We had planned this meal as a simple yet hearty ending to the week. Things changed a little when our son got sick yesterday. It ended up being quick and satisfying for the healthy among us. In other words, tonight’s dinner is nothing, if not versatile.

Our son had himself a day of extremes yesterday. In the morning, he and Chris went with his preschool class to the B&O Rail Museum. In the afternoon he got quite sick to his stomach. He has been running a fever ever since.

Our daughter had her second lacrosse practice before dinner. She was much stronger today than last time around. She even won 4 out of 5 challenges against other girls. But she was most proud of her monkey bar ability afterwards.

We watched alot of Tom & Jerry (unintended by-product of MythTV). At least it kept our son entertained and relatively inactive. Something that we were grateful for when his fever returned in the evening.

The baby learned how to climb up onto the sofa today. As if we didn’t have enough to worry about.

Dinner was almost entirely inspired by Robin’s Mom’s group. There had been some discussion about puttanesca during Mom’s night out (this past Thursday). That was enough for Robin, so a simple Saturday pasta turns into something a little more special, which we certainly needed.

Not only did Mom’s night out provide inspiration, but it also provided salad—by way of leftovers. With meals like this, it is too bad Mom’s night out is only once a month!

The (healthy) kids ate pasta without the sauce. We fully expect their eating habits to become more adventuresome someday. But for now, we always make sure that we reserve some plain sauce for them.

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