3rd Challenge Assignment - Le Pasta

 As I wandered over to Santana's, a corner-store on University Ave & SE 6th Ave, to look for a meal for my roommate and I for $15 or less I was happy to find myself as the sole customer.  The cashier quickly got involved in my project with suggestions left and right (though appreciated, it was a little off the mark).  I wanted to find a can of beans first and then work from there, to ensure my vegetarian roommate got a good share of protein, but among the various cans they offered, there were no beans!!!  I did however easily find a big bag of pasta and so I decided to use that as a base and find ingredients from there.

In their fresh aisle they had $1.50 tomatoes, a small plastic container of broccoli crowns that were browning a bit too much for my comfort and a few other things.  My grocery list was as follows:

Pasta - 3.29

3 Tomatoes - 4.47

Garlic - 0.79

Onion - 0.79

Mushrooms - 1.39

Cheese - 3.89

For a total, when tax on select items was included, was $14.98!

So I used Bittman's straightforward Tomato Sauce with Pasta directions on pg.502 and got to work.  Had the broccoli been in better shape I definitely would have used it instead of the expensive cheese; at the same time, the mushrooms only provided minimal protein and thus the cheese offered a lot (though beans would've been my first choice for a protein base).

So after simmering the tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, garlic, and seasonings some more I threw it over a bed of pasta and enjoyed a cozy yet lacking meal with my roommate!