Sungold Tomato Mascarpone Pasta

& exhaustion + olivia rodrigo

Hi! Welcome to “good mood food” from Kale Me Maybe’s Carina Wolff. If you’ve made it here and aren’t yet a subscriber, come join! You can expect recipes, musings, and faves in your inbox every Wednesday! Paid subscribers get even more on Fridays — right now I’m doing a 30-minute budget meal series! Learn more about the paid tier of my newsletter here. You can also try a week for free!

CATCH UP!

Last week, I exhausted myself driving from appointment to appointment, but this week I’m feeling much better. I’m sorry to bring up this whole infertility thing again, but sometimes I wonder if I will ever make it out the other side. Not in the literal sense, like,“Will I get pregnant” but more like, “When I do get pregnant, will I be able to enjoy the process or am I always going to be anxious and emotionally scarred?”

My therapist and I mutually decided this week that I would only be seeing her on an as-needed basis, as we both agreed that I’ve come to a place in my fertility journey that I am no longer struggling daily and now exist in a place of (mostly) neutrality. I can feel my focus shifting back to my job, and now that I feel like I’m working harder towards career goals and creative endeavors, I look back at the past year and see how much of my life was affected because of what I was going through. I can’t help but to feel a little bitter about that, but I know that’s just life, and we are all managing different shitty cards we’ve been dealt.

On a lighter note, Grant surprised me with Olivia Rodrigo tickets last night, and it was SUCH a fun show. I was surrounded by teenagers, which was super cute, but it made me a feel little bit old. It makes sense, though, because so much of Olivia’s music is about teen angst, and that’s really why I love it. It brings me back to feeling younger in a nostalgic way, and sometimes I still feel like im sixteen. She puts on a killer show, and Chappell Roan even came out as a guest star!

THINGS I’M LOVING!

I’ve had the same wallet for 10 years, and it was so dirty and gross that it was time for an upgrade. I found this beautiful leather cardholder on Etsy, and I love it so much! I got this gorgeous blue, but it comes in lots of other colors as well. It only $34, it felt like such a good deal for the quality.

I am very particular about jarred pasta sauces, and in addition to my trusted Raos, I’ve now found another brand that I love. Sauz has such fun and unique flavors — my faves are the Creamy Calabrian Vodka and the Summer Lemon Marinara, but they also have Wild Rosemary Marinara and Hot Honey Marinara! Hot tip: use these to make a quick Shaksouka.

Last year, when I stayed at the Ojai Valley Inn, I received the most amazing facial of my life, and the esthetician told me the products she used were from Osea. Ever since then, I’ve loved their products, and they just released a new body wash that smells soo amazing! Full disclosure, they sponsored me on Instagram but they have nothing to do with this newsletter write up! However, if you want to use my code, you can use code KALEME10 for a discount!

ACTIVE CODES!

*NEW CODE ALERT: OSEA!*

Supplements

• KALEMEMAYBE25 gets you 25% off your first order with Ritual!

• Use my link to get up to 45% off Grüns gummy vitamins!

Food

• KALEMEMAYBE gets you 10% off Fishwife products!

• KMM10 gets you 10% off your first purchase with Ground Up Nut Butters

• DRIZZLE gets you 20% off Little Zing Mustard

Other Products

• CARINA10 gets you 10% off Starter Kits from Branch Basics!

• CW15 for 15% off Bon Charge Red Light Therapy

• KALEME10 for 10% Osea Malibu skincare products

RECIPE!

A few weeks ago, Zena’s Kitchen posted a gorgeous tomato and pepper pasta that was made with mascarpone, and I was inspired! I loved how creamy it looked, and I was really keen on the idea of using mascarpone instead of heavy cream.

I bought some sungold tomatoes from the farmer’s market and realized they would be perfect for a similar type of pasta (still waiting for mine in the garden to pop off). It’s kind of incredible how few ingredients this pasta uses It’s just garlic, sungold tomatoes, and mascarpone, with a pinch of salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper, and of course, some pasta water to add some silkiness to the sauce. Simple and quintessentially summer.

Sungold Tomato Mascarpone Pasta

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 8 oz pasta of choice (I used linguine)

• 1/8 cup olive oil

• 4 large cloves garlic, chopped

• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

• 1 pint sun gold tomatoes

• 4 oz (1/2 cup) mascarpone

• Salt & pepper

• Optional: grated Parmesan and basil, to top

1. Bring a salted pot of water to boil. Add your pasta, and cook according to package until it’s al dente. Make sure to reserve some pasta water to add to the sauce at the end.

2. While the pasta is cooking, heat up olive oil in a large skillet on medium-low heat. Add the garlic, season with a little salt, and cook for about 2 minutes until garlic is fragrant but not crisping up.

3. Turn the heat to medium, add the sungold tomatoes, and cook for about 12-15 minutes until tomatoes burst and their juices release, stirring occasionally. You can lightly press down on the tomatoes to help soften them and encourage bursting.

4. Turn the heat to low, and mix in the mascarpone, crushed red pepper, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Then add in the pasta and a splash of pasta water. Mix together until sauce is silky and creamy, adding more pasta water if needed.

5. Plate and top with basil and Parmesan cheese, if desired!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

Last week, paid subscribers received another 30-minute budget meal recipe. This was a Jalapeño Popper-inspired Tuna Salad Toast! So good, with whipped cream cheese, pickled jalapeños, and of course, canned tuna.

Just a reminder that anytime you become a paid subscriber, you get access to ALL of the recipes in the archive. You can always do a free 7-day trial as well!