Creamy Scavenger Pasta

Bruin Smurf finished moving to her apartment the day of the tea.  We hardly saw each other the year she was here, but it still feels great to have my house back.  Molly has relaxed a lot, and I realized this is the first time we've lived alone since we moved.  I wasn't counting Princess before, but another cat in the house was clearly as stressful for her as a human.

As tidy as she was, there was a lot of cleaning to do.  Her room took a morning and three loads of laundry, a detail cleaning of her bathroom another couple of hours because I have foodservice-level standards of cleanliness, and then I tackled the fridge and pantry.

Her side of the fridge was cleaner than mine, which was a relief.  It's weird to have so much space again.  The pantry needed a little more work because I hadn't done a Passover cleaning this year.  Love washable shelf liners.

Once everything was clean and put back, I realized I have a lot of food on hand and Edison could shut off the power periodically during the windy fire season.  I decided to do a little Pantry Project and see how long I could go with only buying minimal, short-term perishables.  First up was macaroni, a jar of pickled artichokes, and the rest of the dilled cream cheese from the cucumber sandwiches.  I did think this through enough not to mix the artichokes with the cream cheese.  The vinegar would have curdled everything into more of a cottage cheese pasta.

My mom used to do pasta with cream cheese once in a while.  I don't know if it's a Jewish thing, an East Coast thing, or she just liked it.  Adding some tomatoes from the garden and edamame out of the freezer qualified this for Sukkot.

*2 C dry macaroni or other short pasta (half a box)
*1/2 C diced onion
*1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tb olive oil
*2 Roma tomatoes, diced
*1 C edamame, peas, or other legume, defrosted
*1 C marinated artichoke hearts, drained
kosher salt to taste (artichokes will have salt)
*1/2 C whipped cream cheese, any savory flavor
*1/2 C shredded parmesan cheese

1.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  While that's happening, sauté onion in the oil in a skillet.  Once softened, add garlic, diced tomatoes, and peas.  Salt to taste.

2.  Drain pasta, reserving about 1/2 C of cooking liquid, and immediately return to pot.  Stir in cream cheese and the reserved water while hot.  Stir in cooked vegetables.

3.  Plate or place pasta in a serving bowl.  Top with artichokes and shredded parmesan.  Serve hot.

Difficulty rating  π