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.)