squid ink pasta + speed sesh.

Oh HEY. It’s Friday, people! Perfect occasion for a furry snow hat.

Anthony joined me for a speed session today: Five-minute warm up, followed by 20 minutes at a 7:00 pace. We didn’t quite make it to 7 (more like 7:10), but we tried our hardest! Or at least I did. Anthony is a cheetah so we’ll never know…

Then we did a few minutes of light jogging home and declared our workout done. Short and painful!

So. I’ve been saving something to share all week….

big bowl o’ pasta.

Look a bit off to you? That’s because we made this pasta with squid ink!! When we were at my parents’ house last weekend, we decided to bust out the pasta maker to give this crazy stuff a try.

What is squid ink, exactly? It’s simply the ink released by a squid (or cuttlefish, or octopus) when defending itself in the deep blue sea. It’s a dark blue/black color and makes your pasta look kinda freaky. Perfect dish to serve on Halloween.

In awe.

Squid ink pasta is actually common in parts of Italy and Spain. So glad we brought it to the tiny town of Winchester, TN! You can’t find squid ink in most stores, FYI — my parents ordered theirs on Amazon. It has a sort of salty taste with a hint of “fishiness,” if you know what I mean.

We topped our pasta with shrimp and drizzled it with some olive oil, garlic, and peppers. I actually didn’t do much of the pasta-making — I was in charge of making the salad! I felt like a creamy dressing, so started with this recipe as my base. I subbed in Greek yogurt and olive oil for about 2/3 of the mayonnaise, and it still had a nice flavor and texture.

Great dinner! Let’s hope this weekend’s culinary adventures are just as delicious Have a fab Friday and go put something furry on. Brrr.

• Most ridiculous accessory you own?
• Ever tried squid ink pasta?
• Do you make your own salad dressing or buy pre-made ones?