May 2nd, 2011

I go grocery shopping on Thursdays.  On Wednesday I plan a week’s worth of meals.  Normally it’s anywhere from 4-6 dinners, depending what we are doing that week.  Once the garden starts producing veggies I change my game plan a little because “you never know what you’re going to get” (that was me channeling a Forrest Gump impression).  I stock up on pantry stables like rice, pasta, beans, capers, olives, artichoke hearts, tuna, anchovies (yes, I love anchovies), polenta, good breads, etc to come up with something incorporating whatever is springing up in the garden.  Our lettuces are doing fantastic this spring, but our arugula is starting to seed and be eaten by some pests, so I need to use it before it’s not usable.  Well that and I love arugula.

I checked the pantry for good arugula pairings.

Bingo! Tuna, navy beans, and bucatini! 

I harvested arugula and lots of chives.

I sautéed the beans and tuna in some chicken stock with lots of garlic, lemon rind, salt, and pepper.   I boiled the pasta, reserved a little pasta water, drained, and combined the chopped up greens.

Once they hit the heat, they shrink up to nothing.  So a lot goes a little ways.  Once the greens are wilted, I add the tuna and beans mixture, and add more ground pepper.  This time I didn’t need to add extra pasta water to loosen up the pasta, the water from the greens and chicken stock did the trick, but it’s always good to reserve a little just in case.

I absolutely love cooking like this, very mellow and easy.  It gets even better when the tomatoes, zucchini, and eggplant arrive, unlimited options.  Grocery shopping in the garden is so much more fun than Shop and Save!