Garlic and Green Pasta

As you will notice, I use a lot of olive oil in my cooking (versus using canola and vegetable oil). I use a lot of olive oil because it is so good for you, as it has many health benefits. For starters, olive oil helps keep bad cholestorol levels down; now I know as vegetarians this isn't usually such a big risk for us, as we don't consume meat products, but other things in the vegetarian diet can contribute to cholosterol levels, such as cheese, creams and saturated sweets (not to mention genetics can play a big role in the accumulation of cholestorol). Other benefits of olive oil include high levels of antioxidants, better digestion, added protection from heart disease and colon cancer, reduces blood pressure and assists with maintaining a healthy weight.

Another ingredient that I use very often is garlic, a very VERY healthy ingredient indeed! The major benefit of garlic is it's an immune booster, something that's especially great for these winter months. Garlic also helps with controlling cholestorol, has a good amount of antioxidents and (little known fact) garlic has been shown in some studies to assist with acne problems.

Speaking of the two ingredients above and the fact that I have a cold, my fiancee and I made a very olive oil and garlic rich pasta meal tonight. It was DELICIOUS and the recipe is as follows. Enjoy!

Garlic and Green Pasta

Ingredients

Pasta (we used linguinie, but spaghetti and angel hair also work)
olive oil
3/4 of a whole garlic, skinned and finely chopped
6 brussel sprouts, cut in fours
2 handfuls of broccolli, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
optional: cheddar cheese to top it off

Preperation

1. Boil pasta in salt water
2. Steam veggies till brussel sprouts are tender and can be poked with a fork
3. Drain pasta and put back into sauce pan
4. Saturate pasta with olive oil (use your intuition to know how much you want, little or a lot works)
5. Add veggies and garlic to pasta. Mix well.
6. Serve hot on plate. Use salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with cheese if desired.

For the alcohol legal, I suggest a Pinot Noir to serve with this dish.