By Sofia's senior year of high school. She's ranked second in the country in the 3200 meters for her age group, which means she is the best high school runner in the 3200 in the United States except for one other person, a girl from Oregon. She has not said anything about wanting to be number one. She has said several things about the technical adjustments she's making to her stride in the back half of the race. This is who she is: the ranking is data, the work is the subject.
I've been watching her in cross-country this fall and something has shifted in the quality of her running. It's not the speed — the speed is always there. It's a fluency, a wholeness to the movement that I associate with athletes who have made peace with what they're doing at a fundamental level. She runs like she's in the right body doing the right thing in the right weather on the right morning. I watched her finish a practice run last Tuesday and I said nothing. The run said everything. She nodded at me and went inside and I stood there on the sidewalk for a minute, in the cold, feeling like a man who has raised someone who will outrun him in every direction and knowing that is exactly right.
Playoff push: 7-0. We're the number one seed in the state, as we have been for most of my time here. The expectation is baked in. The challenge is sustaining the hunger that produced the expectation in the first place. I work on this daily. The hunger is not automatic. The hunger is maintained through the same attention you give to anything you don't want to lose.
Chile verde Sunday with the whole family. The house full. The fall air coming through the kitchen window. This is the whole thing right here.
That line about chile verde and the house full and the fall air coming through the window — that’s the feeling I’m always chasing on a Sunday. This roasted butternut and bacon pasta hits the same note: it’s warm and a little smoky and it fills the kitchen with something that makes people drift toward the table before you’ve even called them. It feeds a crowd without fuss, which is exactly what a full house on a fall evening requires.
Roasted Butternut & Bacon Pasta
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash (about 4 cups), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 6 strips thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 12 oz rigatoni or penne pasta
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, thinly sliced (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Roast the squash. Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss butternut squash cubes with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a generous pinch of black pepper. Spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and roast 25–30 minutes, flipping once halfway, until tender and caramelized at the edges.
- Cook the bacon. While the squash roasts, place bacon in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, 7–9 minutes until crispy. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate, leaving about 1 tablespoon of drippings in the pan.
- Boil the pasta. Cook pasta in a large pot of generously salted boiling water according to package directions until just al dente. Before draining, scoop out 1/2 cup pasta water and set aside. Drain pasta.
- Build the sauce. Return the skillet with bacon drippings to medium heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook 60 seconds, stirring, until fragrant. Add the roasted squash and stir gently to coat.
- Combine. Add the drained pasta to the skillet along with 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water. Toss everything together over medium-low heat, adding more pasta water a splash at a time until you have a light, glossy sauce clinging to the noodles.
- Finish and serve. Fold in the bacon, Parmesan, and sage. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Serve immediately, topped with extra Parmesan and a scatter of fresh parsley.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 430 | Protein: 17g | Fat: 15g | Carbs: 59g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 590mg