Broccoli Stuff

When I was in my early 20's, I answered an ad in the Reader to rent a room in Hillcrest, in San Diego. I moved in with two guys - Paul, who was a hipster computer geek, and Jesus, who was totally the reason for the season. (Any season, really). The place was this amazing old Victorian that was split into two flats - one upstairs, one down - and the three of us lived downstairs. We were always fairly broke, but I was always good for some sort of food, and always tried to make things delicious but cheap. One of the most requested meals that came out of that time was a combination of broccoli, pasta, and parmesan cheese that eventually became known simply as Broccoli Stuff.

• 2-3 heads of broccoli
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 1 pound bite-sized pasta
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• Ground pepper to taste
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

First, get a few heads of Broccoli, and break them into bite sized pieces. Fill a large pan 3/4 full of water, and bring to a boil. Add a few splashes of salt, then toss in the broccoli florets. Cook for just a few minutes, long enough for the florets to green up, and the water to turn a light chartreuse. Scoop out the florets, and add the pasta - I like penne, but anything bite-sized will work. Cook the pasta until it's al dente. In a large skillet, drizzle in the olive oil, and some minced garlic - I usually go for about 3-4 cloves - and let it start to get golden, then add in the cooked broccoli florets. Grind some pepper over the broccoli, and then add in the cooked pasta. Next, add a few pats of butter to the sides of the mixture, letting it melt down into it... mmm, butter...  Toss the mixture around to get everything well-mixed. Turn off the heat, and sprinkle a good 1/4 to 1/2 cup of parmesan over the pan, let it melt a bit, then stir it in.

Serves 4 as main dish, more for side dish.