Soft Pink

Nothing beats a bowl of pasta on a Friday night, after a tough week of long working hours and roller-coaster pregnancy hormones. When on top of it you have to feed 4 people, there is really no better and more pleasurable way out.

As usual in this type of situation, I turn to one of my food oracles, if not the one and only: Nigella. Given that the guests were Italians, why not offer them something of their homeland flavor? So, here we go, as easy as a breeze: pink pasta aka "Prawn Pasta Rosa". Trust me, it works.

All you need, - besides love - is a packet of De Cecco linguine or fettuccine, a handful of soft pink shrimps (I prefer, by far, the raw ones to cook in a flash at home, but time being of essence, this time I bought the already cooked ones...), a spoonful of mascarpone, a splash of marsala and one of milk and a spoonful of tomato purée.

While the pasta cooks - don't forget the salt - mix in a bowl the tomato purée, the mascarpone, marsala, and milk. If you have to and the already cooked pink beauties from the sea, then I would throw them in too. So the sauce is ready. No fuss. 

Uncooked prawns though would need a more glamorous treatment in a hot oily pan (you can add chilli flakes too for extra boost) for a few minutes. Add the marsala and set them aside.

Once the pasta is cooked and drained, tip the sauce and cooked prawns on top, mix well and start smiling, blissfully conscious of the delicate pink supper you are about to bring to the table.

(The original recipe comes from this book.)

Tiny Twins

Until April 6, there is an intimate photo exhibition going on near the Bastille area, in Paris. What is surprising is the location itself, to start with: the small shop is simply called Territori and nested in a world and atmosphere of its own. The owner, Alessandra, is a talented young lady of insolite taste who hunts for treasures and vintage finds in all fields: jewelry, accessories, trunks and furniture... They are all skillfully displayed in her shop that looks like a curiosity cabined in what is a fascinatingly well-orchestred display cases. 

Behind the glass door, you are taken in her world of past and present creations. In such a well-defined atmosphere, it would have been quite difficult to find the perfect matching series of photographs to display - it is key not to clash or diminish what is already a shrine. This is what the eye of a good friend and photographer have managed to achieve though: he has carefully chosen some of his pictures that add yet another layer of stories past and present to every object on sale. 

This is the inspiring backdrop where I found these tiny twin rings, perfect to wear together on the little finger for a twist to claccisim. They are delicate and precious in their deep violet hue and seem to have come straight out of the past. While buying them, I can hear the characters of the photographs on the walls whispering in my ears stories of jazz bands told by the man with shoes of different colors, stories of diving competions from the swimmers' silhouettes and travels beyond every possible frontier reflected in the dark sunglasses of a brunette...

Credits: 1) TheDaydreamerDiary 
             2)  Les Yeux d'Elsa