Quick Summer Veggie Pasta

The other night, I decided to treat myself to a movie and ordered one On Demand. I settled in on my couch with my popcorn and fuzzy slippers for an entertaining hour and a half.

My TV provider had other ideas.

Instead of my movie, my screen looked like I had let a toddler loose with a paintbrush, ten cans of different colored paint and a bad attitude.  So I called our cable provider.

I explained what I was seeing and the guy who answered (after listening to 26 different options and yelling “representative” into the phone 165 times) sounded doubtful he could help, but he was willing to try (Wow.  Hope he didn’t break a sweat.)  First, I would have to disconnect the input cable from the box and the TV, then reconnect them.

Long, and very aggravating story short, I  struggled for a while, juggling multiple boxes located deep within a cabinet to disconnect the cable, all to no avail.  That, apparently, was not the problem.  Unfortunately, it was the only solution this rocket scientist I was talking to had though, so his final bit of advice was…

“I’ll leave the ticket open for a few hours so when your husband gets home he can try again and fix it.”

Really???!!!  My husband???  Where did they find you, 1950?  I need my husband to fix this because little old me is incapable of understanding manly stuff like TVs?

Let’s just say the rest of the conversation did not go well…for him. Pretty sure he is in therapy somewhere, or off googling what neanderthal means.

Nothing annoys me more than stereotypes.  One popular stereotype associated with being a plant-based eater is that I must eat pasta every night.  Sigh.  Yes, I eat pasta, but it is not a main staple in my diet.  And when I do, I generally load it up with veggies!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar snap peas, cut into thirds
• 1 cup asparagus, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 1/2-2 cups artichoke hearts, cut into small pieces (if using canned or one from a jar, I would use the water packed ones and pat them dry)
• 1/2 cup leeks, sliced
• 1/2 cup scallions (I like the white ones if I can get them)
• 1 package of cherry tomatoes (or grape tomatoes), halved
• garlic oil
• fresh oregano -about 2 Tablespoons, but can adjust for taste
• salt and pepper
• Pasta of choice (I used a quinoa shell pasta which really let the veggies shine, but the other pasta I have tried it with is chickpea pasta.  This adds quite a bit of flavor on its own, but is still very good)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.  The quinoa pasta took 18 minutes – enough time to basically make all the veggies.
2. Add a splash of garlic oil to a large pan.  Over medium heat, saute the scallions and leeks for about 2 minutes till they start to soften a bit (do not let them brown)
3. Add the asparagus, saute for about a minute, then add the tomatoes and oregano, again for a minute or so.  Toss in the peas and artichokes for a final minute or so, and add salt and pepper to taste.
4. When the pasta is done, drain and add to the veggies, toss and adjust the salt and pepper.  I also added a splash more garlic oil.  Serve immediately.

**Cooking time for the veggies really depends on how crunchy you like them.  I like them pretty close to raw, so I only cook them for a short time over a bit higher heat.  If you want them more well done, I’d decrease the heat a bit and cook them a bit longer.  The tomatoes, in particular, will become more “sauce-like” the longer you cook them, so you can actually add them with the onions to achieve this.

Enjoy!