Prison Pasta

Around noon a woman brought them bread and olives, and toward evening there was pasta smelling of fresh rosemary. But the food couldn’t cut short the endless hours, any more than full stomaches dispelled their fear of what the next day might bring.

Cornelia Funke, Inkheart

Even before I read Cara Nicoletti’s wonderful book Voracious, which sparked my interest in food in literature, I wanted to try this pasta from Inkheart. I always thought the food they ate in Capricorn’s village sounded delicious. I guess even soulless villains can appreciate good food.

Elinor, Meggie, and Mo eat this pasta while they are being held captive by Capricorn, the aforementioned soulless villain, who has been read out of his book into the real world.

I recently started a nearly full-time job, and I know I’m being a tad melodramatic but I feel like I’m a captive too. I’m having a hard time adjusting to the sudden reduction of my free time. I have much less time now for all my favorite activities–reading, writing, drawing, doing yoga, taking my herbalism course, watching YouTube, even folding laundry!

I hope I’ll soon learn how to balance these pursuits with my actual job and stop feeling like a prisoner to adulthood. But I am turning back with new eyes to my writing projects, realizing just how much they mean to me and wondering if perhaps I should try again to get published …

Just yesterday, actually, I finally finished writing a Rapunzel retelling (ish) that I’ve been working on for a couple years.

Alrighty, so we should talk about this hideous pasta. I used a recipe from Life from Scratch, by Sasha Martin. And I promise you that she was not to blame for the way this pasta turned out! This was my first time attempting fresh pasta and only my second time working with gluten flour. I consider the fact that it was edible at all to be a great accomplishment.

I tossed the pasta in a rosemary-infused olive oil that I made. It had to infuse for a couple weeks, so that’s why my June post is so late!

Did this turn out the way I’ve always pictured it in my head? Um, no. Do I still love Inkheart? Oh yes. With all my heart.