Team member Bethany is featured with her fiancé and is here today telling us about her sweet perspective on time together. She will take it from here….

Dates are a precious thing, though at times they can easily dwindle in importance amidst the chaos of life. My fiancé, Josh, and I cherish our dates very much. It is something that we have done since the beginning. Being intentional about that time ( set apart ) between yourself and your significant other is key. For us, this often looks different based on the stage of life that we are in. We have travelled through countries together, felt the pain of long distance and also the joy of being around one another every day. In each of these seasons, our pursuit of one another has varied, but it is always grounded in a knowledge that we need and want to make that time for each other and a recognition of the significance of even the simple act of breaking bread together, whether it be on a cliff or in the corner of a room.

Now that Josh and I are planning for marriage, life seems busier than ever and I am so readily swept away in to do lists and endless thoughts of the future, but Josh gently reminds me the importance of slowing down and embracing our time together with quiet words and deep intention. We believe that actively pursuing each other through each and every season is essential to a selfless, loving and whole hearted relationship. But it’s not just about going to an extravagant restaurant or creating an elaborate plan to ensure fun. These things can be wonderful, but to pursue your love is not necessarily to be fancy, expensive and complicated. It is meant to be slow, long suffering and more beautiful than your soul can contain. This is not to say that Josh and I do not enjoy visiting new, lovely restaurants and dressing up for a fun evening, because we surely do. But the most meaningful moments between us have been unplanned, simple and poured over with abundant joy. A bowl of salted pasta shared while I inevitably spill food on myself and light laughter sifts through the air, early morning conversation as we watch the sun rise over the shores of Hawai’i, long walks with no agenda and a loaf of bread, these are our kinds of dates. We are content with the little things; eager to take in both the quiet moments and the grand adventures.

Hatchery makes celebrating life with good food easy with their delicious and quality ingredients. We absolutely love that each and every one of Hatchery’s products are handmade by a passionate maker that believes deeply in their product. Our local Rooster Street Butcher offers fresh meats and cheeses with all local ingredients.

Fresh produce from local farm stands, hand crafted ingredients, jazz playing in the background, a glass of wine, and a few quiet hours…you have a perfect date night in.

We prepared a tasty butternut squash pasta dish. The end result was delicious!

Lemon Rosemary Seasoning with hints of citrus and spikes of black pepper and rosemary was phenomenal in this dish. The Pasta Rocks we used are made with Himalayan sea salt, pretty and pink, and a fun way to boil perfectly salted pasta. The mushrooms, sage, and rosemary were sauteed in Fresh Roasted Garlic Cottonseed Oil. We topped the dish with fresh grated pepato cheese and sheep’s milk cheese with black peppercorns from Rooster Street Butcher.

A scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with Dark Chocolate Malted Fudge alongside snuggles on a couch is a lovely ending to a date night in.

The beautiful cutting boards are handmade by O’Shea Woodwork.

The linens are from Food 52.

The Tasting Box makes such a great gift for those in your life that appreciate good food and new flavors.
Use CHARCO at check out ​on hatchery.co ​and receive your first tasting box for just $10.

Emily styled this shoot and created this delicious recipe. The recipe is not exact…so feel free to use your good judgment and and taste as you go. That is part of the fun!

Savory Butternut Squash Pasta
Pasta
Pasta Rocks
Butternut Squash
Chicken Broth
Fresh Roasted Garlic Cottonseed Oil
Lemon Rosemary Seasoning
Mushrooms
Pancetta
Garlic
Onion
Rosemary
Sage
Grated cheese

Roast 1/2 butternut squash, cut into chunks, bake at 350 until soft. Boil water, add pasta rocks for 2 minutes. Remove pasta rocks. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. To make squash sauce, sauté garlic and onion with the other 1/2 chunked butternut squash. Add chicken broth and cook until squash is soft. Season with salt and pepper. Blend into puree. Cook slices of pancetta with sliced mushrooms in pan with oil. Add sage and rosemary. Combine cooked pasta with butternut squash sauce. Add in torn pieces of pancetta along with pan drippings, herbs, and roasted squash. Top with fresh herbs (we used oregano) and grated cheese (we used pepato and a sheep.s milk cheese with black peppercorns).

Serve and enjoy together!

A special thank-you to all the makers for their lovely products featured here!