Summer pasta

Every time I wander into the garden, I am pleasantly surprised by all the progress. Whether it is the small fruit of the melon starting to take shape, or the weight of the tomatoes pulling the vines to the ground, I love taking it all in.

Today, I plucked another bushful of beans into my basket, twisted off some zucchini, squash and cucumber and then dug up a few onions.

In the past, root vegetables like onions have not done well in my garden, or so I thought. And then I realized that I did it wrong in the past. The key is to make sure you have a nice mound of soil for the onions, potatoes, or carrots to grow into. Then, as they grow, you want to keep pushing up the soil around the vegetable. The tops usually start to die off when they're ready, but you can always just dig carefully around the vegetable before you pull it up to ensure that it is ready.

Once I had all my veggies, the eternal question arised: What's for dinner? I decided to make a quick pasta dish that has tons of flavor and is pretty good for you, too.

Summer pasta
1 lb pasta
enough olive oil to coat a large saute pan
1 small onion, diced
5 garlic cloves
1 c. diced zucchini
1 c. diced squash
a few hot cherry peppers, to taste
a few roasted red peppers
handful of fresh herbs (oregano, thyme, basil)
1 tbsp butter
Grated cheese

While the pasta cooks, heat olive oil in pan. Add onions and garlic then squash, zucchini, cherry peppers, and red peppers. Cook until desired tenderness.

Before you drain the pasta, add about a cup of the pasta water to the pan. Add butter, pasta, herbs and grated cheese. Toss and serve.