I don’t know what’s getting you through these tough times. I’m finding silver linings in the slowing down, the taking in, the reflection of ourselves in each other. More time talking with family, cuddling with my kitten, and rediscovering the joy of home cooking.

You might think that as a professional chef, I cooked a lot of home meals before this point in time. But alas, when your job is cooking for a living, the irony is, it’s the last thing you want to do at the end of a long day. Now that we’re in this unprecedented time though, we’re all honing our cooking skills, and I say, seize the moment! Go bravely into that well-lit kitchen and fear not the unknown!

For many of us right now, cooking a fancy meal is the furthest thing from our minds. Instead, we’re stocking our pantries with the ingredients for a comforting meal with our old staples: beans, pasta, even canned vegetables. I can hear my mother’s voice nudging me, a little mockingly, but with a sweet twinkle in her eyes: “See, canned food, not so bad after all, my little chef!”

With this in mind, I bring you an all-pantry pasta recipe that I hope warms your heart and fills your belly. But before we get down to business , allow me to steal a page out of one of my favorite columnist’s playbook (Sam Sifton, New York Times, who always includes a link to a song or other culturally interesting things in his articles) and quote a few stanzas from The Beatles song “Let It Be:”

And when the broken-hearted people
Living in the world agree,
There will an answer, let it be.
For though they may be parted there is
Still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be, Yeah
There will be an answer, let it be

And when the night is cloudy,
There is still a light that shines on me,
Shine until tomorrow, let it be…

I hope the light is shining on you, dear friends. I’ll see you in the aisles, six feet way, but close in heart and spirit.

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Drain olives separately, and reserve half a can each of black and green olives. Drain artichokes and chickpeas in the same strainer, allowing the oil from the artichokes to coat the chickpeas.
3. Place the artichokes and chickpeas on a foil-lined pan. Roast for 10-15 minutes until the artichokes are slightly browned and the chickpeas lightly crisped.
4. Using 4 tablespoons of the olive oil, gently cook the chopped garlic until it browns slightly. Remove the garlic from the pan, reserving the oil.
5. While the artichokes and chickpeas are roasting, bring a large pot of water with 1 tbs. salt in it to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Meanwhile, remove the chickpeas and pasta from the oven.
6. Drain the pasta and place it in a large bowl. Add all remaining ingredients to the pasta, including the reserved garlic oil. Toss and serve. Sprinkle generously with nutritional yeast.