Do it again!



I'm the kind of person, if I eat something, and I like it -- and I really like it -- I can eat it over and over and over again, and not get tired. Peanut Butter & Jelly for example. I've been downing that since I was 2 years old. And although the peanut butter has changed over the years (I am now hooked on the Peanut Butter & Company's "smooth operator,") the basic craving does not. If I don't have it I miss it. If I enter a kitchen and can't find the peanut butter jar, well, it makes me feel just that little bit less comfortable. So yes, I could eat peanut butter in some form every single day. No problem. The same goes for the easiest and most uncomplicated dish you can possibly have, spaghetti, fresh mozzarella, fresh garlic, fresh basil, olive oil, freshly ground pepper ... and salt. This dish I could eat every single night of the week and still look forward to having it the next night.

So. the ingredients as above:

Spaghetti
Tomatoes -- fresh
Fresh Mozzarella
Fresh basil
Garlic
Freshly ground pepper
Salt

The portions you decide based on how many you are going to be. If it's just me I usually do one fair sized tomato, one mid-sized ball of mozzarella, some fresh basil (which I grow in the summer, and go without in the winter), a glove of garlic...

Boil the water. Add some salt after the water has boiled (I know I've read somewhere that salty water takes longer to boil). Chuck in the spaghetti and cook (usually about 10 minutes). Strain. Pour some Olive Oil over the spaghetti and then add the tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil and garlic, the tomatoes, cut in to quarters, the mozzarella in to chunks, the garlic minced, and the basil ripped apart, (I can't remember who told me never to use a knife to chop basil because a lot of the flavor gets lost on the knife, but whoever it was, it stuck, and I don't use a knife on the basil). Toss around in the spaghetti, put on to a plate, and serve immediately. Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.

So easy, so delicious, very quick. (another three-fer :) ).


PS. a note about the mozzarella. Sometimes it is hard to find fresh Mozzarella, and honestly I wouldn't bother with it if it's not fresh. In this case, I would substitute cheddar cheese. The other thing is that when buying Mozzarella, I, myself, don't buy mozzarella that has been wrapped in plastic unless I know for sure it's fresh fresh. I'll buy it if it's in a plastic container of water (and actually, Wholefoods sells it here in NYC -- what they call "Ovaline Mozzarella" -- at pretty decent value).
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