Couch pasta

If eating on my couch is a shortcoming, then perhaps we need to rethink our standards.

If eating on my couch is a shortcoming,
then perhaps we need to rethink our standards.
Does a table provide
some mark of approval,
that a proper meal
has taken place?
If I’m eating by myself,
do you really expect me to sit alone
at my dinner table
and stare out the window?
Maybe pondering the life choices
that have led me here?
Or would it be okay for me to
curl into the couch,
bowl tucked into my lap,
wine on the coffee table,
and enjoy the company
of the entire cast
of The Great British Baking Show?
If eating on my couch is a shortcoming,
then we need to rethink our standards.

Couch pasta (for 1)

2 slices of thick-cut bacon, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 big handfuls of any vegetables of your choice - I will almost always use a combination of something with radicchio (corn + radicchio, broccoli rabe + radicchio, etc.)
Pasta (whatever shape and amount you think is right for you today), cooked until al-dente
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a large skillet (cast iron, if you have it), cook chopped bacon over medium heat until it’s very crispy. Remove it from the pan, and set it aside, leaving enough grease behind in the pan to sautee your vegetables.

2. Add the vegetables to the pan (starting with the heartier ones) and saute them until they’re beginning to get softened and crispy (don’t stir them too much, you want them to develop crispy browned spots, which requires them to sit still). Note: If your bacon wasn’t particularly greasy or you removed a lot of the grease, you might need to add olive oil to the pan to get the vegetables crispy. Season them with plenty of salt and freshly ground pepper.

3. Add the cooked pasta and bacon to the pan and allow it to cook with the vegetables for another minute or two. Season with salt and pepper. Again, don’t stir too much, because the pasta tastes good with some little browned areas too.

4. Top with lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Then stir and add more.