my "own" pasta sauce

So I've been slightly cooking for myself for a little while now. As a vegetarian, a lot of my meals or protein elements come from the freezer, so I just have to heat them up in the microwave - bing, bang, boom. 


Living in a dorm does make cooking harder, but this past year I lived in an apartment-style dorm. Technically, that made cooking easier, but nothing compares to the access of my pantry at home. Not that it's extensive, but it at least has more to it than a college pantry.


I'm pretty sure carbohydrates are really what my body needs, not protein or certain vitamins. I can eat crackers anytime of day and I love getting loaves of bread from the store to snack on during the week. So, as a carb lover, I think it's fitting that I start off this blog with a pasta post. I was inspired to start blogging once things were already cooking, so bear with the photos.




I chopped some fresh garlic and started heating that over low heat in a pan with a capful of extra virgin olive oil. I let that heat up for a while to make sure the garlic got slightly browned; it's important to keep it on low heat during this part, because garlic can burn easily.

Tools of the trade.

To that pan I added a can of diced tomatoes, juices and all. I added a couple shakes of what's called "Italian Seasoning", some parsley and a couple cranks of a pepper seasoning grinder.

This is after a few minutes on low/medium heat.

Once that sauce was on its way, I got some water boiling and added a heavy pinch of kosher salt. It's very important to salt the water once it's boiling, otherwise the pasta will taste bland. Remember to stir your pasta occasionally; if you don't, it'll stick.

This is what boiling water looks like from the top.

Then, it's just a waiting game. It'll take around 10 minutes, maybe a little less, to get your pasta cooked through. Keep stirring the sauce to make sure it is heating evenly; the sauce should never boil, just simmer.

When the pasta's done cooking, drain the water/noodles through a colander into the sink. I used tiny shells, but the sauce is chunky enough that it'll go with pretty much any noodle you want.

Like so.

I've had a bowl waiting while everything got delicious.

Spoiler alert.

Combine the sauce and pasta in a bowl, top with however much cheese you want. Protect from any kitchen help.

Yum!

Don't worry, he was a good assistant.

Enjoy! I had enough leftover for lunch tomorrow, some might not. I also have a great loaf of Publix's "Three Cheese" bread, but I had some with my lunch. Figured I shouldn't have too much of a good thing.