Busy Redhead Seeks Perfection

What a week. I've been busy. Between my full-time job, my babysitting jobs (currently babysitting regularly for 5 families!) and marathon training, I have very little free time. And that is usually spent reminding Jakers and Mabel that I still love them and haven't abandoned them entirely....oh and maintaining friendships!

Anyhow, I've decided that I need to find another activity to occupy my 6 minutes of free time each week. Enter: Match.com. I've been a single lady for a long time now. And I haven't done a lot of dating, because I have set my standards really high. Granted, boys have not been beating down my door, exactly...but I also think that I don't really put myself "out there". So this is a good way to meet people, get out and about and explore some of DC's hot spots. I joined a couple of weeks ago, and have been out on a handful of dates. So far, so good. It's definitely fun....just really hard to squeeze it into my schedule. A sister's gotta prioritize.

But, as I keep pointing out to friends and family, I'm really quite content being single, so I'm not about to lower my (very high) standards. If the "perfect" man doesn't come along, I'll just remain a single parent to the greatest cat and dog ever. :)

There's really no natural way to transition from dating to pasta, so let's just do this.
I made some FANTASTIC pasta tonight. The cupboard/fridge is getting bare - due to my low funds, because I had to drop $600 on car repairs this week. (Mom wants me to meet a nice Christian mechanic.) So I've gotta work with what I have on hand. I came across this recipe and thought it sounded promising. (Yes, I do usually have canned artichoke hearts on hand. Ha!) I actually didn't expect it to be THIS good. But it was a delicious dinner and will make for an equally delicious lunch tomorrow!

Creamy Artichoke Penne

• 1/4 cup margarine
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (I used 1 1/2 c boiling water and dissolved a vegetable bullion cube in it)
  
• 1/2 cup soy milk (I used almond milk)
  
• juice from one lemon or 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 can artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  
• ~16 oz penne pasta (or whatever you have on hand)
  

Get pasta cooking in large pot.
While the pasta is cooking, simmer the margarine, flour and and veg broth in a large saucepan until it thickens, forming a roux. Continue stirring well with a whisk, so it doesn't clump. If the mixture does not thicken, turn up the heat and add more flour.
Add remaining ingredients (except for pasta) turn heat to low, and simmer for about 5 minutes, allowing flavors to blend.

Drain pasta when done cooking, toss with sauce and enjoy!