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Komatsuna & Garlic

September 16, 2009

I’m in the middle of a busier week than usual, but when my parents asked last night if I’d like to just order take out instead of cooking, I was happy to be able to say no (that’s the plan for Thursday night, anyway). This is why I meal plan: when the day seems crazy, there is peace in knowing that at least dinner is taken care of. I had a simple meal planned that took our schedule into account, and we stuck to it. Even if the plan is yogurt, fruit, and crackers, I really like not having to think too hard about dinner at the end of a day.

We had whole wheat spaghetti, some komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach) quickly sauteed in olive oil and a sliced clove of garlic, and Parmesan cheese grated over the top. Raw celery, carrots, and red pepper on the side. The greens were very good — pleasantly bitter, tender, yet still with a fresh crunch.

This dinner is exactly why I love my farm share. I would probably not have bought this bunch of greens on my own, even though we do eat a lot more vegetables in our CSA off-season than we did before we were members. Lately I’ve been focusing on talking to the boys about trying vegetables because they’re delicious, rather than because they’re healthy, and with a meal like this that’s easy for me to do. They did not try the komatsuna, but A. did like the smell of the garlic cooking, which I’ll take as a small, but open-minded, step in the right direction.

Filed under: CSA,Pasta,Veggie Mains,Veggie Sides

Tags: cooking, csa, dinner, farm share, greens, meal plan, raw, whole