Tomato Artichoke Pasta

Things around here are still kind of crazy, but they seem to have reached a more manageable level of crazy. Does that even make sense?

I guess, once reach a certain point, you just kind of get used to it. You learn to give in to it a little more and stop fighting so hard. Fighting it is pretty useless since the stuff is going to happen whether you fight or not, might as well take it easy and not get to bent out of shape about it.

For now, The Sad House is gone. It does, however, seem to be sticky, so that could change at any moment. Some day, I will explain that further, but for now, that is all I can offer.

In the meantime, I will be cooking again. It is time for me to find comfort where comfort has always been.

We are planning a trip, a Smith Family trip, which should give us tons of new material. If you would like to see what happens when the Smith Family takes it one the road, go here to be entertained by our tale of woe. Six months later, it is hilarious, even to us.

Turns out we like the notion of travel much more than the reality. The Smith Family does not travel well, so you have that to look forward to this summer!

This is a recipe that was discovered by Grammy in Parade Magazine (you know the insert in your Sunday paper, if you are still rocking old school, like we are and get a Sunday paper) of all places.

Very zesty and simple. A nice alternative to regular red sauce. Also, if you pair it with a nice salad and you use fortified pasta, you have a complete meal.




12 oz. can oil-marinated artichoke hearts (I used artichokes in water and then used olive oil for the sauce)
1 cup chopped onions
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
2 28-oz. cans plum tomatoes, crushed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Cooked pasta (pick a shape that you like, I used penne) 12 oz. box

Drain the artichokes, reserving the oil, and halve them lengthwise.

Place 3 tablespoons of the artichoke oil marinade in a heavy pot. NOTE: I used water-packed artichoke hearts. We have an aversion to things packed in oil around here. It is messy, kind of icky and quite frankly, not terribly healthy. Okay, mostly because it is kind of icky and that oil is nearly impossible to rinse out of the sink.

Add the onions, and stir over low heat for 10 minutes, adding the garlic during the last 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered for 45 minutes.

Add the reserved artichoke hearts with the remaining oil marinade and stir while simmering for 20 minutes. Stir in the parsley and adjust the seasonings. Serve in shallow bowl over cooked pasta.