Basic Microwave Pasta

Whenever there was a sale for pasta, my family and I would be there. We were the crazy group of people who just slid shelves of boxes into our three carts and layered them into our trunks until we had a solid pasta wall. My basement had a room dedicated almost entirely to pasta, where I would build forts out of the blue boxes. This is the simplified microwave version of one of my family's favorite pasta dishes.

- Cooking the Pasta To cook pasta in the microwave you will need a decently large microwaveable bowl; Pyrex is great. If you do not have a microwaveable bowl (and trust me don't use a non-microwaveable bowl, it has the potential to explode, brief science explanation at end*) then go shopping at the two best stores in the world: The Goodwill and The Salvation Army.

Pour about half a pound (half the box) of pasta into your bowl and fill it with water (with enough room to move it in and out of the microwave without sloshing). Microwave on High for 5 minutes; take out, stir, repeat. If after 10 minutes, the noodles are still too firm, let them sit for about 3 minutes and check again. If still too firm then cook for a minute and check again. But a caveat! Do NOT put them in for another 5 minutes, once noodles start to cook they can overcook really easily. Drain pasta. This cooking is based on info from The Essential Microwave Handbook by Carol Bowen.

-Making the Sauce Open a can of dice tomatoes and dump them on the pasta. Add to taste garlic/garlic powder, diced onion/onion powder, fresh/dried parsley, basil, oregano. I usually add about a tablespoon each of the garlic and onion powder, a tablespoon of the parsley, and half a tablespoon of each the basil and oregano. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Mix the pasta and sauce, then drizzle in olive oil. Serve and top with Parmesan cheese, you know, or Parmigiano, depends on how fancy you're feeling.

Omnom, for real, it's pretty good. *So, science. Microwaves work by heating up water molecules within things. If you have a dish with a lot of water in it, then it will heat up often leaving your food room temperature-ish. These are not microwaveable dishes. If you microwave one for too long in the microwave at too high a heat, then the water molecules become overly excited and the dish breaks. Yay for science!