Waste not. Want not.

Every once and a while I read something that horrifies me. It doesn't have to be something dramatic or disgusting. Just, for whatever reason, the stark reality of it sticks with me. Most recently, it was this article on wasting food that did it to me. Actually, the article itself is really useful in identifying ways to not waste food - some of which I am already a huge fan of, like making pickles, cooking & freezing, and playing Iron Chef in your own kitchen. But it was specifically this line that left me reeling: "27 percent of all food we bring into the house ends up in the trash." Over a QUARTER of the food that we buy gets thrown away. When you think that, every year, tens of millions of kids die of hunger, that is simply reprehensible.

Let me be clear... this is not meant to be preachy or mightier than thou. I waste a lot of food. Craploads of it, if I am being honest. I am 100% part of that 27% statistic. So, reading this article really had me thinking about some simple things I could do better. Which is why, in a recent visit to my (amazing!) farmers' market, I got a little stressed out over beets. That's right, I said beets.

I make - if I do say so myself - this fantastic salad with chicken, bleu cheese, and roasted beets, which I

planned to make for dinner this week. While walking around the farmers' market, I saw this gorgeous bunch of beets. Lovely, ruby-colored little things that I knew would be perfect for my salad. There was only one problem. Those tiny beets were attached to long, leafy greens. All I could think looking at them was, more than three quarters of this food is destined straight for the trash.

Fighting my natural "the-world-is-over-I-can-never-eat-again-everything-is-awful" instinctual reaction, I had a moment of clarity which went something like, "why don't I make something with the beet greens." Grand epiphany it was not, but it got me through the beet-buying experience with a lighter heart. Oh, and here's the good news - I went home, used my favorite food sites to search for inspiration, and found a few recipes ideas that looked well worth trying.

I ended up making Pasta with Beet Greens with Raisins and Almonds, a variation on a Cooking Light recipe. As a general rule, if you're making something you've never made before, pasta is a really good place to start. It's super forgiving and is almost always tasty, even if not fabulous. Luckily, this ended up being fabulous.

So, start with a half pound of pasta, cooking al dente. I was a little shy on the full half pound of pasta, but I added plenty of other delicious and fatty things to this as I went along, so it wasn't even missed. As you can see from this pic, I am a pretty big fan of a kitchen scale. Weighing food is a great way to be fairly accurate with your cooking and also to keep your portions in control.

Next up, the recipe calls for raisins. Now, I personally love raisins in almost all dishes, but I know some folks might be stopping here and thinking, "raisins and pasta? No, gracias." Trust me, this is a good combo - the sweet chewy raisins are a good foil in the dish for the bitter greens and the crunchy almonds. Use about a quarter cup - or about a box and a half of the small snack boxes (leaving a few for a pre-meal treat for you!). I actually prefer golden raisins, but alas, only the purple raisins are organic in my grocery store. Sigh. Reconstitute the raisins in some hot water.

Chop up your beet greens, about two to three cups (as always, feel free to substitute in any dark green, such as spinach, kale, or chard). Heat some oil in a pan and toss in the greens, followed by a few cloves of chopped garlic. If you hit the garlic in the pan first, it will probably burn - the greens create a good buffer. Sprinkle to taste with salt and pepper. After just a minute or two, your greens will have wilted a lot and you can toss in a handful of almonds (or any nut you like). Give a toss and let the nuts toast in the pan for another minute or two.

I had a few slices of bacon on hand that I precooked, chopped, and threw in for a little more depth of flavor in the dish. Obviously, to keep it totally veg, you could skip this and the results would still be really good. Next add in the drained raisins. Lastly, add in the cooked pasta and toss it around until fully coated with the greens mix and a bit of oil (feel free to add a tablespoon more if you feel like it needs it - I did). Cook a minute or so, until fully heated through.

And... you're done! Easy, right? Plate the pasta and top with a little parmesan, if you like. Eat up and feel good about having used something that could have become part of your food waste. Instead, you'll have made it into a great, healthy meal. What more could you want?