Never too many vegetables

My dear friend, the clever Molly Wible, gifted me a Vegetarian cookbook this past Christmas. I have made a few of the recipes in it, but today's experiment deserves a blog all of its own. It was a toss up between the Eggplant Lasgna and the Pasta Primavera for dinner, but I decided upon the latter. It sounded easier (and faster) to make. I've been trying to walk more, and the need to pick up some fresh vegetables at my (very) local grocery store was also enticing. So, off I toddled with my totebag to procure some zucchini, asparagus, and penne pasta (whole-wheat, for those who-know-who-they-are). Upon returning home, I discovered that the vegetable stock I thought resided in the pantry was actually a figment of my imagination. I busied myself with preparing my other ingredients before setting out once again. I got some excellent vegetable stock, and fresh thyme. I figured, heck, if I'm going out, I might as well go all out!

Now that I was finally ready to get cookin', I will lay out the original recipe for you folks:

1 1/2 cup vegetable stock

2 sprigs fresh thyme

salt

1/2 cup peeled and diced carrot

1 cup asparagus tips, each about 1 inch long

1/2 cup diced zucchini or summer squash

1/2 cup shelled fresh or frozen peas, or snow peas

1 lb penne pasta (or other cut pasta)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or butter

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese

While boiling the pasta, one is supposed to cook the vegetables in the boiling stock in a sequential order. Once the pasta is about done, you add in the olive oil, remaining stock, and toss it all together with the parmesan.

I would like to note that I purposefully went easy on the pasta and heavy on the vegetables. Here is what I did:

a bunch of stock ('Imagine' brand, no fat or MSG), because the large amount of vegetables I had needed more liquid

2 dealies of fresh(?) thyme

no salt

4 small carrots, peeled and sliced

the tips from 2 bunches of asparagus

one whole diced zucchini

a package of frozen peas

a bunch of broccoli

12 oz. of whole wheat penne

a bunch of olive oil

no pepper (I like pepper, I just didn't add any)

a lot of freshley grated parmesan

one bottle-cap-full of lemon juice (I just felt crazy!)

I would like to say here and now that the vegetable stock was delicious. The broccoli florets absorbed much of its flavor, and that was a good thing. The cooking sequence goes: boil stock with thyme (ha!), add carrots for a couple of minutes, add asparagus (and broccoli) and cook for a bit, add zucchini and (surprise!) cook for a bit, and end with the snow peas. You aren't supposed to end up with a lot of stock left over, and I kept adding more because a) like I said, my amounts were all wacky and b) I like sauce. Depending on how long it takes your pasta to cook, take the veggies off the heat until the carbs are done. Finish them up on the heat with olive oil and some more stock for a few minutes. Toss together, add cheese, and voila! You will feel rewarded for the one hour of walking you did over the course of two trips to the grocery store.



This is what it looked like in my bowl, shortly before death by mastication.



In the words of another, hunger is the best spice. This stuff was tasty.