I’m in the thick of it, peeps! I’m super, super busy!
So I can’t party with you!
Just kidding!
Of course I’ll party with you.
Besides, if I can’t, there’ll be Judi @ cookingwithauntjuju and Quinn @ Dad Whats 4 Dinner. And all the other party revelers, of course. So, you see, you don’t even need me.
‘Coz I am super busy!
I’m revamping my entire garden.
Moving things around. Making beds. Edging beds. Digging holes. Removing plants. Planting plants. Re-planting plants. And so on and so forth.
Lots to do!
It’s a huge project. Hopefully, the garden will start looking nice…
Uhm…in two or three years…
In case you didn’t know, gardening isn’t exactly instant gratification. Unlike cooking. Which is almost, almost, instantly gratifying. Especially when you make pasta, like this one.
Seriously, this is all I’ve been cooking lately. Easy, quick, no-recipe kind of pasta dishes. I suppose one day I will have to sit and jot down the recipes just in case someone, like my daughter for instance, asks for them. She loves pasta so much.
Which means I’ll have to measure the ingredients. Maybe tomorrow I’ll do it.
In the meantime, there won’t be any shortage of recipes. Just look at these:
Chocolate Turtle Cake from Anna @ thelittlebluemixer
“I love Anna’s step by step guide for the chocolate rosettes, and her cake is simply decadent. Not only is the chocolate buttercream screaming my name, I love her inner filling with the caramel. Every picture in her post this week is simply mouth-watering.” — Kaila
“Now there’s no excuse to not know how to make chocolate rosettes! Look at the detailed pictorial instructions. This should be bookmarked by everyone who wants to improve their piping skills.” — Angie
Heirloom Tomato Basil Cheese Tart from Johanne @ French Gardener Dishes
“This immediately caught my attention because I love every single ingredient in this dish. The combination of tomatoes, basil, cheese, and pastry got me. Plus, it is a fun way to use all those tomatoes that may be piling up this time of year.” — Jenny
“This sounds excellent! I’m definitely going to make this ASAP. Even though I know my son won’t eat it ‘coz he just won’t do tomatoes. But he’s just a silly kid, right? He’ll just have to starve. At least I’ll be happy. And I know his sister will be, too!” — Angie
Lemongrass & Wasabi Asian Style Chicken Nuggets from Dini @ The Flavor Bender
“Dini put a spin on classic chicken nuggets and gave them a bold flair that I’m sure all our guests will love. Not only do I love that her nuggets and nam jim dipping sauce are made from scratch. This chicken marinade is something I need to try out myself!” — Kaila
“Note to self: Buy wasabi paste. Or save the wasabi paste from sushi trays. ‘Coz now there’s a purpose for it. I’ve always wondered why they give you so much wasabi when you really need only a smidgen. They must know it goes great in chicken nuggets!” — Angie
Mixed Vegetable Manchurian Gravy from Prachi @ the Divine Spice Box
“I don’t know much about Indo-Chinese cuisine, but this post made me want to learn more. The vegetables and gravy just sounded so good together, so savory and also so healthy!” — Jenny
“Wow, Manchurian Meatlessballs! Something new to love. I must say they look very appealing!” — Angie
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There are even more recipes below! Join Fiesta Friday #86 and add your link. If you’re new to Fiesta Friday, please read the guidelines.
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I love your pasta dish! Good luck with the garden!! I’m sure you’ll do a beautiful job, so it’ll be rewarding in the long run. 🙂
I hope so! So much work goes into it. But I do love going out there and getting dirty 🙂
Funny I would have picked 3 of the 4 for features! Great choices. Have fun in the garden, sounds like a great project and we all expect to hear about it and see pictures 🙂
Great minds think alike! I really should be documenting, taking before and after pictures, etc. But I get so dirty when I’m out there I don’t want want to touch my camera, lol. But I’ll probably take a few pictures. For you, Judi, for you 😀
Thanks Angie for keeping this great group going. You’ve picked a couple great hosts again this Friday!
When are YOU going to co-host again?
I’m there for you kiddo! Let me know when you need me!
Will talk to you soon, for sure. Thanks, Julie!
Hi Angie Dear☺️!! Wow…colorful yummy pasta.. And all the best for your garden renovations..happy gardening and FF86!!
Thanks, Nimmi! All the colorful veggies and herbs are from the garden! Isn’t that cool?
Yeah.. I loved it.. You are so hardworking and the outcome of your effort is really awesome ☺️??
I’m really not that hardworking. But I do multitask pretty well, haha… Being a mom teaches you how 😀
Ha ha?!! That’s true
It’s difficult to manage time these days. I’ve been trying to get back on track, but I still can’t do it. 🙁 Anyway, we all get busy. Revamping the garden doesn’t sound easy. You dish looks fab, Angie. Thanks for hosting! I hope you have a lovely weekend! 🙂 xx
Thanks, Jhuls. I’m slowly getting back in the groove. The weather is supposed to turn cooler next week. Maybe I’ll bake something. There are bananas with brown spots on them 🙂
Hmmm, I wonder what will happen to the bananas. 😀 Happy FF, Angie! x
They won’t go into the compost bins, that’s for sure 😀 Have a great weekend Jhuls!
Thanks, Angie! Same to you. 😉
Share your garden pictures with us Angie! I miss that other side of you! I am hosting a garden club tour in my garden next week so busy outside too and enjoying the glorious weather to go with it! When I saw your bowl of pasta I had to laugh. We were cooking the same thing! Thank you to Jenny and you for choosing the tomato basil tart as a feature! I am honored.
I will have to start taking pictures of the garden, but I’m never completely satisfied with it. One thing might grow well but whatever is next to it might look sickly and ruin the entire picture! I guess that’s why I’m TheNoviceGardener 😀 Your tomato pie sounds so mouth-watering!
I know how you feel. I finally finished my new deck and can start concentrating on the blog again. Thanks for hosting and allowing me to co-host with Judi @ cookingwithauntjuju. Speaking of brown bananas, I have a 1/2 bushel of fresh picked apples staring me in the face. Looks like a apple weekend, Have a great time with the garden. Happy FF!
Did you mean you put up the new deck by yourself?! Wow! You’re the cook AND the builder? Hats off to you! An apple weekend sounds promising. I’m still waiting for the local Fuji apples to appear. My favorite kind for eating and cooking.
Yes I was a builder for 18 years before the recession and my eyes started getting worse. Check out my slow cooker pork pot pie post from a week ago to see pics. I love fuji, we manly have Jonathan and macintosh around here.
Oh great! I’ll mosey over.
I love gardening …but at the moment I’m in an apartment, makes it hard to grow much. Your pasta looks delicious!! I could eat that everyday! What delicious entree’s we chose from last weeks FF! Can’t wait to see what we have this week! Have a great day and weekend Angie!!
Growing plants in pots can be fun, Arlene! Easier to control. I probably can eat pasta everyday myself. As it is, I eat it at least 2 or 3 times a week! 🙂
Good luck with the garden renovations – like others I hope to see pictures! One of these days we’ll have a bigger space than now and I can do a bit more, though I’m not sure how well I would keep on top of it! And your pasta looks delicious as well, so colorful (as do the features, as ever). Happy Fiesta Friday!
Gardening is much, much harder than cooking. A few things are beyond your control, especially for the organic gardener. Like the weather or critters out there. But it’s also therapeutic. Words of wisdom I neglected to listen to. Start small. And build up yor soil. If you follow those, it should be fun! 🙂
Your pasta dish looks good to me, fresh and colourful 🙂 good luck in the garden, I am no gardener at all…tell you what..you do the gardening and I’ll do the cooking! Happy Fiesta!!! x x x
That would be nice if I had someone else doing the cooking 🙂 As it is, I do everything!
I know that one 😉 x
Hi Angie, I need to do the same with my own garden. It’s so much work! And hard physical work as well. I’d love to see some pictures of the process.
And I think it is almost time for me to step up to the plate and co-host. This is such a great site.
Tell me about it. And on top of it, my soil is rocky. I’ll take you up on your offer, Liz. You’ll be hearing from me 🙂
Hi Angie, that’s one delicious and gorgeous looking pasta dish and I’m excited about your new garden. I can’t wait to see it when it’s all done. Thanks again for hosting another great party, hugs:)
Thanks, Lily! The garden is slowly coming along. I’m as excited as you are! 😀
Happy FF Angie! I have to commend you for your garden efforts, do you wanna come and do mine? It’s seriously a wilderness out there – I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Gardening is not my thing, not even a little bit! Once we tried to the mow the lawn and it took us literally all day haha
Great features as always 🙂 Have a great weekend!
Wild can be beautiful. I’ve always wanted some parts of the garden to stay wild. It’s so fun to forage in those parts. And I actually and purposefully introduce wild plants in certain areas. I like the natural look. That’s my excuse, anyway, haha…
Haha I’m gonna go with that explanation from now on 😉
That is a beautiful pasta dish Angie! Would dig in anytime.
Best of luck on that garden project! ❤️
Hey Sonal! How are you and family making out in the new place? Dallas? Houston? Pasta is my new BFF these days, lol!
Doing good Angie! Muaah!
Dallas suburbs ?.
Pasta is comforting.
What are you growing in the garden these days?
Starting my cooking classes here soon, God willing! 🙂
I am experimenting with chai masala…will send ya some.. ?
Hugs!!
Chai masala for moi? You’re too sweet! I recently went to a wonderful, huge Indian super store and loaded up on spice mixes and all kinds of crispy snacky things. Sadly the spices are not nearly as good as yours and the snacks too hot (spicy). Good luck with the cooking classes! I have no doubt you’ll be successful. You’re a great, great cook and teacher! XOXO
? will keep you posted on your packet ?
Re-vamping the garden will have to wait! I am getting my very long-awaited driveway put in this weekend!! Woo hoo!! Had to share in my excitement!! 😉
Yay! That is exciting news! Driveway before garden, of course. You have your priorities in order!
Sounds like a lot of hard work in the garden Angie – though it’s always so worth it in the end, when you can sit back and enjoy it! I need to start thinking about what to plant this year in the veggie beds – last year’s produce was all pretty lousy, so here’s hoping for a more successful harvest for 2015! 🙂
Vegetables are the hardest to grow! They seem to need so much attention. I’m downsizing my veggie beds and adding more flowering perennials instead. Our growing season is just about to end over here. Good luck with yours! I find it so fascinating that just when we’re dismantling and cleaning up our gardens, you are about to start yours. 🙂
Good luck with the garden renovations, Angie. It sounds like a big job. I’m never fully satisfied with our garden. Some things grow really well and some things never really take off. Happy FF. Have a great weekend!
Thanks, Natalie! It really is a big job. But it’s kind of fun and exciting to imagine what it’ll eventually look like. Gardeners are the most optimistic people and are constantly looking forward to the future 🙂
The Asian chicken nuggets caught my attention last week too! They look great.
That’s why I bought sushi so I can use the leftover wasabi, haha… I’m hoping to give them a try soon myself 🙂
wow you had me at the cake, then the pie, then the chicken….drools…..I hope the gardening goes well, now I would lurve to see a piccie of your garden!!! x
Pictures coming right up! Er…not really…there’s nothing interesting out there! No roses blooming or anything. But I do have mums. Maybe I’ll take pictures of the mums 😀 Or I can post pictures from the summer. Now, where’s my SD card?
I’d love to see pictures of the progress. So often we only see the finished project and not the process. I’m about ready to start a garden up near the coast at our cabin. Right now the plot is just hard packed (drought starved) dead grass beside the driveway. It seems overwhelming!
hah did you find it? 😀
I never looked for it, hehe… Don’t worry I’ll take more pictures. As soon as I find my camera, lol! 😀
I sawa you took pictures, but not what I thought you would of, but the man hey??? wow 😀
But still looking for my other lens! I need a new camera! 🙂
It sounds like you do and a lens bag or a lens carrier person! hehe
mums always have the best gardens
Oh, revamping the whole garden sounds like a big project! And the past dish looks just lovely.
Can’t wait to see your “new” garden next year when everything starts to grow 🙂 x
It really is a huge project considering we don’t have a gardener to help us. But it’s a lot of fun! And I can hardly wait for next year myself! 🙂
I know I am REALLY late to the party, but thank you so much for the feature, friends!!! All of your sweet words mean so much to me! 🙂
Hope your garden re-vamp went well, Angie! That is a big undertaking!
Better late than never, as they say 🙂 The garden revamp is going slooowww… It’s been raining! 🙂
Eh, I understand! It’s been raining here too… soo much rain!