I was so excited that my cousin dropped by after work tonight, and I wanted to make us a nice dinner.  Our last CSA share was almost three weeks ago, and I haven’t been shopping since we returned from a long weekend away, so our kitchen stocks are sadly low (CSA share comes tomorrow, yay!).  This was an evening where I needed to rely on my pantry and the pantry really delivered.  I had a few of the right things and was able to create something delicious from nothing.

Revived Celery Salad

I didn’t have any fresh greens except for a bit of soggy celery and a some parsley leftover from New Year’s Eve.  To firm up the soggy celery, I just soaked it in cold water for 10 minutes (I use this trick for limp salad as well).   Then, I tossed the chopped celery with a can of chickpeas, some pickled red onions* (also leftover from New Year’s Eve), chopped parsley, extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

Garlicky Green Orzo

This is simply my type of pasta: garlic, olive oil and Parmigiano, with some frozen vegetables that I always have on hand thrown in for good measure.

• Orzo (any pasta will do)
• Frozen peas
• Frozen spinach
• Garlic
• Parmigiano Reggiano
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1. Cook pasta according to the package.
2. Sauté garlic in oil in a large pan, after a few minutes, add cooked orzo, peas, spinach and toss. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with cheese.

*Pickled red onions from Thomas Keller, Ad Hoc at Home. Boil 1.5 cups red wine vinegar, 3/4 cup sugar. Pour over 2 sliced red onions in a quart jar. Cover for at least 24 hours, and up to a month.

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