Summer Pasta!

Here's a simple pasta recipe that I've been making for years. It's a riff off a basic Pasta Puttanesca recipe, sans olives and anchovy paste, sub in mushrooms and bell peppers. The recipe is "eyeballed" for the most part - have fun with it! It makes enough for four with some hefty leftovers for the next day's lunch.

2 cloves chopped garlic
1 medium red onion, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
28 oz can chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup (or so) capers
a couple pinches red pepper flakes
Parmesean cheese, freshly grated
two "handfulls" of dry spaghetti noodles
olive oil for sauteing

Prep all veggies. Start water for boiling pasta. In a large pan heat olive oil on medium heat. Saute onions for a couple of minutes. Add garlic and peppers. Saute a few minutes more. Add mushrooms and saute until everything is tender, but not mushy. Toss in the capers and red pepper flakes. Set aside until pasta is done. Cook pasta. After you drain the pasta put it back into the pot. Add the canned tomatoes (juice and all) and cooked veggies. Heat through over low heat. Put in your favorite large serving bowl. Garnish with Parmesean cheese and little parsleys, if you like. Serve with a salad and crusty bread with an olive oil/balsamic vinegar dip.

Salad fav - I loves me some wild greens, sliced almonds, dried cranberries, avacado chunks, grape tomatoes and blue cheese, if I have it. If not, Parmesean is good too. A little Annie's or Trader Joes Raspberry Vinegarette tops it off nicely!

Enjoy!