Farmer's Market Greens and Pasta

So, my meal today was inspired by my trip to the farmer's market. It's so easy to forget the abundance and quality of produce that is at the market. When I first got there, I was the proverbial kid in the candy store until I settled myself down by eating a bowl of dal (indian lentils with brown rice). Thus sated, I was able to think clearly and ended up buying strawberries, small bok choy, kohlrabi with attached greens, tuscan kale, pea shoots, a gigantic daikon (which I mean to pickle) with attached greens, green onions, mint and some lamb stir fry cuts. Oh, and I picked up some snowbank mushrooms because they are almost out of season. So, that is probably what I will be posting about for the week to come.

This is the simplest meal I have had in a long time. The only seasonings are butter, olive oil, salt and red wine vinegar so you get a lot of that refreshing green flavor that comes from spring greens. Make sure you have all of you ingredients prepped before putting the pasta in the water. Sauteeing these vegetables should take no longer than the 7-8 minutes it takes to cook the pasta.

2 tsp butter
2 tsp olive oil
1 small head of bok choy sliced in half
1 T sliced green onions
2 leaves tuscan kale, sliced into 1/2 inch strips
Handful of pea shoots
1 cup pasta
1 tsp red wine vinegar
salt to taste

Heat 1/4 the butter and olive oil in the pan. Add the bok choy and sutee for 1 minute. Add the onions and kale. Drizzle a 1/2 tsp of vinegar in the pan and cover with a lid (this will steam the kale). Cook for a few minutes until the kale is deep green and starting to wilt. Put contents of the pan on a plate. Add another 1/4 of the butter and olive oil to the pan and add the pea shoots turning so they heat evenly. The leaves should wilt and the stems should still be a little crunchy. Add the pea shoots to the plate with the kale. Cover with a lid to keep heated while finishing the pasta.
Drain the pasta and add to the pan you cooked the vegetables in. Add the remaing butter, olive oil, and 1/2 tsp of vinegar and toss to coat. Serves 1.

This isn't a showstopper presentation-wise, but it is delicious and packed with nutrients and high in vitamins A and C. I chose tuscan kale because it is one of the milder cruciferous greens. I found recently I had problems eating more than a small amount of turnips greens because the taste was so pungent. It turns out tuscan kale is delicious.