Pasta with Thyme

I am back to college. Suddenly I have to shift from the lazy days of summer to a busyness I don't always like. I already miss the whole days spent in the kitchen. The long elaborate meals I shared with my boyfriend. The hours spent reading about food and cooking. The long bike rides. The spontaneous jumps into pools and lakes. The little things you don't really notice until they are over. 

But I am also happy to be back. I miss the structure of college days in summer. It requires a lot of effort to fit in running when I don't have my days, my times to just go. I miss the conversations, the challenges and the opportunities to learn.

But college also changes my cooking and eating habits. When I get home at 6.30 I'm just too hungry to wait longer than 7 till I can eat. I eat more pasta, more sandwiches for lunch and more not-so-tasty food in the cafeteria at college.

These last days I used lots of thyme. I bought a bunch, then I bought some more, and now I even picked lots of it in my parents garden. Until now, I sort of overlooked thyme, but with the colder temperatures, it is just right for me.

Pasta with Thyme

Ingredients:

thyme, a small handful

1 tablespoons olive oil

zest of half a lemon

pasta

1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds, toasted and crushed (I usually just crush them between my fingers)

Bring salted water to a bail and cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package.

In the meantime, heat the olive oil on low-medium heat in a non-stick skillet, add in the thyme and let it heat and cook slightly until the pasta is done. Drain the pasta, add it to the thyme, add the lemon zest and mix. Add a bit more olive oil if the pasta seems to be too dry. Serve it sprinkled with crushed pumpkin seeds.

Serves 1.