"DIY" Pasta(s) Plus with a Touch of Olive Oil

QUICKIE PASTA(S) PLUS WITH OLIVE OIL

By Cal Orey

"England and the English, as a rule they will refuse even to sample a foreign dish, they regard such things as garlic and olive oil with disgust, life is

unliveable to them unless they have tea and puddings."
-- George Orwell

In my dreams I'm in the kitchen making homemade Italian pastas with a pasta machine... It doesn't stop there. I also am creating European sauce(s) from scratch with all fresh ingredients that I grew from my vegetable garden.
But the truth is, in real life I will not be cooking in a hot and steamy kitchen with lingering aromas of garlic, onion, and herbs, I will be walking and bathing the dogs, swimming, and cleaning house. (I must treat the leather loveseat and couch. Blame the surface scratches on the pooches.) Oh yeah, and marketing my books--The Healing Powers of Olive Oil and The Healing Powers of Vinegar is on my Must-Do List, too. Yes, I am The Writing Gourmet--the one who loves fine food but hates to cook.
So, after my weekend chocolatefest (I died and went to chocolate heaven with Donnelly Chocolates http://www.donnellychocolates.com/ ) I vow to eat light and healthy for the next few days and hold the fuss and muss in the kitchen. This morning I'm craving fresh fish (but no, I'm not Palin; no fishing at the Lake today). Tonight it will be a trio of pastas and two sauces on the table. I confess. Both sauces are store bought but they are full of all-natural ingredients including olive oil. That's right. Olive oil is part of the real deal and that makes me smile, sort of.
Plus, I'm pairing both pesto and tomato sauces with whole grain pastas. I'm going to boil up two or three kinds for the fun of it. (FYI: Check out this link on pasta. It's a Basic 101 crash course on pasta.) And to top it all off all will be topped with all natural fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Yeah, I will boil and grate but I won't chop or saute. Not today.
BTW: I am a Libra, one of those peace-loving, easygoing (sometimes lazy to a fault) sun signs. I once read that if you give a Libran child too many foods at once they will throw them on the floor. (We don't like to be forced to make a decision.) But tonight I want to have a few choices with choice pasta--not homemade but quickie do it yourself all natural stuff--it's the next best thing in the 21st century.