CSA still life

It is no secret I am loving my CSA. Recently, I laid out some of my goodies, along side a jewel from our own garden (the green pepper) and a few peppers from our local produce store. It looked like a still life painting. Sure they were common veggies, but the colors and shapes were art on a chopping block. Who wouldn't be inspired to whip up dinner with this amazing bounty?

So I got to work, slicing and dicing. I used all the veggies above - peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, and onion in my dish. In the carnivore's I limited it to the peppers and onion. I also tossed in some organic sweet Italian sausage from West Wind Farms (who we are now getting a bi-weekly meat CSA from). I sauteed each in a bit of olive oil with kosher salt and freshly ground peppers. At the same time I boiled some whole grain penne (a new healthy switch we have made in our house).

Once everything was ready, i.e. the sausage was cooked, the veggies were soft, and the pasta was al dente, I tossed the penne with a bit more oil and some grated parmesan. I then piled the pasta into two large bowls and topped them with our respective CSA goodies.

So simple, but so satisfying. I enjoyed all the bright colors and fresh flavors. And the carnivore, well, he loves anything with fresh sausage. Even if it doesn't look like a work of art.