Day 43: Green Food

"It's nearly 7:00pm. I guess we need to think about dinner,” my husband observed. My stomach had started to protest as well. What to make? Usually I like to have an idea of what I'm going to cook earlier in the day. That way I can go to the grocery store if need be to pick up any missing ingredients. Today however was consumed with a lazy morning followed by an invigorating bike ride out and about in the wintry, Swedish day, and ending with freshly, baked bread picked up from our local bakery and heading home for a light lunch and an afternoon of reading and relaxation. The weather was a gorgeous stretch of blue sky with the brightness of the sun reflected in the crisp, white snow. The perfect yang to yesterday’s yin.

But back to dinner. I saw a photo online of a pasta dish that looked delicious. It was spaghetti with cauliflower and basil topped with grated parmesan cheese. There was my inspiration. I didn’t bother reading or even looking at the recipe because I knew we had some broccoli in the fridge and I would build the dish from there. I decided to combine the broccoli with some sauteed shallots, pan-fried fakon (fake bacon), a cup of vegetable broth and toss it with the spaghetti and then top it off with parmesan cheese and some arugula leaves. Fresh, green, delicious food. When I think of vegetables, green ones always come to mind. I never feel like I am eating a vegetable if it isn’t green. Maybe my body craves the chlorophyll in the leafy greens. I am not sure but the meal was excellent and fast. We had everything prepared, eaten and cleaned up within forty-five minutes. That’s what I call a Happy Meal.