As you can see, I have a lot of peppers to use. The tomatoes need to start catching up! They are finally starting to do just that.

Tonight’s dinner was delicious. Not just because I made it, but it is satisfying to also cook with some homegrown ingredients. To make a sauce I used my homegrown orange sweet pepper and tomato, and also added my homegrown basil! This went in a pot with a little bit of different olive oils – one plain, one infused with tomato, and the other infused with basil. With that was olives, sun-dried tomatoes, pepperoncini, oregano and a lot of garlic. This was heated together while the pasta cooked.

When the gemelli pasta was done al dente I spooned it straight out of the water and in with the sauce to finish. I added a little “liquid gold” – pasta water – to thicken it up. Plated it up with a sprinkle of Parmagiano/Romano cheese , a couple of garlic knots and a glass of red. Delicious & healthy.

I got four servings out of this so in the fridge with one and two in the freezer. I have been making this type of sauce for a while now just for something a bit lighter and different than the usual tomato-based sauce.

Even though I like this sauce, I do like a good tomato-based sauce as well. Last week I had some pasta with sauce from another St. Louis restaurant on The Hill called Zia’s. It was very good and tasted like some I had in Europe. It had that garlic sweetness that is so delicious. I just love local craft foods & drinks and it’s nice to able to find these foods in stores or even online. Plus it is nice to support the small businesses.

That’s it for this food update!