Pasta à la Local

"A bad neighbor is a misfortune, as much as a good one is a great blessing."

 - Hesiod

Greetings there!  I see we meet again if not for the very first time.  Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope that you at least leave with a new thought or chuckle.  May you experience nothing short of a terrific day!  Oh yes, check that Power Ball (lottery) ticket okay?

Pasta à la Local

What on earth is "Pasta à la Local"?  By definition it's pasta prepared in accordance with locally purveyed ingredients.  At least this is so in Chucky's dictionary.  Hey ~ In the mind of Chucky anything is possible.

I shall endeavor to explain this in 1,000 words or less ("Challenge time!").  Let me begin with the ingredients.

• Fresh pasta from Ravalia's Pasta Bar & Italian Rotisserie, Casselberry, Florida
• Canned collard greens from Publix supermarket
• Fresh organic kale and shallots from Hoover's Essential Health Market, Altamonte Springs, Florida
• Pecorino Romano cheese and pine nuts from Costco Wholesale Club
• Olive oil from The Ancient Olive, Winter Park, Florida
• Giant capers, garlic and Santa Rita 120 Carménère from Eat More Produce, Winter Park, Florida

Notice that except for the canned collard greens, Pecorino Romano cheese, and pine nuts that everything came from a local merchant?  Now, that's keeping my hard-earned dollars at home.  I get to eat absolutely delicious food and help sustain our local economy.  I'd call that "win-win" for sure.  Chucky isn't a super hero... He's simply a smart consumer.

Basically, Tiffany and I found our fridge containing some left-over collard greens and fresh pasta needing to find a recipe home.  I just got finished perusing a new cookbook that Tiffany gave me for Christmas today.  It was Mario Batali's "Molto Gusto - Easy Italian Cooking".  Chock full of ideals on the many, many ways to prepare pasta, pizza, and other Italian dishes.

This book gave me the ideal of using the left-over collard greens as the basis for a pasta dressing.  Did it work?  "O-M-G, yes it did!"  Delightfully light, flavorful, and chock full of health.  A little bit of this and a little bit of that provided a most wonderful dinner last night.  My head is still spinning with ideals for garnishing pasta al dente in blog days ahead.  From as simple as olive oil, capers, and a herb blend to Pasta à la Local.

Hi-dee hi-dee keep-thinking-outside-that-culinary-box-of-pasta-ho my friend.