One of Those Days

Ever had one of those days where nothing seems to go quite according to plan? Where it seems like you take a step forward only to take three steps back a moment later? We’ve all been there, right?! Well yesterday was one of those days for me.  As Jason so sweetly noted after I dropped the blender on the floor right before I was going to use it to finish making dinner—I was really “off my game” yesterday. It all started with the tell tale sign that the lovely spring pollen was starting to get to me—a scratchy throat.  As soon as I woke up I could feel it and, as a result, I felt off all day. Work was busier than I expected. I wasn’t able to go to the gym or run an errand during my lunch hour as I had planned. (And an unexpectedly long conference call prevented me from going as soon as work was over too.) Then there was the issue of having two tons of laundry to do, packing for a business trip, and needing to write overdue thank you notes to family members for their thoughtful birthday gifts. Not to mention those Cadbury Mini Eggs that somehow found their way into our apartment and are trying their darndest to throw me of my quest to get more fit.

But it really all hit the fan when it came time to make dinner. In my effort to go lighter, I had decided to make Ellie Krieger’s Pasta with Creamy Red Pepper Sauce.  It’s a tasty recipe that is low in fat and full of flavor. I’ve made it several times so it should have been a cinch to pull together. Unfortunately, I somehow found myself without several key ingredients…..despite having consulted the recipe when making the grocery list on Sunday! First, I realized I did not have an onion. No big deal, I thought, I have half of a red onion in the fridge leftover from a couple of days ago. Crisis averted. Or so I thought until I got the box of penne I was planning to use out of the cupboard and realized there was hardly enough pasta left in there for one person, let alone two... I could have sworn it was half full a few days ago. Apparently not.

I called Jason to see if he could stop by the grocery store to pick some penne up on his way home. The bad news was he was already pulling in the garage when I called. The good news was that the (over-priced) convenience store downstairs had penne in stock—multi-grain no less!  Just when I thought the worst was over, I dropped the aforementioned blender.  Actually, the base was not screwed on as tight to the vessel (or whatever the proper name for the glass part of a blender is) and it fell off as I was moving it over to the counter. Fortunately, it wasn’t broken. All I had to do was pop a piece back into place and it worked like a charm.

Despite all the setbacks, the penne with creamy red pepper sauce turned out well. But to be honest, I did not enjoy it half as well as the glass of wine I had with it!

Penne with Creamy Red Pepper Sauce
Adapted from Ellie Krieger

Ingredients:
2 TBL olive oil
½  red onion, chopped
2 to 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 (12-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained, rinsed, and chopped
½  cup low-sodium chicken stock or vegetable stock
4 oz crumbled feta cheese
Half a pound of penne (multigrain, regular or a combo thereof)
Salt and pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

1.Bring pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2.Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until soft about 5 minutes. Add roasted pepper and heat through.
3.Place mixture in blender or food process with feta and broth and process until smooth.
4.Drain pasta and mix with red pepper sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in parsley and serve.