Perfect Timing

Did I do it? Did I manage to not overshop? I think I did! As of this moment I only have a few artichokes (2 lg and 5 small...going in the pressure cooker tomorrow morning) and 1 head of romaine lettuce from last weeks CSA box! I'll tell you one thing, if I only ate, first, all of my good, fresh, healthy, foods, I wouldn't have this extra 5-10 lbs hanging around, lol! (Hmmnn...I think I'll try that approach!)

I supplemented with 3 cabbages, (2 green 1 red), 1 kale, 1 chard, 3 red bells, carrots (2lbs) 1 celery stalk, mushrooms (1lb), onions (5lbs), cilantro and 5 lemons...I think that's it! And, with the exception of the Romaine lettuce, it will all be used before I pick up my next box tomorrow night! I have to say, the lettuces are not my favorite, I just don't chose to eat lettuces! But 1/2 of the Romaine will be a Ceasar for me, and 1/2 for a Greek salad for Mark.

Gemelli Pasta w/Arugula, Roasted Red Bell and Black Olives

4 oz. gemelli pasta

extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch arugula

1 roasted red bell (see previous post about roasting peppers)

6-8 oil cured black olives, sliced

1 oz feta cheese, crumbled

Roast red bell, and cut into strips about the same size as the pasta. Stack and cut arugula leaves (removing any tough stems), crosswise 3-4 times. Cook pasta according to package directions until 'al dente, drain reserving some pasta water to thin sauce if needed. Toss hot pasta with oil and arugula to wilt, add red bell, olives and crumbled feta cheese.

This only serves 2! Although most people would use twice the pasta and the same amount of veggies (maybe a little more cheese!), if I were going to double the serving size I would double the other ingredients also. In fact I picked up a package of 3 tri-colored bell peppers from Trader Joes, because I know I'm getting more arugula this week and I want to make it again! (It killed me to buy peppers from freakin' Canada, but sometimes cheap and convenient gets me too! lol)

I actually had 2 things left over from the previous weeks CSA box, the turnip greens (those made it into veggie soup), and the arugula. Arugula is one of my favorite greens for pasta, so why it took me over a week to get around to using it, I don't know. It's fast and easy because it wilts with the heat of the pasta, and because of it's 'bite' I like it with sweet red bell. This time I had some feta cheese in the fridge and oil cured black olives. I only had one red bell and I chose to roast it, because I'm on a "pepper roasting roll", lol, it's so stinkin' easy! I might have even included some of the roasted jalapenos from a few days ago, except I ended up eating them all already!

Eat your veggies first, make life good!