Summer Tortellinis

Ahh, summer. All I wanted to do for Memorial Day was go out to the picnic area next to my apartment and have a nice summery outdoor meal with my super-hubbie--and what has to happen? I'll tell you: The police pulled a dead body out the the water next to my apartment yesterday. Apparently Northampton is littered with dead people (a lovely fact that missed our attention when we moved from Holyoke to a "nicer area") and my new home is no exception.
So, alas, I'm petrified of going out there now---as I'm constantly in fear of tripping over a decomposing hand sticking out of the grass, so our summer meal was moved indoors.
At any rate, this is my offering.....a really nice taste of summer. It is one of Tim's favorite recipes and I love it because it comes together in a snap. The tomatoes and corn are sweet and summery and a nice contrast to the salty cheesy tortellinis. I highly recommend eating this indoors and far away from dead people if at all possible.

1 lb cheese tortellini
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 cups corn
1/2 stick butter
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup chopped basil

Cook torts al dente, then drain--reserving 1 cup pasta water.
Cook garlic, corn, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper in butter over med-high heat for about 4-5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook 2 minutes. Add torts and heat up, adding some pasta water if it's a little dry. Sprinkle in basil and gobble, shifty-eyed, while scanning your yard for bloated extremities poking out from the earth.

Mint and Pea Ravioli

Although I am fancy in many ways, I do not own the fanciest kitchen gadget of them all. A pasta machine-roller-thingie. One of these days I'll give in and join the ranks of the super-fancy kitchen types, but the pasta attachment for my kitchen-aid is about five million bucks and I'm just too damned cheap these days. Plus, there are store-bought wontons to fill the gap for us less-fancy folks. These pseudo-raviolis from Bon Appetit are delicious and really easy to make. The mint flavor is a nice surprise and mixes nicely with the butter and parmesan. If you need any more proof that they're awesome, Tim was shoving three of them into his mouth at a time. Any food that Tim will risk choking over is always worth the effort.

2 2/3 cups frozen peas
1/3 cup grated parmesan
2 tsp chopped mint
1 package wonton wrappers
3/4 stick melted butter

Boil peas in salted water for about 3 minutes. Drain and cool. Add to a food processor (or any mashing device) and puree. Stir in cheese and mint and some salt and pepper.
Put a tsp of filling onto a wonton, wet the edges and cover with another wonton. Squeeze out any extra air, or they will explode like some of mine did and you'll be pissed.
Once you have enough (I stopped at about 30) cook some of the raviolis in boiling salted water for about 2-3 minutes (try not to put too many at a time, they'll stick) and put on a plate. Sprinkle with melted butter, extra parmesan and some black pepper. Enjoy!