January 27th - Broccoli and Rapini with Lemon and Shallots

....LIKE A HOLE IN THE HEAD

I totally wasted my whole night last night reading this stupid book.  Have you ever done that?  Have you ever put yourself through the torture of reading a book that you didn't like just to get through it?  Maybe...just maybe... all of a sudden it will get better?  It got to the point that I started skimming through sections of paragraphs to get to the end.  And my god...what a stupid ending! 

So the books are The Golden Compass Series.  There are three.  I compare them to a series of novocaine shots at the dentist office.  Painful at first, then quite numbing, and then just annoying.   I read the first book and was like..yeah it's okay. Let's go on to the second book to see what happens.  Ugh.  It was not good.  Since I must be some kind of glutton for punishment, let's read the third book because it has to get better! AWFUL! 

This is why I don't like to read.  I prefer books on CD.  The physical act of reading makes me invest time and effort in a book.  So if I don't like the book, I feel like I've made this huge committment only to be let down in the end.  If a book on CD sucks, I blame it on the person narrating it. 

Before We Move On, Let's Clear Something Up

I mistakenly wrote that my friend Jen painted the flowers on the carrot/looks like a present/wedding cake I talked about last week in one of my blogs.  That was not Jen. It was my assisant LAUREN who painstakingly painted all those little flowers on.  Sorry Lauren.  The blog states the correct information now. 

The Recipe

This was my first time cooking with rapini.  I have seen it in the grocery store and have eaten it at restaurants, but never cooked with it. 

Make sure you wash it well before using.  Mine was quite dirty (filthy, if you will).  I took off all the really thick stems and kept the thinner leaves and the broccoli looking tops.  Rapini is slightly bitter, but not as bitter as mustard greens (thankfully).  I ate this with the leftover Wisconsin Mac and Cheese from yesterday.  They went quite well together.

Ingredients:

Butter: Had
Shallots:  $0.79
Lemon: $0.50
Broccoli: $1.79
Rapini:  $2.79

Total:  $5.87

THE RESULTS

Fast:  The recipe took me 10 minutes at most, due to cooking time.  Prepping the veggies is quite quick.

Easy:  There really is nothing to this recipe.  Can you put stuff in a skillet and occasionally cover and uncover it with a lid?

Fresh:  Oh heck yeah.  It's veggies with shallots and lemon.  A.K.A Deliciousness

Overall:  This was good.  I actually would probably make this again, but cut down on the butter and lemon zest and mix this into the Mac and Cheese recipe from yesterday.  I ate them side by side; but mixed together would be quite nice too (and fancy enough for guests).  It takes the Mac and Cheese from "blah blah blah" to "ooo la la"! (How's that one, Joy?)

Tomorrow...PORK IN THE HOUSE Y'ALL!  BRING IT!