Kale and Tomato Pasta

Yesterday I had my first microwave dinner in a week! This is pretty impressive for me considering I usually have one about five times a week.... I won't say it's all because I am cooking now, but it is definitely partially due to that (also because I have awesome friends that have been taking me out to dinner...). On Monday I continued my pasta cooking adventure with a very healthy dish, and no wine! (During the work week I try and cut back on the vino... though I have to say cooking is soooo much more fun with it!)

Difficulty: Easy, but slightly frustrating

Time: About 30 mins

Ingredients:

Kale
Tomatos
Onions
Garlic
Olive Oil
Whole Wheat spaghetti

Everything about this dish was easy, except for the kale.... Kale is a super food, it's great for you! So, being the health concious person I try to be I decided to make something starring this leafy green. So, I found a recipie online and adapted it to what I had in my fridge. First things first, I put the water on the stove and began the pasta (Im learning!). I started out with the oil, garlic, and onions over medium heat. While that was sauteing I chopped up the tomatos and kale.

Lesson # 1: Kale is huge when not cooked! As i tore apart the kale I realized I didn't have a bowl big enough for it.... So, I ended up throwing some of it away, I had no clue what to do with all that kale.... Then after the onions were cooked, I thew the kale and the tomatos in.

Lesson #2: Having multiple sizes on pans is a good idea. I only have one pan to saute in, and it is clearly not big enough for leafy greens. Thus, I had kale falling over the sides of the pan and on the floor.... kale was everywhere! So, getting a nice big pan with high sides would be a great idea when cooking kale, or spinach (which I intend to do soon, since I love that stuff), or any other large leaf green. To be fair, the kale cooks down a lot, and it soon fit in the pan after maybe five minutes of continuously tossing it. Once it was all cooked and soft, I combined the pasta and veggies. Sprinkle some parm on top and voila, a healthy dinner!

Overall this is an easy dish to put together, though the kale was a new learning experience for me. It tasted great, and I even had leftovers for lunch! I look forward to trying some other healthy veggies, maybe spinach or eggplant? Eggplant is a tough one for me, I have tried to cook it before and always fail miserably by over salting it. I also bought some fresh basil that I need to use soon, so maybe a little bruschetta this weekend for a snack? My friend introduced me to the blog  Taste Spotting (http://www.tastespotting.com/) check it out for tons of recipes!