This is so me I don’t even need a recipe to do it, but I included one from inspiration. I mean this is what I do most Sundays. I go to the Hollywood Farmers Market and I buy something fresh and seasonal. Something green seems to be my favorite, but not always.

Then I bring that something green home and I percolate on it. Then I choose a few simple elements. Things I think would augment my newly acquired something green. Then I mush it all together and serve it with pasta. Usually within 2 hours of getting it from the market to my kitchen. Of course by mush it all together, I mean puree (using very expensive equipment!). But basically the technique is best described at mushed.

Every time I do this I think, “No not again”. People will get bored with these “pestos”, no matter how atypical. But then I remind myself that I never get bored of them. So maybe you folks won’t get bored of them either.

So here I go again. Mush. Today it fava bean mush. Paired with almost nothing else: Fava beans, onions, celery and parsley. Not even any butter today. That’s how light a hand I think fava beans require. Every element must be green. The favas and their delicate nature must prevail.

Default pasta, we all rely on it. Even Judy Rogers of Zuni Cafe.

Hers seems to be a particularly well-construcred Pasta alla Carbonara. It's not quite the traditional version– at least in my mind, because it has peas, ricotta and good ole American bacon in place of guanciale. But its authenticty and simple perfection cannot be denied. Judy put her version together based on a memory of a meal she had in Rome, hence the authenticity. And once you see the list of ingredients, and the careful way it is prepared– using a low, slow heat to render the flavorful fat from the bacon and into the sauce. I know you'll agree with the notion of its perfection. So see, even classic Roman meals can be tweeked to become what I affectionately call Default Pasta here at Sippity Sup.

So what exactly is Default Pasta? Well, as the saying goes– "Quick boil some water!" No I'm not having a baby? It's Default Pasta Night!

At my house Default Pasta makes regular appearances. In fact I'd even go so far as to call these appearances star turns. That's because learning how to bring forth quick, flavorful weeknight meals can be a lifesaver, and a Tuesday toe-tapper as you will see.

Because there are a lot of good reasons to master the concept of Default Pasta. Maybe you have not been to the grocery store for weeks and the fridge and pantry are pretty bare. Maybe you just want something simple and satisfying without too much thought or preparation. But never fear, because if you follow my rules for Default Pasta you can make any meal special.

Today’s selection for my Market Matters post from the Hollywood Farmers Market is another melon. What can I say? They are so seasonal and there is nothing better than a perfectly ripe melon.

This time I have chosen a Persian melon, also known as Patelquat. Which is a large greenish muskmelon with delicate netting on the rind and a rich salmon-colored flesh. It looks a bit like a larger more oval shaped cantaloupe, though it is usually much more fragrant. Persian melons are bigger than a cantaloupe too. They typically weigh around 5 pounds. Naturally they have a delicious, sweet flavor. I think they taste like a much more intense cantaloupe. In Southern California they're available from July through October, with a peak in the late summer.

As with all melons choose Persian melons that are heavy for their size, and very fragrant. They should be firm with a small amount of softness at the stem end. The rind should be the palest of green with netting that is slightly brown when ripe. If the background is very green the melon is not yet ripe. Persians are best vine ripened, but if you mistakenly get a green one let it sit on the counter at room temperature for a few days. Ripe melons should be refrigerated and will keep as long as two weeks if uncut.