Pasta with Broccoli and Garlic

Trying to put a few more recipes up for my vegetarian friends, but for the carnivores, know that you can easily chop up some left-over grilled or roasted chicken into this recipe and it's every bit as good.

Ingredients:

1 pound of whatever kind of pasta you like. I really like whole wheat pasta for this recipe.
1/4 cup of olive oil
5-6 large cloves of garlic, minced (or if you're in a rush, 2 tablespoons of Tastefully Simple Garlic, Garlic -- see previous post about Items I love). If you're a total garlic fiend, as I am, feel free to add even more!
1 and 1/2 teaspooons salt
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Approximately 3 cups of broccoli florets, chopped up into fairly small pieces (one bag of pre-cut broccoli florets is perfect).

Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil and add your pasta. When it's 3 minutes away from being al dente, add the broccoli florets to the water and cook them along with the pasta.

Right before you drain the pasta, reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta water for use in the sauce.

After you drain the pasta, add the olive oil to the pot, and when it's hot, add the garlic and seasonings. Keep the heat fairly low and don't let the garlic brown. Once the garlic is translucent, add the pasta and broccoli back into the mix, and stir thoroughly, cooking the flavor of the garlic and seasonings into the pasta.

Add at least 1/4 cup of the pasta water to this mixture, as it will cause the sauce to adhere better to the pasta. If it seems to dry, add the remaining 1/4 cup.

Serve with grated cheese and a glass of good Italian wine!!! If it's white, make sure it's very dry and crisp. Any dry red will also be lovely with this.

This meal would easily serve 4 people, and if any of the diners are light eaters, 5 is possible too.
Mangia!