Not Quite Vegan

You'd think after all these years as a dedicated carnivore after 6 weeks on a vegan diet I'd be dreaming of grilled t-bones and super smokey ribs. But no, day in and day out the thing I missed most -- except of course for cheese which has been my go to snack, lunch, treat for decades -- were anchovies.
A fish I don't even particularly like on it's own, I found myself craving the briny tang and edible umami of anchovies.
Tonight for a subtle break from our daily vegetable diet I cooked up a batch of braised broccoli. First I sautéed 2 minced garlic cloves and 10 anchovies in olive oil along with a tiny sprinkle (James has been staying away from chiles much to my dismay) of red pepper flakes. Then I added in a couple pounds of trimmed blanched broccoli (I used the pasta water to blanch the vegetables) and let it braise almost fully covered for about 15 minutes until soft -- way softer than Americans normally eat vegetables but comforting somehow. Then I piled in the drained 100% whole wheat (in deference to our diet) pasta and a splash of the pasta cooking water and stirred around over low heat to make a quick sauce.
A treat with my tiny fishy favorite flavor friends.