Thursday, August 19, 2010

All I Wanna Do...

...is SLEEP.

I have a confession.

I have not gone running since my 9-mile dress rehearsal run on Sunday. I was supposed to run on Tuesday, but I was exhausted when I came home from my classroom so I said I would do my run on Wednesday morning. I overslept and said I would run that afternoon. I came home and fell asleep on the couch for over an hour and was so groggy when I woke up that I just said, screw it.

I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me until Brian gently reminded me that, "You know... it's that... time." Ah yes, that time. I hate using "that time of the month" as an excuse for anything because I hate it when my students do that ("I can't take my vocab quiz because I have cramps." WHAT?!), but maybe running 9 miles on the first day of my period and then working for 10+ hours moving furniture and writing curriculum for three days in a row after a summer of sleeping in and laying out by the pool was a little much?

I kind of feel like this... but all day long.


Anyway, I took my sheer exhaustion as an excuse to make a comfort food dinner - pasta with meat sauce. Except not really.

Zucchini Pasta with Mushroom & Gypsy Pepper Ragout
inspired by FBB

Ingredients
  • 2-3 zucchini
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 red onion, chopped
  • 4-5 small gypsy peppers (or 1 bell pepper), chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 carton of mushrooms, chopped
  • 3 cups tomatoes (I used canned because I'm exhausted)
  • 1T olive oil
  • salt and pepper
Method
  1. Saute the onions in a little bit of olive oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes (until they are nice and soft). Don't cook them too high or they will burn.
  2. Add the garlic and gypsy peppers.
  3. Add the mushrooms once the onions and peppers are soft. Stir to combine.
  4. When the mushrooms are wilted and most of the excess moisture is gone, add the tomatoes.
  5. Stir all of the ingredients to combine and let simmer over medium heat for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  6. While the sauce is cooking, use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin from your zucchinis. 
  7. Then, use the same peeler to create ribbons of zucchini flesh by running the peeler down the length of the zucchini. Turn the zucchini 90 degrees after each ribbon so you are peeling evenly on all sides.
  8. Stop peeling once the seeds are exposed.
  9. Quickly saute the zucchini "pasta" in olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Don't cook these for more than 2-3 minutes - you just want to take the raw "edge" off.
  10. Top with sauce and Parmesan cheese.

I always forget how awesome zucchini pasta is. And this sauce? I die. I could eat this every single day. Fortunately, I made enough to feed a small army.

What is your favorite "comfort food?"