cecily_v

I got up to watch the hockey this morning and despite Team USA pulling it off in OT, I do not accept that Bill Guerin was proved right in his choices. Eighty-five percent of the game was played in their defensive end and they only won because Connor Hellebuyck stood on his head. Maybe a little more scoring power on the team could have given them some breathing room. I am just saying. I'm happy for Hellebuyck and the Hughes brothers, and I got a little teary when they brought out the Gaudreau jersey and his kids, and I'm not gonna lie, watching Jon Cooper and Connor McDavid (along with Sam Bennett, Tom Wilson, and Brad Marchand) lose was pleasing to me on a deep, personal level, but overall, I'd still have preferred the Finns or the Swedes take home the gold.

I then baked some oatmeal for breakfast for the week, and made macaroni salad for a few days of lunch, and then for dinner, I made angel hair as planned, though when I actually read the recipe, it was not anything new to me - it was what I always do for a super quick tomato sauce, except they were adding chile crisp to it, which I guess is the thing nowadays - every recipe I read has chile crisp in it, but I'm not really a chile crisp person. I have the heat tolerance (in terms of spiciness, though I also don't like my food super hot temperature-wise either) of the whitest baby you know.

Anyway! It is a super easy but delicious meal and if you don't mind waiting a few extra minutes, you can do it all in one pot. Boil your pasta - angel hair is best for this, imo - and reserve a cup of pasta water before you drain it. Return the pot to the stove over low heat and add in a nice glug of olive oil (2 tbsp if you need a measurement), and then add a whole can or tube of tomato paste to the oil (so between 4 and 6 oz). Stir it around and season it as you like - I used garlic and onion powder, oregano and red pepper flakes and salt, but if you want to get fancy, you could probably saute a diced shallot and some minced garlic in the oil for a minute or two before adding the tomato paste - for 2-3 minutes, until it's all hot and sizzling. If you are so inclined, add chile crisp to suit your taste. Then add the pasta back, and about half the reserved water and toss it until the pasta is coated. I only used 4 oz of angel hair, so if you have more, you might need more water. Then put it in bowls and sprinkle it with parmesan cheese. If you are in an even bigger rush, you can sizzle the tomato paste in a frying pan while the pasta cooks and then combine it all back in the pasta pot. The couple of minutes you save isn't worth having to wash an extra pot to me, but it might be to some people.

*

Some things make a post, right?

1. I had the dentist today, so I took the day off, because I am always so exhausted when I come back from the dentist. It's rarely bad, but trying to breathe through the cleaning is always an adventure I do not enjoy and it makes me tired. But I told them that the crown I got in December is mostly fine except if I try to eat almonds or other hard things, so the dentist did something to it "fix the bite." He also said it didn't look like anything was wrong either in the examination or on the x-ray, and to let him know if it didn't get better (or even got worse), so I guess we'll see.

1a. I arrived about 30 minutes early for my appointment - it usually takes much longer to get there so I allowed an hour - but they took me in right away since I was only scheduled to be there for a cleaning, and I was home before noon.

B. I was excited to see ZIBANEJAD score the tying goal for Sweden, but then Quinn Hughes won it for the US in overtime. I have to admit, I don't like 3-on-3 overtime (or shootouts!) for the Olympics. Just play another sudden death period.

iii. This past weekend, Baby Miss L went to her first princess tea party event at the Riverhead aquarium (or near there?) and the pictures of her holding court among the princesses are amazing, but my favorite picture is the one of her making a very excited "oh wow!" face at the plate of desserts in front of her. She was ready to dig in!

d. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band are coming to MSG in May!!! Tickets go on sale this weekend! I will probably not try to get them, even though MSG is pretty much the 2nd most convenient venue he could play. (Forest Hills Stadium would be the most convenient for me, but would never happen.)

5. I've reached The Butcher's Masquerade in my DCC reread, and I think it might be my favorite of the books? It has a couple of my favorite scenes in it, anyway, including ( spoilers ) I definitely prefer the more open-world type floors than the stuff like the Iron Tangle (and I did find the cards so fucking tedious in book 6; otoh, ( spoilers )).

Though This Inevitable Ruin is also a strong contender, since I fucking love ( spoilers ) There's a lot in it that I enjoyed and that also makes me so curious about what happens next, both in the dungeon and outside of it. I am definitely writing up an epic post based on notes I'm taking on rereading, which will eventually get posted. I hope. *g*

*