Equal Parts

Isn’t it crazy how there can be a million days in a row when nothing happens, and then you have a day like, BOOM, it hits you all at once.

It was a Friday, thirteen months ago, after a million days in a row of quarantine nothing. Jeff and I were laying on the couch, exhausted. I’d had plans to drink champagne outside with a girlfriend that night, probably one of the last warm nights of the year, but I skipped. Instead, we closed the shades and settled in for a new episode of The Great British Baking Show, hopeful our eyes would stay open for its entirety. Minutes before we were on a group FaceTime call with my family, and I already had a headache, so the shouting across time zones, shaky phone cameras, and repetition was nearly enough to put this introvert to bed.

I’d recently been on the hunt for some new-to-me fall pastas, and dinner was the simplest of the recipes I’d pulled — pasta con ceci. (I am proud to use the Italian word for chickpeas ever since Jeff taught me the translation in the first few weeks of our dating.) On the side were slices of toast and some smoked salmon, and we ate it all on camera for the family. There was no time beforehand, as Jeff was beginning to set up for Saturday morning’s start to our DIY backyard patio installation. Nine pallets of bricks had been delivered to our driveway that afternoon, and a small mountain of slag sand in the morning, the result of months of planning. And, despite the scheduled drop-offs, Jeff refused to give up on Tucker’s traditional Friday visit and their usual 3+ mile walk to the park to chase tennis balls. Not to mention we each worked eight hours that day.

Plus, that morning we were up unusually early. I heard Jeff moving around, then saw the glow from his phone. Watcha readin’? That’s when I learned that both Trump and the first lady had tested positive for covid, which led to our millionth conversation about strange times, speculation about the election, and other topics highly specific to the October 2020 political climate, topics not usually fit for 5:30am. We were up for good, and so I got out of bed.

Five minutes later I jumped back into bed. Jeff was still reading, but he needed to know what I had to share. Because we started this incredibly busy day in the most exciting and eventful way I can imagine. We learned that a little baby would soon be joining our family! The best news! The best day!

All day at work I thought about it, until it would momentarily pass my mind. Then it’d slip back in and I’d smile, send Jeff a text, “can’t believe it!” And same for him, in between signing for deliveries and responding to email and walking the dog.

Of course I cancelled my champagne plans that night. The smoked salmon was just for Jeff. My headache was due to an abrupt withdrawal of caffeine. And the pasta I really wanted to make — penne with vodka sauce — would be deferred.

Isn’t it crazy how there can be a million days in a row when nothing happens, and then you have a day like, BOOM, it hits you all at once.

The pasta recipe I followed was not this one. This one is much better, thanks to a deeply flavored base of garlic and tomato paste fried in olive oil. Just add ditalini and chickpeas, and this is my new favorite dinner to make entirely from pantry ingredients. It could not be easier, in fact I recently made this after returning home from a 13-hour day.

The simplicity lends a childlike quality to the dish, appropriately so given the news we learned that day. In a way it’s like an elevated version of SpaghettiOs, and I love that. Though it also reminds me of an elegant, rustic pasta en brodo. It’s food for the whole family. I imagine Olivia will like it one day, maybe it will be her favorite food, and I can almost hear her asking now in her cute little kindergarten voice: Mom, will you make me my pasta?

PASTA CON CECI, inspired by Victoria Granof via Jenny Rosenstrach

You’ll need:
4 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 tbsp good tomato paste
1 tsp salt
2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup uncooked ditalini pasta
4 cups hot water
Crushed red pepper flakes, for serving (optional)
Grated parmesan, for serving (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a large pot (I use a Dutch oven) over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until it becomes very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and salt and cook for another 1-2 minutes, using a spatula to stir in and break up the tomato paste. Add the chickpeas, pasta, and water, and turn the heat to high to bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally to ensure the pasta does not stick to the bottom of the pot, until the pasta is cooked and most (though not all) of the liquid has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Ladle into bowls and top with red pepper flakes and parmesan to taste.