Hurricane Earl Pasta

When Hurricane Earl passed through Atlantic Canada a few weeks ago, we were worried our herbs and veggies would be decimated, so we took down the fabric top to our gazebo

My dog Lulu in the picture here virtually did not move the entire time we worked, expecting us to accommodate her!

and put away our not quite ripened tomatoes and peppers, and our herbs.

Safely stowed away

We called our work "Operation Earl". I was expecting a big storm, but in the end all we got were some winds and rain. Nothing I haven't seen before. Other parts of Atlantic Canada (and of course the U.S.) had it much worse.

To commemorate Hurricane Earl, I made a fresh pasta. I wanted something meaty, so I bought some Italian sausages (they were local and made with organic pork — so much leaner). I also bought local field tomatoes, but should have known better. Even if they were vine-ripened, they were still hothouse tomatoes. I saw that they were the typical hothouse mealy variety as soon as I cut into it. I should have used grape or plum tomatoes. Nonetheless, the pasta was good and memorable because of why it came about.

With the proper tomatoes and not cooking the sauce (similar to the Taste of Tuscany recipe I made a while back) this will be a keeper.

I wish whole wheat pasta came in colours, it would look so even more appetizing! I might have to break my own no white pasta rule and try it next time. I wonder if pasta made with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes still qualifies as white carbs?

Here's the rough recipe, revised:

Hurricane Earl Pasta
5 Hot Italian Sausages, cut into bite-sized pieces and cooked
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup fresh chopped basil
2 sprigs fresh chopped oregano
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
Sea salt and pepper
Whole wheat rotini for 4 people

After cooking the sausage, add in the rest of the ingredients, toss and serve over pasta with some freshly grated Romano cheese.