Howdy. Let’s take a trip back to last Thursday. This idea of starting a blog (from here on out I will be calling it a log, until I come up with something better, because blog sounds so unappealing) has been brewing for awhile but for some reason last Thursday I became highly energized about it. I sat down at my computer and started to write. This is what I wrote: “Sometimes you can find inspiration in the oddest of places. Like bathroom stalls.” I went on to explain that during a break from a three-hour literacy methods course in the Educational Sciences building on the UW campus I would go into the same bathroom and ponder an expression of graffiti that declared something about following your bliss and that the answer was to “ride an f-ing bike.” For some reason I really liked that.

After I went for a nice run outside in the unseasonably warm November evening, I elicited Dan on a mission to Willy Street Co-op for ingredients for a winter kale pasta recipe that I found on 101 cookbooks. I also had a secret mission in mind.

Did you know that the largest consumer of kale in this country is Pizza Hut, but that it isn’t for eating- it is used to decorate the salad bar?!?!? I learned that in my brilliant cookbook, From Asparagus to Zucchini from the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition. C’mon people, it is time to get this superfood off of the ice surrounding the 3-day-old salad mix with all of the life sucked out of it and into our mouths!

After the grocery store we stopped off at Star Liquor for a bottle of wine- I was excited to see that one of my favorite beers is back in season: Sierra Neveda’s Celebration Ale. Thank you Chico, CA for this beer and for Aaron Rodgers!

On the way home we took a detour for my secret mission which was unsuccessful. I wanted to see if the bike graffiti was still on the bathroom wall so that I could take a picture of it but it had been sandblasted or painted over. Ah well, Dan says art is meant to be destroyed.

On to the kale pasta. I followed the recipe but adapted it slightly. Instead of goat cheese I used feta in the sauce and then we shredded Edelweiss Grass-Fed Emmenthaler (I had never heard of this but it was the right price and it looked like a parmesan) for the garnish. We also added some delicious black olives (I’m blanking on what they are actually called but Dan decided they taste like whiskey so they are now “whiskey olives”). Ooh! And add some red pepper flakes. I served it with a baguette from Madison Sourdough Co and some roasted cauliflower.

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This is a recipe from Heidi Swanson and her website, 101 cookbooks.

Winter Pasta

I used penne here, but you can substitute whatever pasta you like. Spinach can be substituted for the kale if you like as well.

4 cloves of garlic, peeled
4 small shallots, peeled
1 small bunch of kale – 1/2 lb / 8 oz, stalks removed, washed well
1/3 cup / 80 ml extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup / 2 oz goat cheese, plus more for topping
2 tablespoons + hot pasta water
fine grain sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
fresh lemon juice – optional
12 oz / 340 g dried penne pasta
fresh thyme – and thyme flowers

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the boiling water generously, and add the garlic and shallots. Boil for 2-3 minutes, stir in the kale and cook for another ten seconds. Don’t overcook. Working quickly, use a slotted spoon or strainer to fish the greens, garlic, and shallots from the water. Use a food processor to puree the ingredients along with the olive oil and goat cheese. Add a couple tablespoons of hot pasta water if needed to thin things out if needed. Then season with a touch of salt and plenty of black pepper. Taste. Depending on your goat cheese, you might need a little extra acidic oomph if your sauce is a bit flat. If so, add fresh lemon juice a bit at a time until you’re happy with it the sauce. Set aside.

Reheat the pot of water and boil the pasta per package instructions. Drain and toss immediately with the green sauce. Serve topped with a few pinches of fresh thyme, and more crumbled goat cheese.

Serves 4-6.

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Yum. Thanks for going back in time with me to remember this meal and the beginning of this log.