Roasted Tomato Pasta

By Natalie

I'm shopping in Central Market on Monday. I give Micah a ring.

Me: Can you make me some mozzarella this week?  I need it by Wednesday.
Micah: Sure.
Me: Are you sure? Because I can buy the mozzarella right now for $3.80.
Micah: I'm sure.

Well, guess what? Wednesday comes and there is no mozzarella to be found. I will cut him some slack because he has been telling all his friends face to face our news on Monday and Tuesday night.

Since we didn't have any fresh mozzarella balls. I used shredded instead. I found the Penne with Roasted Tomatoes and Mozzarella recipe from Foodie Bride. Because of my brain not working and my lack of ingredients I had to modify this recipe. It's really easy and comes together in about 25 minutes.

Roasted Tomato Pasta

• Pint of cherry tomatoes
• olive oil
• 1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 lb of pasta, I used rotini
•  1/4 cup starchy water
• shredded mozzarella

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Slice tomatoes in half and place in a small baking dish. Sprinkle with olive oil and fresh basil. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes.
3. Bring a water to boil and add pasta. Cook pasta to desired doneness, reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water. Then strain pasta.
4. Add a little bit of pasta water to the pasta. This will prevent sticky pasta.
5. Smash tomatoes up a bit, then poor entire contents of baking dish on top of the pasta. Add a bit more starchy water if necessary.
6. Garnish with shredded mozzarella.

This recipe can also be transformed by pouring the roasted tomatoes over navy beans!

Roasted Asparagus and Tomato Pasta

By Natalie

This pasta dish is so versatile and easy. Micah went back for seconds. I ate the rest right out of the pot. You can add any type of veggies that you want to roast. Micah doesn't particularly enjoy asparagus. Next time I might add broccoli. I couldn't find any argula like the original recipe called for and I didn't have any dried herbes de Provence. Tony Chachere's is my go to spice.

Roasted Asparagus and Tomato Penne with Goat Cheese
Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
1/2 lb of pasta
12 asparagus spears (or however many meet your fancy)
24 grape tomatoes or 12 cherry tomatoes
s & p
2 tbsp of lemon juice (1 lemon)
1 tsp of Tony Chachere's
1 tbsp of Dijon mustard
1  1/2 tsp of honey
EVOO
1/2 c of crumbled feta

1.  Set oven to 400.
2.  Heat a large pot of boiling water, and add pasta. Once pasta comes to a boil, salt to taste. Cook pasta, and drain. Set aside.
3. While pasta is cooking, put asparagus and tomatoes on a shallow baking dish.  Sprinkle cracked pepper and sea salt over veggies. Then drizzle oil.  Toss to coat. Cook asparagus for 6 minutes, then set aside. Continue cooking tomatoes for 4 more minutes. Set all veggies aside and let them cool for 10 minutes. Then slice to bite sized pieces.
4. In a small bowl mix the lemon juice through honey ingredients with a whisk. Then slowly add 2 tbsps of EVOO.
5. Combine the veggies, pasta, and sauce in a bowl. Then add the feta.