Channeling Erza Klein

I'm new to healthcare activism, new to traveling in a bus/RV, and new to blogging. In the last 18 months, I've been to a half dozen healthcare conferences. Blogging is a big topic at these meetings. In the world of healthcare bloggers, Ezra Klein is BIG.

Ezra blogs for the American Prospect. He's a bright, 20 something guy, wise beyond his years, who gained his name in healthcare and has expanded into a variety of topics. Ezra's a frequent headliner at healthcare meetings.

Here's Ezra at a Kaiser Healthcare Blogosphere panel I attended in Washington, DC. He's the cute one second from right.

The female moderator ever-so-fondly mentioned Erza's recipe for Grilled Bread and Tomato Salad included in one of his blog posts. My first thought was "Every young woman in this room wants this guy's phone number." My second thought was "I need to do a Road Recipe on my Bandwagon Blog."

There was one problem with this theft of story idea. What recipe to feature? Dinner concoctions during the National Bandwagon Tour have been pretty basic. Week One: Baked Potatoes. Week Two: Tuna Salad Sandwiches. Week Three: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. Not much interesting there.

During Week Four, I decided to quit being so lazy and come up with an original recipe suitable for camping, dorm life, or singles (the criteria being 5 main ingredients, 1 pot and 1 knife). Besides, I need to expand my topics beyond the sad state of healthcare, so people will want to read my Blog.

So here goes. This is an original recipe that takes about 30 minutes on a one-burner camp stove.

Tortellini with Sausage & Peppers
Ingredients:
1 sweet onion, sliced lengthwise
1 red bell pepper, sliced lengthwise
minced garlic, to taste (I used 8 cloves)
1 package of link sausage (I used pre-cooked, spicy chicken), cut into 1/3" pcs.
8 oz package cheese tortellini
extra virgin olive oil (for saute)
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:Saute onions in a tablespoon or two of olive oil until carmelized and set aside. Saute bell pepper until tender, adding garlic in the last few minutes, and set aside. Saute sausage until browned and set aside. Cook tortellinis per package instructions. Mix all ingredients in the same pan. Season to taste. Enjoy!

I noticed that Ezra didn't include a photo of his completed salad. I haven't posted the photo of my dish either because it looked like barf. But let me assure you, this is delicious. It keeps well, and you can enjoy it for breakfast, lunch or dinner.