Haircuts and Ravioli Sauce

You are right--my mind works in strange ways but--I wanted to discuss both topics and why bother with two different entries? It's so much easier to do it all at once. And then--I could also slip in how beautiful it has been in San Diego the last few days and the sense of paradise in my own back yard. Or--how about, we packed two big duffels yesterday and so it has started?

But no--think this will focus on an out-of-cycle haircut and a tasty, simple variation on a traditional ravioli sauce.

Casey is 7--a month shy of 8. And, until three days ago we had escaped the "every child" experiment of snipping off pieces of hair, resulting in unusal and unique styling. Then, that night, while we thought the quiet was due to diligent studying of spelling words, it wasn't; instead, he had decided that his hair was "puffy" and that he wanted it shorter. This toggled the green light to give himself a total cut--from front to back, side to side.

And--give himself a haircut, he did. Was it enough to cover the floor with cuttings? Yes. But, even it wasn't; there were matching holes above each ear and the forehead line appeared to have been shaved. It just didn't work.

Solution: A trip to his "hair stylist" the next afternoon--paid for with a good portion of the money he has been saving for heelies--tennis shoes with wheels in the heels. Sharlene, the stylist, spent most of the cut, chuckling and shaking her head. By the time she was through, Casey closely resembled a fuzzy peach.

And--he loves it--it's the look he was after when he started the project. I must admit, I like it too and it is perfect for summer. Understandably though, coming from a 7 year old viewpoint, he believes it highly unfair and inappropriate that he needed to tap into his own bankroll to pay Sharlene. Lesson learned!

On to Ravioli Sauce:

I make no claim to being a real Italian cook--in fact, one of my goals for the next year is to learn secrets of the Italian kitchen--ones I can bring home and wow friends with inspite of the fact that our produce will or can never be on a par with that of Italy. However, I do have a great and simple variation on the traditional sage and butter sauce for ravioli. Enjoy!

• Saute thinly sliced shallots in vegetable oil until crisp and very dark brown. Drain on paper towels.
• Toast some pine nuts.
• Melt butter--when foamy, add sliced sage leaves and a little crushed red pepper.
• Pour butter and sage over ravioli and dish into pasta bowls.
  
• Sprinkle shallots and pine nuts on top.

Buon appetito!