Asheville-Bound!

Vacationing the rest of the week...will return on Sunday for more food adventures :)

Greetings, Friends! I will be leaving you blog-less for the remainder of this week, as we're heading out on vacation tomorrow morning. Why, you might ask, aren't I taking the laptop and documenting along the way? As much as I would love to include you in the daily happenings of our travels in Asheville, we will be camping most of the time, and I can just see the disasters that could erupt with me and the computer (i.e., roasted marshmallows + MacBook keyboard + Kylie = trouble).

We will be camping in Kentucky tomorrow, heading down to Asheville on Wednesday, and spending the remainder of the week and weekend reading, relaxing, exploring, and eating (in particular, I cannot WAIT to eat at The Laughing Seed again, as well as find another huge slice of the World's Best Carrot Cake). We're also going to spend some time at Mt. Mitchell State Park and Pisgah National Forest.

I will return to the blog on Sunday, August 15, with plenty of food pictures for your hungry eyes, and your hungry spoon :)

In the meantime, tonight's dinner recipe will hopefully hold you over until then. This amazing dish is courtesy of the Moosewood Collective (can't remember which cookbook--by now we've transferred the recipe to a tattered piece of paper since we reference it so frequently). Loaded with lots of green goodness and crunchy walnuts, this is a perfect summer pasta dish that's ready in under 30 minutes. As always, feel free to increase the garlic, onion, or other seasonings to taste, and make sure you toast the walnuts (it brings out all the flavor!)

Now, eat up and enjoy your week!

Broccoli Walnut Pasta

Ingredients:

¾ lb. penne pasta

2 TBSP olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

3 to 5 cups broccoli florets

1 ½ cups frozen edamame, thawed

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup fresh basil

1 cup chopped, toasted walnuts

Grated parmesan cheese--or gorgonzola (we were out of parmesan tonight so we used gorgonzola instead, and it was equally as tasty)

Directions:

1) Cook pasta according to directions on the box.

2) In the meantime, sauté the onion in olive oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, broccoli, edamame, salt, and ½ cup of water. Cook on low-medium heat until the water is gone. Toss with pasta, basil, walnuts, and cheese.

3) Enjoy with a small tossed salad and toasted baguette (better yet, make a quick tomato bruschetta by mixing chopped, fresh tomatoes, minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and fresh basil. Top baguette slices with tomato mixture, broil for 5 minutes in the oven, and top with grated parmesan).