Everything in life is finite or why the most important things in life are family and linguine.

Darlings,You know what makes me so absolutely happy? The fact that it is almost May. That's right - it's almost time for white pants, sailor stripes and a never ending irresponsible smattering of freckles on noses all across America.But what doesn't make me so happy is when it snows just a few short days before said May appears.I'll tell you a story darlings - I was at home in Philadelphia (which, yes, even after living here in Maine for five long years, I consider home) for Passover.It was a glorious long weekend, full of 72 degree weather, Bravo marathons with mom, lots of quality time spent with friends and family and a quick trip to NY for work. The sun shined every day, the animal statues in all the squares served as the perfect jungle gym for center city kids and I even had a quintessential Philadelphia moment when Questlove and I reached for the same handle at the neighborhood fro-yo place. No joke, darlings.But when I returned to Portland, which is a lovely city in it's own right, it was snowing. And darlings, I'm not talking some cute late season flurries, I'm talking Narnia. In just a 300 mile span, the weather changed my mood from happy to sad.Well, darlings, maybe it's not just the weather. Maybe it's because I just turned 30, but this trip really put life into perspective - what matters. And I think it's something so simple. Family matters.Maybe the mortality complex kicks in at 30, but this trip home, I realized that family as we know it is such a finite entity. That although by nature, families grow and take new shape, they can never stay the same as you remember them.Constant change in both growth and decline, as we are born and we die. Even in life, there are such ebbs and flows that how could we ever expect something as precious and close to stay? And darlings, I'm certainly not opposed to change, but I do believe that sometimes we don't realize what is standing in front of us until it's gone, or so Joni Mitchell would have us believe.The cultivation of these relationships over the years - those who start as family, your mother, your father, their families - is I think the most important. Growing into new relationships with each person as our lives change, as our minds change and as our souls grow - this is what is so important. And of course, when I say family, I mean at the most basic level those with whom we have some kind of nurtured tie, be it genetic or purposeful in another way, but also is meant to include those with whom we have chosen to surround ourselves with over the course of our lives.Those relationships where the essence of the relationship has grown as each individual has, those are the relationships that find a way to continue to fit and serve a purpose in life - no matter how far apart, or how long it's been. These are the relationships in life built on the foundation of soul and made even stronger by intermittent tangible interchanges.Maybe I'm having a hard time articulating it, darlings. What I mean to say is that as I get older, I'm realizing that it's not just our lives that will end some day, it's our lives as we know it, and that, I think, is much more difficult to come to terms with.And all we can really do in the meantime is enjoy those with whom we choose to surround ourselves, and understand that each of those people have had a hand in who we've all become. I am a Jewish woman - a writer, a cook, an admirer - but none of these things have defined me as much as the decades old or very new relationships that I choose to keep and have purposefully maintained. This is what matters.It's so simple, but it's too complex.And so, to celebrate the (hopeful) onset of the renewal which Spring (supposedly) brings, I thought I would entice you with a simple, yet entirely complex dish which is perfect for the nights where it is just a little too cold to eat outside, but you couldn't possibly eat another piece of anything roasted.Spring Pasta #1Ingredients1 lb linguine ( darlings, I know that there is rice pasta and corn pasta and spelt pasta, but I really really think that your run of the mill Barilla is the best option for this dish), cooked a bit past al dente1/4 c. Dill, chopped1/4 c. mint, julienne1/4c . basil, julienne4 cloves of garlic, minced6 oz chevre, unflavored1 lemon, juicedSaltGood Unfiltered Olive OilMethodDarlings, would you believe me if I told you all you have to do to achieve this zippy, tangy and sweet pasta dish is to cook the pasta and mix it with the rest of the ingredients while it's still hot so that the garlic mellows a bit and the cheese melts and coats it? 

Well, believe me. That's all. See - so simple, but so complex.I hope to write more darlings.xoxolcf