"Growing your own food is like printing your own money"

Although spring has been elusive here in Wisconsin (it's mid-April and 37 degrees out with snow in the forecast), there are some signs of hope - the farmers market has finally opened! I spontaneously bought some seedlings from a farmer to plant outside in my little earth box (earth boxes by the way are awesome transportable garden beds good for people who live in apartments or have limited space). Here they are!

two types of lettuce, plus two Swiss chard

I've been meaning to get back into planting my own food for a year now, but all I've had the time and energy to do was sprout my own lentils. But now that spring is here, I can't wait to plant stuff. I was partially motivated by this TED Talk, by Ron Finley, who helps plant gardens in South Central LA. He says that where he lives (and I would argue lots of places in the U.S.), "drive thrus are killing more people than drive bys," so planting gardens is his effort towards combating obesity and food insecurity. So inspirational. My favorite quote is, of course, "Growing your own food is like printing your own money."

Creamy Avocado Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes

Continuing on my avocado kick, I finally decided to try one of the many avocado-infused recipes I've pinned on Pinterest. This one adapted from Flourishing Foodie turned out to be delicious. I added garbanzo beans for a little protein, and used one of those hand blenders to mash up the avocados and garlic. The sauce is deliciously creamy but also good for you...Enjoy!

Creamy Avocado Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes

• 6 large tomatoes, sliced into quarters
• 4 T olive oil
• 16 oz pasta, any type [I used spirals]
• 3 ripe avocados
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 t salt
• 2 T lemon juice
• black pepper to taste
• 1 can garbanzo beans

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place sliced tomatoes on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 50 minutes. Cook the pasta until al dente, strain, and pour into a large bowl.

Use a hand blender or food processor to combine the avocados, garlic cloves, salt, and lemon juice. Stir the sauce into the pasta, then add the tomatoes, beans, and pepper to taste. That's it!