my favorite quick meal

I'm not a very dedicated cook, but I do love having a few go-to recipes in my pocket. Have you been looking for an easy and delicious recipe that you could eat outside while enjoying the afternoon sun with your dog? I'm sorry -- perhaps you'd prefer to enjoy the sun with your cat...

But maybe the whole idea of a small animal watching you eat grosses you out. Pretend those pictures never happened, because you need to make and enjoy this today:
This dish doesn't have a real name, though I think of it as Pasta Beth, because my friend Beth (who lives in New Jersey and I met online and then in real life (IRL)) suggested it to me one day when I was complaining about not knowing what to make for lunch. It's so easy, so delicious and so PERFECT for summer. And, if you make a double serving, it's just as good to eat cold at your next meal!

First, you'll want to gather the ingredients. This recipe serves one.

1 Cup of uncooked pasta (I like penne)
2 TB Olive Oil
8 grape tomatoes
One large leaf of FRESH basil
Any of your favorite veggies
A handful of shredded cheese -- I use DiGiorono's shredded three cheese
Salt & Pepper

Cook the pasta; while it's cooking, put the olive oil in the bottom of a bowl (you can make this in the bowl you'll be eating in, but I usually make it in something slightly larger, as I'm not a very neat cook) cut up the fresh basil in strips or pieces and put it in the bowl. (Sidenote: For the first six months I made this recipe, it was winter and I used dried basil. And it was very tasty. But then I ate it with fresh basil. And my life will never be the same.) Cut your grape tomatoes in half and add them, along with the cheese, to the olive oil. Finally, add salt and pepper to taste. Give it a good stir and let it sit. Drain the pasta, add it to the bowl and give it all a good stir. Taste and see if it needs more salt and pepper. Eat. It. Up.
And it can be even more tasty -- add fresh veggies of your choice. I love to cook asparagus in olive oil in the oven and then cut it up and add it in. Sugar snap peas, fresh spinach (broom of the stomach, you know!), broccoli, fresh peppers, well, the possibilities are endless.