Pasta with Garden Vegetable Sauce

I do apologize for being so out of touch! I've been by the sea, and other fun fabulous locales. This lazy summer afternoon finds me at the Cocoa Bar in Brooklyn- I highly recommend it. Lovely garden behind the shop and very tasty iced coffee. Perfect.

In my absence, my trusty garden has been hard at work. I overcame my doubts and finally plucked my one eggplant. Now I know how only children must feel- so much pressure. Anyway, the eggplant shined, it was only my heavy-handedness in picking it that caused the jewel distress. The stems of eggplants are very reedy and woody, and apparently snap if you twist them. Who knew! So, the plant did sustain some trauma (the branch the eggplant was on split in two) but hopefully, it will knit itself back together.

Thank you now for indulging in my cheesy vegetable-scape:

These were all the veggies I found waiting for me when I returned from my eastern seaboard adventure. Those vaguely albino looking fellows are yellow peppers. And the squash in front is a mutant pattypan, grown beyond all reason.

With these vegetables, I made a lovely pasta sauce:

Pasta with Garden Vegetable Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 lb pasta

1 TB olive oil 

1/2 onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 large eggplant, cubed

2 peppers, any color, chopped

2 lbs assorted squash, cubed

1/2 c water

2 TB tomato paste

2 TB capers

1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives

Freshly ground black pepper

salt to taste

Preparation:

Cook pasta according to directions, in salted water.  Drain and set aside.  

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add onions and garlic and saute until soft, about four minutes.  Add eggplant, peppers, and squash to pan.  Turn vegetables to coat with onions and garlic.  Saute for two minutes, stirring often.   

Turn heat to low, and add 1/4 cup water to skillet, and cover. Add more water periodically as needed to prevent vegetables from sticking to bottom of pan.  Cook until vegetables are soft, about five- seven minutes.  

Uncover mixture and add tomato paste, olives and capers.  Combine thoroughly and cook over low heat for two minutes to allow flavors to combine.  Season with pepper. Season with salt to taste. (Note: salt may not be necessary as the olives and capers bring much saltiness to the sauce.) 

To serve, top portions of pasta with sauce.  Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.  Serves four.