Spaghetti Improvvizati

Oh no! It's "Movie Night In Canada," and CBC is showing The Empire Strikes Back! Yes, I own the DVD, so what? For those of you who don't know, "Movie Night In Canada" is the sad replacement of "Hockey Night In Canada" now that the NHL is on strike. Ha.

So I melted some butter with some olive oil, cracked some pepper into it, dumped in a little can of chopped california olives, squirted some tomato & vegetable paste into it and sauteed it all around. Then I dumped in a can of italian-style stewed tomatoes and crushed into the sauce with my wooden spoon. Simmer until the pasta's done, and then toss it all together over a medium flame. Some pinched mozzarella went on top. And when I say mozzarella, I mean string cheese.

Look's like meat, duddn't it.

You can serve this to your vegetarian friends, or as an unfussy primo piatto. Besides, spaghetti's not supposed to be an entree; it's supposed to be an entree. When I was in Italy, my host family asked me what Americans had for dinner; my American room mate said, "sometimes I have spaghetti." The Italians said, "Yah. . . . And . . . ?" And he said. "That's it!"

It took a while for them to wrap their heads around a concept of spaghetti as a meal. For them, it's the little plate you start with before getting to the meat and vegetables. Then comes salad, and after that, dessert, and then fruit. By then I was drunk and went straight to bed.

And the best part is, when I was in Italy, stuffing myself, I lost weight. Was it the walking? or was it the fresh organic food? Maybe it was meals at regular times, including breakfast, everyday for two months. Non si sa.