pasta isn't soup? but it was served in a bowl...

the last time i was at my parents house i only got into one fight with my mom. she was trying to do something for me that i would rather do for myself - i can't even remember what. anyway, i was annoyed, and proclaimed, "I know what I want, and I take care of myself." I keep rethinking this sentence - it's so true.

yesterday I made some pasta. i used to make pasta sauce by browning tofurkey vegan bratwurst with fennel seed (and onion and peppers and whatever else), and then adding a can of tomato paste or sauce (and other spices)... but i didn't want to use anything canned (although i did buy some italian-style sausages - i did *not* feel like making sausage from scratch). i ended up just walking around the produce section picking out cheap things i like. i got some cherry tomatoes (on sale - i love august), a red onion, parsley, and 2 peppers - one green and one red (50 cents each) - and then got some black olives. last night i chopped things fairly uniformly and cooked them together(ish) and it was good... but i kept thinking to myself, "hmmm... i like this vegetable cooked this other way..."

so today i did it that way.

i roasted a whole red pepper and half a green pepper in the oven, peeled them and chopped them up. (i think i will only eat peppers that are roasted from now on.)

i cut the cherry tomatoes in half and roasted them in the same oven with the peppers. (like for the tortilla soup recipe! which were delicious.)

i caramelized half a red onion in some earth balance and olive oil, then added some whole garlic to soften it a bit before chopping it up.

i cut some pitted kalamata olives in half.

and i cut the sausage in quarters and browned it on each of three sides in my cast iron grill pan leaving pretty grill marks (and drying out the edges the way i like).

i cooked some fennel and herbes de provence and basil and cayenne in the oil after the onion was done cooking, and drizzled the pasta with hot-pepper-infused olive oil before mixing everything together.

i bought some expensive parmesan yesterday, but realized yesterday that i don't like combining tofu or seitan with cheese - there's something about it i can't get behind. so i left it out today.

and it was everything i liked, cooked how i liked it, and it was delicious.

oh, there was parsley too. and i sprinkled it with pepper. i don't think i've forgotten anything...