IvyEatsEverything

I returned to Los Angeles from Greenwich Village NY and THE CUPBOARD was still staring me down. No prob. In LA we're experiencing "June gloom" which I love and makes me want to snuggle, curl up and be warm. I opened the cupboard and was confronted with a 24 oz can of whole tomatoes, a box of whole grain penne pasta and I immediately thought of a cozy night in front of the TV with Hudson and seconds or third helpings that are guilt free because they contain fresh vegetables. See? Virtuous. Follow my logic Hudson had gone to the neighborhood farmer's market and gotten ripe tomatoes, fresh garlic (so fresh the skin hasn't become paper), onion, and a lovely eggplant. OMG! This is cupboard recipe is going to be SO GOOD! EGGPLANT COMFORTER 24 OZ CAN WHOLE TOMATOES with juice 1 lb WHOLE WHEAT PENNE PASTA, cooked 3 min before al dente 1 head of garlic, chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 med eggplant, cubed 6 small fresh tomatoes, blended 1 TBSP olive oil 5 oz Regiano Parmiggi

Tonight I had like 8 minutes to jump into the challenge to feed Hudson and his staff working long hours in our home office. I squared my shoulders, put my arms straight up overhead, bent my knees slightly and dove head first into The Cupboard. LA is enjoying June Gloom now that it's June 1st, we call all cool days that. I figured that something hearty would be appreciated. I sprang out of the 5 walls of the cupboard with a jar of Ralph's Pizza Sauce (grabbed that for pizza night months ago but Hudson turned his nose up at it), a can of white Kidney beans and a small can of corn, red pepper and jalepeno. Why not transform the pizza sauce with chili spices? Why not indeed. I can make chili with cut-rate jarred pizza sauce and Hudson won't know better. I'll make Ralph's brand name sound Mexican and everyone will salute me for the great ''South of the Border" meal. Ralphael's Pizza Chili 11 oz can Corn, Red Pepper, Jalepeno 14 oz jar Ralph's Piz