Over the weekend, I spent hours paging through vegetarian cookbooks in the library looking for new recipes to try. I left with a thick handful of photocopied recipes and was all ready to cook the most ambitious of them... and then I chickened out. I couldn't find some of the ingredients in the grocery store (can you believe they were out of carrots??) so I scrapped my plans and instead decided to make an easy Rachael Ray recipe for which I already had all the ingredients. It was very easy to make and really delicious, in my opinion. It also seemed pretty kid-friendly to me—that is, if you can get your kids to eat broccoli.

By the way, I fudged all the proportions, skipped the nutmeg and parsley, and used penne instead of bow ties because I had it in the house already. So feel free to change it as you wish.

Here it is:

Broccoli and Bow Ties from Rachael Ray's Veggie Meals
1 cup water
1 pound broccoli florets or broccolini florets, coursely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 pinches crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound bow-tie pasta, cooked until al dente
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (a couple handfuls)
A handful chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
course salt and black pepper, to taste

Bring a cup of water to boil and reduce heat to simmer. Add broccoli or broccolini florets, cover pot and steam 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Cook pasta.
Heat olive oil in a deep, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. When garlic begins to sizzle, add broccoli or broccolini and saute, 1 to 2 minutes. If your pan is not large enough to toss florets with pasta, transfer to a large bowl. Toss broccoli or broccolini with pasta, cheese, parsley, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving dish and serve with a green salad and crusty bread.

Yum.