Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Produce and productivity

If Austen were writing about my life today, maybe that would be a good title for her to use.

Anyway.

If we leave California, I am going to miss my friends and my job and the weather. And the beach. But I am really, really going to miss the produce.

I mentioned previously that I finally joined a CSA. I've gotten 2 weeks of boxes now. It is so cool. It brings me vegetables I don't normally buy, like chard (divine sauteed with cumin and cinnamon) and leeks and collard greens, and rapini (going to try it tonight alongside a mushroom omelet).

And then there was the old standby, broccoli. Something so hated by a member of the Bush family is right up there on my list of favorite things, just because of that fact.

Anyway, here was a nice little meal I put together last week using the CSA produce.

Pasta with leeks, greens and beans

1 box whole wheat spaghetti
1 lb mild Italian sausage
1 big leek, sliced and cleaned
1 bunch collard greens, stems removed, chopped and cleaned
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1 tbsp dried basil
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese

Cook pasta while you do the rest of this.

In a large pot, cook the sausage. When it's mostly brown, add the leeks. Stir until they begin to turn transparent. Add the greens, beans, basil and tomatoes. Stir gently and cook on medium-low heat until the greens are wilted. Then stir in the pasta.

Just before serving, add the artichoke hearts. No need to stir; they might disintegrate. Also, lots of parmesan. Most pasta is a good excuse to eat lots of parmesan, and this is certainly no exception.

Have it with this:

Lemon roasted broccoli

1 large head broccoli, cut into long-stemmed florets
Juice and zest of one lemon
About 2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Toss it all together in a big bowl. Spread it in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Cook it at 400 degrees until you see a little brown on it. This is an amazing counterpoint to the rich, complicated pasta.

After I made this meal, I went out of town and G ate all the leftovers. I know I shouldn't be mad. I mean, I left him alone with 4 kids for 4 days. He deserves all the pasta he wants. Really, he is the best. And I got hecka good food while I was gone. But dang, I wanted some more.

3 comments:

Angela said...

Ok did I miss something? Did your dh get the job?????? I hope so! That would be awesome!
Thanks for posting the recipes...when are you going to publish a cookbook? "Ana's Best Recipes" or something more clever than I can come up with. ;o)

Unknown said...

Nah, I'm just dreaming and obsessing, still.

And who needs a cookbook when you have a blog?

Utahdoula said...

They have CSA here, too!