I has been in the 80’s and 90’s here for the last few days at least. Hardly autumnal weather… But that doesn’t mean it can’t feel like fall inside! I like to dress my table up when the holiday season comes around. There are just so many seasonal treats to play with that I can’t help myself. Here’s what my table looked like last week. It made me happy every time I looked at it.

When Alex is full, I’m a happy woman. I know. It sounds so regressive to be a little wife in the kitchen who just wants to serve her husband a healthy, filling meal when he gets home, but it’s not. It makes me happy to feed him and others. I never really cooked a lot until I met him. Not like I do now, anyway. I don’t cook for myself. I can be satisfied with hummus and celery or a salad for dinner. Or Del Taco. Whatever. But I like to make a big deal out of what other people eat. I guess you could call it one of my love languages.

I made this lemon basil pasta salad for lunch with our best friends. They had just gotten back from a trip to Ireland and we were so excited to catch up. I thought I would use the hosting opportunity to make something really yummy that everyone would enjoy. One half of the best friend couple is a vegetarian and since we don’t really eat much meat anyway, I wanted to add protein some other way to make sure everyone was full. In went the beloved garbanzos. I really love garbanzos when they are warm; it gives them such a lovely texture.

This is an incredibly quick and easy dish to throw together since you serve it warm. Prep the ingredients while the pasta cooks, that toss it all together in a bowl and serve. The leftovers taste great cold, too. I liked using these little shells because the bits of onion and basil got trapped inside of them and flavored every bite.

What is your favorite way to add protein without using meat? Which bean is your favorite addition to any meal? Let me know in the comments!

Ingredients //

1 box small shell pasta or pasta of choice
1/2 red onion
1 can drained and rinsed garbanzos
the juice of 1 lemon
1 cup packed basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Recipe //

While the pasta is cooking, dice the onion and rough chop the basil. Rinse the garbanzos and drain well. Remove as much water as possible.

When the pasta is done, drain and place in a large bowl. Add the onions, basil, garbanzos, olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Mix well and serve immediately with Fried Tomato & Goat Cheese Toasts.

Value food and cheer and song

MUSIC MOMENT

My friend Hope is an amazing musician. She taught me most of what I know on the guitar, and she is a brilliant writer. Her lyrics are deep and moving, and the music she writes gets caught inside of you in the best possible way. I am in love with her album, and I think you will be too. This live version of Whether or Not is great and the guy in it is her equally awesome and talented husband, but you should definitely look up the studio version.

Artist // Hope HazySong // Whether or Not

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQYuuv_qMlY&w=560&h=315]

Not on the list. Edited