Our first night home after a week in Florida with the fam and we had no food in the house. Nada. Not only that but we came home to an oven on the fritz, and next TUESDAY is the first day they can come and repair it! Basically, we’ll be out of an oven for a week, so it’s going to be saute city in my house for a while.

But for tonight, we had CSA veggies and whatever was in the freezer to work with. Out came a bag of ravioli, and onto the cutting board went the fresh goods. We sliced up the beets really thin and added it to a sauce pan with olive oil and crushed garlic, salt and pepper. A splash of red wine was added and it cooked down for about 10 minutes. Next, we added a few chopped fresh Roma tomatoes and sliced carrots, the juice and zest from half a lemon, red chili flakes and a bit of chopped rosemary. It cooked for another 10 minutes and then we pureed it, adding a little pasta water to thin out.

While the raviolis were cooking I chopped up a simple salad of the Boston lettuce, carrots, and heirloom tomatoes. The dressing was a combo of olive oil, fresh chopped thyme, lemon juice, a little Dijon mustard, salt and pepper.

The raviolis were done and we topped them with fresh grated Parmesan and some thinly sliced white carrots. The sauce was sweet and complex with just the right hit of acidity, and the crunch and sweetness of the carrots on top went great with the creaminess of the raviolis.

Now, I have a bone to pick with you guys. As we were leaving the CSA I saw nothing but cabbage in the swap box. People, really? Do you even know how easy it is to cook with cabbage? Cole slaw… braised with apples and onions… I could go on and on! But today I followed a new recipe and made a bright and flavorful soup for lunches this week. Check out my blog mangiavita.com for the full report. Until next week, Brooklyn’s Belly signs out…

Brooklyn’s Belly, a column about the adventures of a foodie in Dumbo Brooklyn is written by Nicole Cummo Tereza of Mangia Vita. Nicole, a graphic designer, food lover, and food blogger, is a Dumbo resident.