This is not a post about craving alcohol, thankfully I’ve been doing that less and less lately. No, this is a post about food cravings. The kind that come out of the blue and that you must feed or they will haunt you till you do. You may already know the ‘technique’ I came up with to quell this craving, I can hardly call it a ‘recipe’, but in case you don’t here it is.

Lunchtime yesterday I craved pasta, the way I used to before menopause when a sudden desire for buttered spaghetti with lots of black pepper and shredded parmesan was a sure sign that I needed to take 2 Advil and check my calendar to see what the next day held. Those days are long gone so this craving caught me by surprise. Fortunately, a bit of leftover spaghetti from dinner a few nights ago was just the foundation I needed for a quick summer lunch.

In addition to a big plate of pasta, I wanted fresh summer flavors, the kind I could not get from my usual method of reheating pasta in a bit of water in the microwave then draining and adding butter and cheese. No that plate of pasta did not sound appetizing at all. I wanted summer in a dish on a bed of delicately seasoned pasta, so I set to work. I truly have no idea where the inspiration came from, maybe it was buried deep in my brain from reading so many cookbooks, maybe I saw it on a cooking show, who knows. All I know is it worked and tasted great!

Summer Sunset Pasta

Ingredients –
1 serving cooked pasta (spaghetti works well but any will suffice)
2 T butter
1 tsp minced garlic
A pile of cherry tomatoes cut in half (I used about 1/4 cup)
Fresh basil chopped (I used about 1 tsp)
1T shredded parmesan (or more – can you ever have enough cheese?)
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a sauté pan melt the butter over medium heat, once bubbly add the minced garlic and let sizzle and brown, stirring frequently, watching carefully it does not burn.

After a couple minutes add the cut tomatoes. Stir and after a 1 or two more minutes, when the tomatoes start to break down, add the cooked pasta. Here it is best to use tongs to turn and blend the butter, garlic and tomatoes with the long ribbons of spaghetti. The pale pasta will turn the glorious rosy golden color of a summer sunset from the butter now infused with garlic and tomato essence.

Once warmed through, after two minutes or so, plate and top with fresh basil, cheese, salt and pepper. A tall cold glass of iced tea with fresh lemon was the perfect accompaniment.

ENJOY!