I’ve decided that we must always come back from vacation on a Saturday. I had such a sense of peace yesterday when we came home to a mostly clean house, enough food for a few days, and nothing that had to be done till Monday.

This morning I made Gluten Free Mommy’s Carrot Zuchinni Muffins for breakfast and they were amazing! I’m going to have to find some zuchinni to shred and freeze so that we can have these all winter.

While David was napping, I trimmed my basil plants and then followed Kalyn’s (from Kalyn’s Kitchen) instructions on how to prepare and freeze basil. I have 17 cubes of frozen basil in my freezer, just waiting for some yummy mid-winter recipe.

During David’s second nap, I picked figs from the tree in our backyard. I’m hoping I’ll have enough figs to make a batch of my grandmother’s Strawberry Fig Preserves. I picked about 3 cups worth today, so I washed them and put them into the freezer until I’m ready to try my hand at preserves.

For supper tonight, I threw together a quick pasta dish full of greens. I had a nice bunch of mustard greens in the fridge, so I cut them into ribbons and sauted them with onions, garlic, and artichoke hearts, and then tossed all of that with pasta, pesto, and kidney beans. Supper was on the table in less than thirty minutes and it was quite good.

Green String Penne Pasta

Yield: 4 main entree servings

8 oz. brown rice penne pasta

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 c. onion, diced
2 Tbsp. garlic, minced
2 c. mustard greens
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
12 oz. chicken breasts, cubed and browned (optional)
16 oz. can dark kidney beans, drained
14 oz. can artichoke hearts, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp. dates or raisins
3 Tbsp. pesto
1/3 c. walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
Parmesan cheese, grated

1. Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta.

2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and diced onions and saute until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes.

2a. If you’ll be adding the optional chicken, pull out another skillet and brown the cubed chicken while the onions are cooking.

3. Wash the mustard greens and remove the tough stem from each leaf. Stack the leaves and roll them into a tight cylinder. Using a sharp knife, slice the roll ever quarter inch so that you have long thin ribbons of greens.

4. Check the water for the pasta. When it starts boiling, add the penne pasta and cook according to the package directions. (Note: I always set a timer for the minumum cooking time so that I don’t forget about the pasta)

5. Add the greens, salt, and nutmeg to the onions. Saute until the greens have wilted and are tender.

6. Add the artichokes, beans, dates, and chicken to the greens. Turn the heat to medium-low and continue cooking until the artichokes and beans are thoroughly heated.

7. Once the pasta is ready, toss the pasta, veggies, and pesto in a large serving dish. Top with toasted walnuts and parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!