
1 cup of semolina flour
1 cup of flour
1  egg
1/2 cup of water
1 tbs of salt
some extra flour for dusting
dry thyme and oregano

*Mix flours and make a well. Add salt, herbs and egg. Mix them all together with folk. Add some water as needed. Start kneading the dough for about 10 minutes until it's smooth and feels farm. Divide it into 3-5 pieces and run it through a pasta machine to make noodles. (If you don't have a pasta machine, use a rolling pin and flatten it 2-3 thin and cut it 5mm wide.

a bunch of baby broccoli
a fillet of cod
fresh herbs like thyme, basil, oregano
3-5 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper
smoked paprika
olive oil
mascarpone cheese
Parmesan cheese

1. Cover cod and broccoli with minced garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil and thyme. Grill them for about 4-7 minutes on both sides.

2. In a sauce pan, heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil and add chopped garlic and herbs. Chop broccoli and break cod in bite size pieces and add them to the pan.

3. At the same time, boil water in a big pan with a few pinches of salt. Cook pasta in boiled water for 2 minutes or less.

4. Transfer pasta into a sauce pan. Add some pasta water and 2 tbsp of mascarpone for making a creamy sauce. Sprinkle grated parmesan, fresh herbs and olive oil on top.

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Plum Parfait (serves 2):

2 red plums
1-2 muffins or cookies
5 pieces of candied ginger
1/2 cup of mascarpone
1/2 cup of Greek yogurt
2 tbsp of honey
mint leaves
1/2 cup of vanilla sugar (mix sugar with vanilla beans)
1/2 cup of water

*Cook plums and candied ginger with water and vanilla sugar in a pan with some mint leaves for 20 minutes until they become softer, but not mushy. Chop gingers into small pieces. Mix mscarpone with yogurt and honey. Crumble muffins or cookies. Take 2 small glasses. Place plum at the bottom, and then crumbled muffins, and top it with sauce and repeat it a couple of times. Sprinkle small pieces of ginger on top and some lemon zest.