Eat Real Food

I'm doing my best to live up to this mantra. Here's what we had for dinner last night:

Linguini with Swiss Chard and Italian Sausage

1/2 lb linguini, reserve 1 cup cooking water
2 Italian hot sausages, casing removed and chopped
1 bunch Swiss Chard, stems removed and chopped; leaves rolled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper
2 sprigs fresh thyme

- Heat oil in a deep skillet on medium heat. Add sausage and brown. Add add onion, garlic and bell pepper to skillet and cook 2-3 minutes. Add chard stems and cook another 5 minutes. Add chard leaves and salt and pepper. Then add tomato paste, salt, pepper and thyme. Cook covered over medium-low heat for about 10 more minutes.

- Cook pasta for 9 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water. Uncover greens and add 1/2 cup reserved pasta water. Stir. If the consistency is too dry, add more liquid. Toss with pasta and serve.

Roasted Broccoli

Last night, I had my heart set on making some swiss chard. Unfortunately, I communicated this desire too late to my dear husband, who had already made it to the store and purchased another vegetable: broccoli. "Broccoli?," I said. "Ugh." Whenever I think of broccoli, I think of steamed floretts, tasteless and tough to chocke down. But I realized that I don't have to eat it like that. I had a change of heart and decided that I would roast the broccoli and make it awesome. So that's what I did. And it was awesome.

Roasted Broccoli

Two small heads of broccoli, base removed, cut into small florets
Olive oil, both plain and meyer lemon infused, about 1/4 cup total.
Crushed red pepper, a few shakes
Oregano, a few shakes
Sea Salt, two shakes
Fresh ground pepper, a couple of turns
Dried parsley, a few shakes
Onion powder, a few shakes

Preheat oven to 425. Place the cut broccoli in a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and combine with your hands. Place in a casserole dish. Roast for about 30 minutes, stirring occassionally, or until the broccoli is tender.