he said, she said

you know whats really fun? being a pseudo-vegetarian and dating someone who isnt..

of course, i'm one of those weird 'vegetarians' who thinks that boy vegetarians are a bit... well, not for me. i dont know why - i dont subscribe to traditional gender roles, i dont think, but somehow i truly think that there's a whole 'me man, me eat meat' thing that should be going on with a guy... therefore, as antiquated as my otherwise evolved brain may be, while its not always the easiest way to eat, it is pretty much been the standard in my life... and i'm fairly sure the current meat-eater is sticking around for, well, forever, so its going to stay the standard.

there should be some sort of guide as to how to exist in this kind of relationship without it being a case of one person eats meat and a side and the other just eats a big portion of side... (oh, sure, steal my idea...) because really, as the potential sides-only eater? not so appealing to me... so i'm always looking for another way - a way to take a meal and turn one into something that satisfies the meat eater without leaving the vegetarian with something bland...

so, changing topics, CSA started again this week... summer shares began a week earlier than expected due to the abundance of crops ready for harvesting, but, as is usual, the first week was still fairly greens-heavy while being overall light... bok choi, cooking greens, baby turnips, radishes, spring garlic and scallions. all cool, but save for the garlic and scallions (which, due to a mixup were all but gone by the time i arrived for pickup) not things i use all that much... however, i am bound and determined to not let so much go to waste this season (winter was kindof a bust for me) and wanted to get started on my reformed, non-wasting ways right away...

a number of people posted recipes for the greens and all had a similar take. the meat-eater and i discussed those recipies and modified and came up with our own idea of how to cook the greens into something we'd both like and even went so far as to figure out how to make one meat-eater-friendly while maintaing the fact that the vegetarian version was not lacking. I hope you'll find one or both versions to work for you.

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Garlic Greens & Pasta
recipe courtesy of me & the meat-eater

3/4 lb pasta, any kind
1/2 lb mixed cooking greens, leaves torn into small pieces and stems seperated and chopped into 1-inch segments
4 spring garlics - bulbs and 2 inches of stems - diced
1 scallion - bulb and 2 inches of stem - diced
3 tbsp olive oil
3/4 c vegetable broth
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes
salt & pepper
3 oz asiago cheese, cubed

veg:
2 tbsp hazelnuts, chopped

meat eater:
1 pre-grilled chicken breast, cut up into pieces


Prepare pasta according to directions

meanwhile, heat olive oil in frying pan over med heat

add garlic & scallions and cook ~ 5 minutes, until soft

add greens stems and a splash of the broth and cook until stems have softened a bit

add the remainder of the broth and all of the greens

cover and allow to cook ~ 5 minutes

remove cover, stir greens and check for doneness. If you would like them wiltier, cook longer.

drain excess liquid & add tomatoes

stir ~ 1 minute to heat & combine

add drained pasta to the mixture and stir to combine (& reheat the pasta if it had finished too quickly)

***
seperate into 4 serving bowls

add 1/4 of the asiago to each bowl

add 1/2 of the hazelnuts to the vegetarian bowls (above amount assumes 2)

add 1/2 of the cut up chicken breast to each of the meat-eater bowls (above amount assumes 2)