We had a lovely, cool evening in the Washington area on Thursday, on the heels of what seemed like one endless, sweltering, humid ordeal. Opie walked longer than he has in weeks now — his walks are more like “sits” — and Jay was only half-drenched in sweat when he joined me after playing with his friend next door. We even ran into a neighbor who was out for a walk in her winter coat.
It’s nearing the mid-point of September, and I don’t know about you, but I am ready for Fall. I am ready for the trees to turn pink and red and yellow and orange. I am ready for cozy sweaters, snuggling under the covers after the alarm has gone off, and for the already-limp flowers to go to sleep. I am ready for Halloween and pumpkins and for turning on the oven full-blast to bake up some breads and pies and cakes.
Jay’s theory is that summer is “the favorite season of all people, and winter is the favorite of all dogs.” He must be a dog because he can’t wait for winter and the snow and to get his sled out.
As the weather gets gentler, one of my favorite foods appears more and more often in our kitchen: pasta. Especially pasta with lots of veggies and a meaty, hearty sauce that I can really sink my teeth into.
I had picked up a packet of soy chorizo on a trip to Trader Joe’s the other day, and I planned on making a pasta that would pack in the protein and the veggies and taste fabulous while doing all that. Ergo, my Farfalle with Chorizo and Veggies.
This pasta also was, really, an excuse to clear out the refrigerator of assorted bits of vegetables. A handful of greens, half an onion, frozen green beans (a must-have in my kitchen), mushrooms that were begging to be eaten before they went belly up, a couple of tomatoes going just a little soft around the middle…everyone was invited to the party. And they made it rock.
You’re invited too!
- 16 oz dry Farfalle pasta
- 12 ounces soy chorizo (I used Trader Joe’s but use any you can find. I love the Field Roast sausages which are my usual go-to)
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 6 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
- 2 large tomatoes, diced
- 1 16-oz bag of frozen green beans
- 15 button mushrooms
- 1 cup mixed greens
- 2 cups frozen edamame beans
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 3 tbsp chopped, mixed herbs (I used oregano, sage, and thyme)
- Salt to taste
- Cook the pasta per package directions until al dente.
- While the pasta water is boiling, heat the oil in a large pot.
- Remove the chorizo from the casing and crumble it into the pot. Add the onions.
- Saute, stirring frequently, until the onions soften.
- Add the garlic and stir to mix. Saute for a minute or two.
- Add the tomatoes and mushrooms and red pepper flakes. Be sure to adjust the amount of the red pepper to your liking — the soy chorizo is already spicy.
- Saute until the tomatoes are really soft and the mushrooms are tender.
- Add the herbs and edamame cook for another four to five minutes.
- Add the mixed greens before turning off the heat, and stir well.
- Meanwhile, while the pasta is in its last five minutes of cooking, add the frozen green beans to the pasta pot. They will cook up just around the time the pasta gets al dente.
- Add the pasta and a cup of the pasta cooking water to the pot with the chorizo and veggies. Add salt if needed– the chorizo is salty too.
- Mix well and serve. A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil after the pasta has been plated will make it extra delicious, but you don’t have to.
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THIS AND THAT
Went to Harper’s Ferry, one of our favorite spots in the DC area, over the Labor Day weekend. It was a sunny summer day and everyone in the world was there, walking along the scenic railway track that runs through this national park, or bobbing around in colorful little rafts, right at the ethereal confluence of the Potomac and the Shenandoah.
Right now, for reasons I will not even try to understand, I am bingeing on Cedar Cove on Netflix. Maybe it’s the beautiful setting. Or trying to figure out how Andie McDowell stays so trim and gorgeous. Who knows.
Speaking of Netflix, I wish they’d release more episodes of Midsomer Murders. There’s something so incredibly satisfying about watching people with perfect accents in pretty little towns stab, shoot and poison each other.
Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Just watched a myriad mix of movies, from Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes to American Sniper and Lamhe (blame this one on homesickness).
Ecstatic that I get to see Stephen Colbert again.
Favorite video of the week. As a part-chow mom, I can attest it’s impossible not to go a little crazy for these giant furballs.
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