hi! thank you once again for your interest in lenny and friends' nice email newsletter! in this edition you will find some short form writing i really like and a recipe for pasta with cheese sauce.

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yellowstone national park maintains a library of sound recordings made at the park, all released into the public domain. in the library there are a few recordings of fires, all made by the same contributor, and the descriptions of these recordings struck me with how evocative they are.

"Even though the microphone is far away from the flames, you hear the bassy roar of it: the power of its low acoustic energy. In fact, one of the things that struck me while making this recording was that I could feel the rumbling in my body as it came up through the ground."

https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/sounds-fire.htm

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look, i'm not going to pretend that this recipe is particularly impressive. it's pasta and cheese. but it's something that i make when i'm feeling crummy and want a hug in a bowl, and i hope that it might bring comfort to someone else too.

pasta with cheese sauce (serves 2)

1 - 2 tablespoons of olive oil
500g bag of frozen broccoli and cauliflower mix
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons plain flour
3/4 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
2 - 3 handfuls of grated cheese (honestly i never really measure this, just do what your heart tells you)
your choice of pasta, cooked according to directions on the packet
salt and pepper, to season

empty the vegetables into a microwave safe bowl and microwave on medium for 6 - 8 minutes to defrost
drain excess moisture, then spread out on a baking tray. season with olive oil, salt and pepper. mix so the vegetables are evenly covered, then bake in a medium high oven for about a half hour (it really depends how patient you are/how crispy you like your veggies)
when your vegetables are about 2/3 done, start cooking your pasta and making your cheese sauce

cheese sauce
melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat
add the flour, a tablespoon at a time, and mix well with the butter
cook the flour/butter mixture for a minute or two, then turn off the heat
gradually add the milk, stirring well to remove any lumps
turn the heat back up to medium and continue to stir
when the milk starts to thicken, add your cheese, nutmeg and pepper
stir until the cheese has completely melted and remove from the heat

put your pasta, vegetables and cheese sauce in a bowl and enjoy [OPTIONAL: stir through 1 - 2 teaspoons of wholegrain mustard]

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i hope you enjoy this edition of the nice email newsletter. as always, i would love to hear any thoughts you'd like to share. what is your favourite comfort food?

love,
lenny