Panzanella

At the same time I was living in Rome, a friend of mine was living in Tuscany.  We didn't know each other at the time, even though we went to the same university, but we now work together.  She shared this recipe with me, which she learned while living in Tuscany.  Tuscany has some of the best farming country in all of Italy.  And because of the all the farms and natural woodlands, a lot of the food is much more earthy and gamey than in other parts of Italy.  These seems like one of those recipes that you whip together when you have leftover bread that's about to go stale and a few too many tomatoes.  But it is a delicious snack or side dish!

Rocket Bean Pasta

So apparently in other parts of the world, arugula is called rocket. Not sure where that came from but it sure is easier to say (and spell) than arugula. Anyway. I had a ton of it it was growing pretty giant in my garden. So I needed something quick to put it in. Most recipes I found involved pasta. But with a boyfriend on a high protein diet, it needed to have something else. This recipe actually fit the bill. And surprisingly, he was okay with how much pasta there actually was.