It's a Rainy Night in Pennsetucky.......

Arrrgghh !  What to make for supper? I cook all week long at work and I have fun doing it most of the time so why is it soooo hard to make a meal at home?  Because it's just for 2! My Sweetie does not like leftovers, or the big pot of soup that lasts all week (I am fine with that, I can eat the same thing every day no problem) I took a look in my pantry, which is usually pretty well stocked with basic staples, but happens to be on the slim side at the moment. We need something hearty, not too heavy as I have to hit the rack soon, and Fast. Here is what I came up with.

                                      Miracle From the Depths

Ok so, put a pot of water on to boil.

Chop an onion and Saute in a splash of olive oil

• Open a jar of artichoke hearts.

• Find the open green olives in the refrigerator...grab the capers while you are at it, and might as well use the kalamata olives too.

• Dump your various and sundry finds into the pan with the onions, and mix up well.

• Throw in a can of  diced  (or whatever...)tomatoes, and that hard rind of Parmesan that's in the bottom of the cheese drawer.

• Grab some pesto (if you are one of those crazy basil growers who makes pesto by the quart just before the frost so the gigantic harvest of basil does not go to waste...)  If there's no pesto, then a sprinkle of some dried herbs* would suffice: oregano, basil, & a touch of thyme.
• Grind some pepper in to taste. Add some chopped garlic (I usually leave mine in big chunks because I am lazy and I like to bite down on a big piece of garlic every now and again)
• Simmer this for a half hour or so

Cook some whole wheat pasta...Bio Naturae is a great brand, made in Italy. (If you grow and can your own  your own tomatoes, you offset your carbon footprint a tiny bit)

Drain your al dente pasta, throw it back in the pot , add the sauce and  hey presto! you have supper!  Add a little salad and you are set.

Now if you live with a carnivore, a little handful of julienne'd pepperoni on top of their bowl of pasta would make him/her very happy. Oh and another thing...take a bite of the cheese rind that has been simmered in your sauce..... oooboy.
*A little note: dried herbs are dicey things. If kept at room temperature in a spice rack out in the light , they lose a lot . Their flavor gets dusty and stale. Now if you can buy them in smaller quantities  and keep them in the door of your freezer, they are just as handy as the spice rack and way tastier. Just a thought.