Last Resort

Have you ever come home from a long day at work to see this waiting for you? (Go ahead, don't be ashamed, nod your head.)

Or this...

This was my reality tonight. Inspiring, isn't it? I know.

Actually, it forced me to get in touch with my inner creative genius (insert laughter here) and whip up something worthy of a James Beard award. Well, ok, that's a little ridiculous, but here's what I managed:

The egg. It it perhaps the most under-rated food ever. I mean, they are like the perfect pair of jeans...you can dress them up or you can dress them down.

I dressed them...

with cheese. And let's face it. Who couldn't use a little more protein?

Ina (I speak of her like she's my next door neighbor) taught me how to make the perfect scrambled eggs. I mean perfect - not too wet and not too dry.

You start with a little pat of butter and let it melt nicely in a nonstick pan. Add your eggs that have been whisked up with a little milk or cream and salt and pepper. Then, with a rubber spatula, just keep it moving slowly and constantly, while occasionally scraping the sides until the eggs are not runny anymore.

It will change your life. I mean it.

To top off my scrambled egg delight, I added a little whole wheat toast and sweet fruit.

Yes, that is a hamburger bun. Don't judge. (It was in the pantry and needed to be used...and the bread had green stuff on it.)

Mighty satisfying if I do say so myself.

Arugu-what?

Arugula. It's kind of an odd little green, isn't it? I mean, you always hear chefs talk about it's "peppery" hints. How the heck can a leafy thing taste like pepper? I mean, I've always thought arugula was just one of those "fancy" greens that celebrity chefs use to make a dish more enticing.

Oops, sorry. That's parsley.

The last time I was in San Francisco, I picked up the most amazing cookbook:

It's organized by season and by vegetable and fruit within that. So, if it's October and I want to know how to cook a sweet potato (and where it came from, what it's best served with and what time of year it's best), I can just flip open this magic book and there's a delicious recipe. That's what I did with arugula.

This is what I made:

Whole wheat penne drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper and mixed with some chopped garlic, cherry tomatoes, wilted arugula and freshly shaven parmigiano-reggiano.

Fresh.

Easy.

Fast.

Oh-so-delicious.

(Folks, there's no recipe, just cook the pasta and toss the ingredients. You cannot screw it up.)