Pasta With Veggies, Yes’m.

So, mid-summer last year our computer’s hard drive crashed. We lost everything. EVERYTHING. Wedding pictures, all our music, everything. (I’m still recovering.)

To make matters worse, I thought I’d lost this gigantor box with all of our CDs. Do you remember what CDs are? They look like DVDs, but contain only music. Not ringing a bell? Moving on…

I was convinced our basement had swallowed the box whole and digested it along with my mental health.

…Not the case.

This morning while downstairs turning the laundry, a little voice told me to grab a chair and take a glance in these rather scary cabinets to randomly take a peek for the box. There, behind a tangle of spider webs, a paint-splotched tarp and something I think might have been breathing, was the box. Blink, blink. Say what? There. was. the. box.

The rest of the day was a blur of squeals, tears, dancing and singing along to old Elliott Smith albums, Radiohead favorites and Ida heartbreaking tunes as I imported the CDs back into our itunes.

This called for celebration. This called for pasta.

Gemelli with Vegetables and Pistachios:

What it took for 2:

* 1/2 pound gemelli pasta

* 3 garlic cloves, minced

* 2 cups green beans, trimmed

* 2 cups collard greens, thinly sliced into ribbons

* 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

* 1/2 cup shelled pistachios

* 2 Tbs. butter

* 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

* 2 Tbs. fresh basil

* fresh parm for garnish

* coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Drain the rest.

In a medium skillet, heat the oil and butter over medium-high. Add the garlic and bloom 30 seconds. Toss in the green beans, the collards and cherry tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for about 5 or 6 minutes, until the beans are crisp-tender and the tomatoes have softened a little. Stir in the pistachios and toss to coat. Add the pasta to the pan and toss to coat with the veggies. Add a little of the pasta water to create a thin sauce. Maybe another drizzle of oil?

Serve with fresh basil and cheese!