365 Days

365 days ago I had just returned home from being with family after my mother was ill.

365 days ago I had just created amazing foods for the graduation of a dear friend including my now famous cantaloupe and asparagus salad.

365 days ago I had just turned in my last set of grades at VA Tech and Radford University.

365 days ago I was beginning to prepare my little house at 409 in the 24141 zip code for sale.

365 days ago I was there preparing this dish below for dinner.   It was amazing. 

A lot can change in 365 days... but when you look at, a lot is still the same.  Tonight I will prepare this dish again.  On K.  In 20037.  I will add more lemon.  It will still be amazing.

Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Lemon Pasta
Adapted from Bon Appetit

1 pound spiral-shaped pasta
1 pound slender asparagus spears, trimmed, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon plus more for garnish
1 5- to 5 1/2-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese (the pre-crumbled stuff will not melt as well)
Fresh lemon juice to taste (optional)

Cook your pasta in a large pot of well-salted water until it is almost tender, or about three minutes shy of what the package suggests. Add asparagus and cook until firm-tender, another two to three minutes. Drain both pasta and asparagus together, reserving one cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile, combine olive oil, lemon peel, tarragon and cheese in a large bowl, breaking up the goat cheese as you put it in. Add hot pasta and asparagus to bowl, along with a couple slashes of the pasta water. Toss until smoothly combined, adding more pasta water if needed. Season generously with salt and pepper, and lemon juice if you feel it needs a little extra kick.