From The Garden To The Kitchen Table

As my one of my previous blog entries have mentioned, I had a few ripe, fresh tomatoes. Plus I have plenty of fresh basil & parsley in my garden, and it is HOT in Tennessee. I love tossing tomatoes and fresh herbs with some garlic and olive oil for a light dinner, Jamie is not too fond of those dinners...he likes his pasta full of thick sauce! But he loved this dish (maybe because he was hungry later for dessert...) but he ate it, and I loved it. I have made a million variations of this dish, and I was surprised to realize I haven't blogged it yet!

Garden Fresh Tomato & Herb Pasta

1/2-3/4 lb whole wheat rotini pasta
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus a little to toss on pasta
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
a few sprigs of fresh basil and parsley, coarsely chopped
roughly 4 cups of tomatoes, chopped
1/4-1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup of Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Cook pasta according to directions, drain, and toss with just a touch of olive oil.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet and add the olive oil. Add the onion, and put the garlic on top. Saute for 2 minutes add the mushrooms, cook for another 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt & pepper and red pepper flakes and saute for another couple of minutes. Add in pasta, fresh herbs, red wine vinegar and cheese, toss and remove from heat.

Sprinkle on some more cheese if desired (of course I did!)