Creamy Cherry Tomato — Summer Squash Pasta — The Dish Babcia Made That Said Everything Without Words

The Milwaukee Record article brought a wave of new followers to Instagram. I went from 300 to almost 600 in a week. People are messaging me about pierogi recipes, asking where to find kielbasa, wanting to know about Polish food traditions. I'm answering every message, which takes about an hour a day, which is an hour I used to spend watching YouTube. Fair trade. One message stood out. A woman named Anna, who lives in Chicago, said her grandmother was Polish and passed away last year, and she never learned to make pierogi, and she's been trying and failing and my posts made her want to try again. She asked if I had tips. I wrote her a five-paragraph response about dough hydration, filling ratios, and the importance of squeezing the potatoes dry. Then I added: "Your grandmother would be proud that you're trying. That's what matters. The pierogi will come." She responded: "You just made me cry at work." I stared at my phone for a long time after that. This thing I've been doing — cooking, posting, telling stories about Babcia — it matters to people I've never met. Not because I'm special. Because the story is universal. Everyone lost a grandmother. Everyone has a recipe they're trying to recreate. Everyone is standing in a kitchen, alone, trying to remember. At the brewery, I had my first fully solo lead day — no Marcus, no supervision. He was on vacation (Marcus takes exactly one vacation per year, to Vermont, where he visits breweries and pretends he's not working). I ran the floor for three days. Every decision was mine. Every problem was mine. I brewed a batch of the summer wheat, managed two fermentations, and trained a new guy on tank cleaning. It went perfectly. When Marcus got back on Thursday, I gave him the logs and he read them and said, "I didn't need to worry, did I?" No, Marcus. You didn't. Sunday at Babcia's: she made a summer squash casserole with dill and cream. Light, savory, seasonal. She was more cheerful this week — the August heat agrees with her more than the July heat did. She asked me about the article. I showed her. She read it slowly, holding my phone at arm's length. When she finished she said, "They spelled pierogi wrong." They didn't. But Babcia always finds something.

Babcia’s summer squash casserole with dill and cream is one of those dishes I’ve never tried to recreate exactly — some things you leave alone out of respect. But after sitting at her kitchen table watching her move through it with that August-afternoon ease she gets when the heat finally agrees with her, I wanted to carry that feeling home. This creamy cherry tomato and summer squash pasta is my weeknight translation of it: same light hand, same savory brightness, same sense that summer cooking shouldn’t ask too much of you.

Creamy Cherry Tomato & Summer Squash Pasta

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 12 oz pasta (linguine or pappardelle work well)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 medium yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise and sliced into half-moons
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• 1/4 cup fresh dill, roughly chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup reserved pasta water

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Before draining, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water, then drain and set aside.
2. Soften the squash. While pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the summer squash in a single layer and cook undisturbed for 2–3 minutes until lightly golden on one side. Stir and cook another 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a plate.
3. Build the sauce. Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic to the same skillet and cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Add cherry tomatoes and red pepper flakes. Cook 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes burst and release their juices.
4. Add the cream. Pour in the heavy cream and stir to combine with the tomato juices. Let it simmer 2 minutes until slightly thickened. Stir in the Parmesan.
5. Bring it together. Add the drained pasta and reserved squash to the skillet. Toss everything together, adding pasta water a splash at a time until the sauce coats the noodles loosely and evenly. Taste and adjust salt.
6. Finish with dill. Remove from heat. Fold in the fresh dill. Serve immediately with extra Parmesan over the top.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 480 | Protein: 14g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 66g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 390mg