pasta 3 ways. so simple, so good

Last night, Mr. Butter had to work late, so I took the opportunity to make some pasta and play with ingredients.  Below is a little collage of my efforts.  By the time the hubs got home, I had consumed more pasta than I care to admit, but I did manage to restore the kitchen to a somewhat less chaotic state.
We don't eat a lot of pasta in our house, and I don't really care for the heavier dishes with red sauce and cheese.  I like the delicate taste of good pasta, and with too much sauce and gooey cheese, it can become quite soupy.  Every once in a while, in the dead of winter, I crave manicotti, stuffed with ricotta cheese,and baked in a tangy red sauce - SO RICH. But, once the temperatures begin to creep above 32 degrees,  I prefer something a bit lighter.

italian pasta, capers in sicilian sea salt, anchovies, lemon infused olive oil

capers packed in salt are so much better than the ones in vinegar

sardines have more flavor, with less mercury, than tuna

The secret to making good food, is to use quality ingredients.

pasta, boiling away in salted water

al dente

beech mushrooms

lightly roasted in a cast iron skillet

tossed with olive oil, herbes de provence, and fresh cracked pepper

sardines, mmmmmmm

there is no way to make this look pretty, but the TASTE!

rinse the capers

tossed with lemon infused olive oil

or, use anchovies instead of sardines

again, with capers, and some fresh pepper

You could add fresh Parmesan, or tomatoes, or white cannellini beans....some garlic sauteed in butter would also be a lovely addition to any of these.  I promise you,  this is so easy, and you'll almost believe you're having lunch on the Italian coast.