Quick Eats: Pasta + Kale

Traveling left very little time to cook or add recipes to my homemaking series. However, I was able to squeeze in one quick cooking/photographing shesh when I was in LA a couple weeks ago. 

At my long time friend Whitney's lovely Southern California home, we discovered extra strawberries and a bundle of Kale in her fridge that was on its ways out. There is nothing I hate more then having to throw food away. I also find it fun to come up with creative ways of eating found-food before it goes bad.

First, we randomly munched on some strawberries while we cooked. Originally, I was going to add them to the salad but I realized strawberries go better with spinach than Kale. That's the thing about refrigerators and leftover food... it's usually a random bunch of edibles; you have to make the best with what you have. 

To start, chop up the Kale with a lot of garlic to stir fry it. Throw the kale in the skillet for a few minutes before the garlic. Kale takes longer to cook down. Be sure not to over-cook the garlic. Add the garlic after the kale starts to wilt, kale still tastes pretty good even when it's a little over-cooked, saving the garlic is the priority!

Next, grab some ready-made pasta in the freezer. I like to pan fry my raviolis after I boil them to add texture. It's a quick trick that adds some depth to your meal.  Everything is in the details. Always cook with extra virgin olive oil or butter.

And wah-la, a quick working lunch was born. What do you think? What are some of your favorite ad-hok cooking recipes. My Roasted Tomatoes + Polenta post was totally a what-can-I-find in the pantry sort of meal. 

In other news, I'm currently adding contributors to some of my pinterest boards. If you'd like to be added just leave a comment below or message me on Pinterest. 

Thanks for following along everyone!