Adopted By Pasta

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Things have been a little crazy lately.

At work, we’ve been deep into preparations for the FIFA World Cup and the countless events that will surround America250 throughout New York and New Jersey. Helping prepare one of the largest healthcare systems in New Jersey for an event of that scale involves a lot of moving parts, a lot of meetings, and a lot of coffee.

At home, things are equally busy.

The girls are home for the summer. The house is louder. There are more dishes in the sink. The five-gallon water bottle seems to need changing every other day. That’s probably an exaggeration, but not by much.

And honestly? It’s great.

Originally, I was going to write about what has already become an epic concert season. But a conversation I had today changed my mind.

I was talking with my friend Mark. Mark runs EMS for the same healthcare network where I work. We’ve been friends for a long time and, like me, his life has been consumed by FIFA planning lately.

At some point during our conversation, I said something out loud that has been floating around in my head for months:

“Right now, I’m living the best EMS life I’ve ever lived.”

The funny thing is, if you had asked me in 2019 whether that would ever be possible, I would have laughed.

My EMS career started in 1987 and effectively ended in September 2019 when I worked my last paramedic shift.

By that point, my paramedic work had become very per diem.

Very, very per diem.

When I finally decided it was time to hang it up, Mark was one of the people I talked to while I was making peace with that decision.

After 2019, my connection to EMS was mostly through teaching. I instructed enough classes at the Somerset County Emergency Services Training Academy to keep my certification active and to give back to a profession that had treated me incredibly well for more than three decades.

But ambulances?

Those were in the rearview mirror.

Or so I thought. Fast forward to 2024.

Gabby—the future doctor daughter—came to me and announced that she wanted to join the rescue squad to gain experience interacting with patients.

I told her that was great. I had friends at Somerville Rescue Squad. They would take good care of her.

Then came the punchline.

“No Dad, I’m going to join the squad with you.”

Well.

That certainly wasn’t on my bingo card.

The next thing I knew, I was back on an ambulance.

And not just back on an ambulance.

I was riding with my daughter.

There are very few experiences in life that compare to mentoring your child in something that meant so much to you for so long. Watching her learn, grow, gain confidence, and care for patients has been one of the greatest gifts of my EMS career.

But that’s not the whole story.

Over the past few years, I’ve been teaching more and more.

Last semester, one of our squad members, Mazie, ended up in my EMT class.

That created a unique situation.

Suddenly I was both her instructor and her partner on the ambulance.

Mazie is exactly the kind of student every instructor hopes for. She’s curious. She wants to understand everything. She genuinely cares about patients. She asks questions because she wants to learn, not because she wants to pass a test.

Most importantly, she possesses something that can’t really be taught.

Empathy.

Compassion.

The ability to connect with people.

Those qualities matter.

A lot.

Somewhere along the way she jokingly started referring to me as her “Squad Dad,” which made me feel proud and old at exactly the same time.

But mentoring her has done something unexpected.

It made riding the ambulance fun again. Then came the biggest surprise of all. This summer, Gabby is one of my EMT students.

And that may be the greatest thrill of my entire EMS career.

I see her studying.

I see her writing notes.

I see her asking questions.

I see her arriving early so she can cover whiteboards with diagrams because she’s such a visual learner.

She’s all in.

And I’m all in on helping her and her classmates become the best EMTs they can be.

Nearly forty years after I first climbed into an ambulance, I somehow found a completely new way to love EMS.

Not through being a paramedic.

Not through promotions.

Not through titles.

Through mentoring.

Through teaching.

Through watching the next generation discover the same profession that gave me so much.

That’s why I can honestly say I’m living my best EMS life right now.

And surprisingly, it took almost four decades to get here.

So how does any of this connect to cooking?

Well, first, I owe Mazie and her husband a pasta-making lesson that I’ve been shamefully slow to schedule. We’ll get that on the calendar, and whatever we make will undoubtedly become a future Adopted by Pasta adventure.

For now, let’s talk about lemons and thyme.

Thyme has been growing around the Mediterranean for thousands of years and was once associated with courage by the ancient Greeks. Lemons traveled from Asia into the Mediterranean and became one of the defining flavors of Southern Italian cooking.

Maybe that’s why they work so well together.

Thyme brings warmth and depth.

Lemon brings brightness and energy.

One grounds a dish.

The other lifts it.

As I was cooking this weekend, I couldn’t help but think about how fitting that combination felt. The courage to start something new and the brightness that comes from sharing it with people you care about.

That’s exactly what Gabby and Mazie have brought back into my EMS life.

This past weekend, Gabby requested lemon pasta.

That makes perfect sense because lemons are probably her favorite fruit.

I’ve caught her eating lemons here in New Jersey.

I’ve caught her eating lemons in Italy.

Though admittedly, the Italian lemons are a lot sweeter.

The pasta was fantastic.

The problem?

I forgot to take pictures.

Again.

At this point, I’d probably have twice as many blog posts if I remembered to photograph dinner before everyone started eating.

So the lemon pasta came and went, earning rave reviews from both Gabby and her college friend Petra.

That meant I needed another excuse to cook.

And since my thyme plant appears determined to take over the backyard, lemon and thyme became the theme of the weekend.

Saturday’s menu featured a Honey-Thyme Glazed Pork Tenderloin, crispy smashed potatoes with thyme, Pecorino Romano and lemon (we’ll save those for another blog), and what may have become one of my favorite summer salads ever—a Blueberry, Cucumber and Snap Pea Salad with feta and a lemon-honey vinaigrette.

The salad was bright, refreshing, and tasted like summer.

The pork was sweet, savory, and just herbal enough to remind you that fresh thyme really is worth growing.

Sometimes the best meals aren’t the fancy ones.

Sometimes they’re simply an excuse to gather the people you care about around the table.

Just like EMS, that’s where the magic usually happens.

Honey-Thyme Glazed Smoked Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients

Pork

• 1 pork tenderloin
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Honey-Thyme Glaze

• ¼ cup honey
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1. Combine the salt, pepper, and garlic powder and season the pork tenderloins generously.
2. Preheat your smoker to 250°F.
3. Smoke the pork until it reaches an internal temperature of approximately 135°F.
4. While the pork cooks, whisk together the honey, Dijon mustard, thyme, and apple cider vinegar.
5. Brush the glaze generously over the pork.
6. Continue cooking until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145°F.
7. Remove from the smoker and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Blueberry, Cucumber & Snap Pea Salad with Lemon-Honey Dressing

Ingredients

Salad

• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• 2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed
• 1 English cucumber, diced or sliced
• 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 tbsp toasted sunflower seeds or sliced almonds
• Zest of 1 lemon (optional)

Lemon-Honey Dressing

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp honey
• ½ tsp Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Combine the blueberries, snap peas, cucumber, thyme, feta, and seeds in a large bowl.
2. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.
3. Toss the salad gently with the dressing.
4. Finish with lemon zest just before serving.

The salad was the surprise star of the meal. The sweetness of the blueberries, the crunch of the snap peas, the cool cucumber, and the brightness of the dressing worked together far better than I expected. It may have just earned a permanent place in the summer rotation.

Until next time,

Scott

P.S. If you’re reading this Mazie, we really do need to schedule that pasta-making lesson.