Cold weather ennui + bonus comfort food recipe

For whatever reason, it's kind of an uphill battle not to feel blah this time of year. I know some people that struggle with SAD, and whatever weirdness I experience seems relatively minor, so I just wait it out. I'll feel kind of down for a few days or a week then I'm back to my jolly self, so I don't take it too seriously.

I find that exercise really helps me be cheery-jolly instead of fat-santa-jolly, which brings me to a positive note! I've weighed in at 131 the past 3 days in a row, which is a whole seven pounds lighter than I was when I started working out in August. I think this week might be a bit of an anomaly since I normally weigh about 134 these days, but seeing the number on the scale go down is helping to reaffirm what I'm generally feeling, which is lighter and leaner. I've spoken before how weight loss was never my goal, but since I'm putting on muscle that means I've lost a not-insignificant amount of body fat which is good for my health, for how my clothes fit and for my self-esteem.

It's a good thing I'm into working out these days, because with the cooler weather comes an increased craving for comfort food. It's really hard to want a grilled chicken salad when it's 40 some odd degrees out. I know it's psychological but it's just the truth. Pasta is more of a sometimes food than a good ol' standby nowadays, but I made something so good the other day I just had to share. Yes I realize the irony of posting a pasta recipe directly after a paragraph about weightloss, but that's just the kinda gal I am!

Jen's Pasta Rustica (I just made that up)

Ingredients:
-Half a box/bag pasta of your choice (I recommend bowtie or penne)
-3 links of Italian sausage (go for the spicy kind!)
-broccoli (or spinach. Or oooh rapini/broccoli rabe if you enjoy the bitterness like I do)
-Cremini mushrooms
-1-2 cloves garlic
-Small jar of marinara (I really enjoy the kroger brand sauce with roasted red peppers)
-Goat cheese


Steps:
-While your pasta is boiling with a little salt, squeeze your italian sausage out of the casing and get it browning in a pan. You're going to want to chop it up into little bits as you go.
-When the sausage is almost cooked, add your sliced mushrooms,chopped broccoli and minced garlic. If you are using spinach, be prepared to use a lot because it will cook down quite a bit. I threw in a splash of red wine at this point too because I had an open bottle, but that's optional.
-When all ingredients in the pan are cooked to your liking (obviously don't undercook your sausage or overcook your broccoli), throw in your red sauce
-This would be a good time to grate in some parmesan cheese and add whatever spices you like
-Once your sauce is heated and your pasta is drained, serve in a bowl and top with a generous dollop of goat cheese. Mix it all together!

I also make a version of this with no red sauce, just using goat cheese which turns into a creamy sauce of its own when mixed with the hot pasta. This is really good with a robust red wine, and makes great leftovers for lunch. The good thing about making pasta at home is that even though it's not a health food by any means, you can have better control of the portions and the salt. Life without pasta is not a life worth living.