LAFFlines #13: Mantra and Macaroni
Creamy Butternut Macaroni: Once you have the knack of making the sauce and topping, you can experiment with a variety of flavors and spices. Smoked paprika adds a hint of barbecue while dried sage or nutmeg add an earthy sweetness.
Monday. 2 pm. Pewter sky. Dog park. Only me, Rose, and the wind—an icy wind proving that “wind chill” is mere euphemism. We had descended from teeth-chattering cold to teeth-shattering cold. I retracted my head further under my hood. There is in me an invincible summer. There is in me an invincible summer. There is in me an invincible summer. Rose sniffed and circled, sniffed and circled. “There is in me an invincible summer.” Rose gave me the side-eye. I yanked back my hood. “THERE IS IN ME AN INVINCIBLE SUMMER!” I scooped up Rose and sprinted toward the car, slipping on some ice, nearly breaking our crazy, little, invincible necks.
Albert Camus, the person who wrote the invincible summer phrase back in the 1950s when he visited Algeria after World War II, would not have been impressed. But, given Camus’ edict to admire beauty and seek justice, he might have liked the creamy butternut macaroni that’s lately been fueling my invincible summer.
You might like it, too. You puree cashews and butternut squash into a sauce. You pour the sauce over cooked macaroni noodles, stir in LAFF protein crumbles, and then top with smoked paprika breadcrumbs. Full recipe here.
Where to Find LAFF
Roanoke Co+op (Grandin location): The Co+op also has the best selection of hummus in the New River Valley.
Eats (Blacksburg): Besides great food, Eats carries whimsical, beautiful, regional miscellany like Emerson Creek Pottery. My favorite Emerson Creek collection, “Summer Peaks,” features the Peaks of Otter.
Eastern Divide Brewery: Ask to add LAFF protein crumbles to a salad or the vegan protein bowl.
Online store: Delivery is free in the New River Valley.
Email: Email me at hello@laffkitchen.com if you prefer to pay by check or cash, OR if you have any trouble with the online store.
Sustainable Blacksburg meeting—see below.
Sustainable Blacksburg “Celebration and Listening Session”
Sustainable Blacksburg is a non-profit organization dedicated to “making Blacksburg a sustainable, special place.” The organization is hosting a Celebration and Listening Session on Thursday, January 28 from 5:30-7 pm at the YMCA (1000 North Main Street). Last year’s session included breakout rooms for local food systems, waste reduction, clean water, and invasive species.
There will be free sample packages of LAFF protein crumbles, plus refreshments featuring our crumbles.
The event is free. No registration required.
Final Note
The invincible summer mantra came from Camus’ essay “Return to Tipasa.” (Tipasa, full of ancient ruins, is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.) Like peeling a butternut squash, Camus’ essay doesn’t always come easy; but it’s worth the time. Here’s an excerpt:
“But in order to keep justice from shriveling up like a beautiful orange fruit containing nothing but a bitter, dry pulp, I discovered once more at Tipasa that one must keep intact in oneself a freshness, a cool wellspring of joy, love the day that escapes injustice, and return to combat having won that light.…Here I recaptured the former beauty, a young sky, and I measure my luck, realizing at last that in the worst years of our madness the memory of that sky had never left me…In the middle of winter, I at last discovered that there was, in me, and invincible summer.”
Cheers,
Abby
There is now, in me, an incredible pasta.