Pomodoro Sauce and Whole Wheat Pasta: Bathing suit season? GASP?

Thanks to the folks at Golden Grain Pasta, I received four boxes of their new Whole Wheat Pasta line to try.

I actually don't really gasp about bathing suit season.  I swim year round and I've been showing off a winter FLABulous body for months on end. But then again, the pool isn't really teaming with that many people because most people consider summer to be the bathing suit months.

Which makes me pause and think, perhaps, just maybe, I should gasp a bit about bathing suit season, and stress a bit about it as well.  Maybe I should try and think about how I might want to look in the bathing suit in front of more people than I do now.  Sigh.

Summer approaches and although it is the time of vacations, barbecues, and lots of fabulous outdoor eating parties, it is also the time of the all fearful bathing suit.  So I'm trying.   Just a little bit.  I've been increasing my vegetable intake and salad intake and decreasing the other stuff.  I'm drinking more water, exercising harder, all for the thought that maybe I will go somewhere fabulous (no plans as such yet) and wear my suit.  (I actually don't even have a nice suit.  I keep buying mine from costco and thrashing them in the chlorine rich water of the pool I swim in.)

When the folks at Golden Grain Pasta, sent over 4 boxes of their whole grain pasta, I knew I wanted to try and make a very basic tomato sauce to serve on top of it.  I tried a delicious pomodoro from the book On Top Of Spaghetti which turned out really yummy and is a great thing to freeze and have on hand, any time you want a quick pasta dinner.  The Golden Grain Pasta was also pretty tasty - I did notice a difference in both flavor and texture, but it wasn't enough to stop me from eating a nicely moderate bowlful of the pasta.

 100% whole wheat flour

Pomodoro Sauce
adapted from Johanne Killen and George Germon’s Book On Top of Spaghetti
Makes 6 cups of sauce (for about 1½ lbs of pasta)

Ingredients
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly minced garlic
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup dry white or red wine (I used whatever I had open in the house)
1 cup chicken stock
5 cups chopped canned tomatoes with their juices
½ cup fresh basil chiffonade (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Heat olive oil, garlic and salt in a medium saucepan over moderate heat, stirring often. Watch carefully because you do not want garlic to burn - you want it to be slightly translucent without any browning. Once translucent, add wine and stock carefully, as the oil may splatter. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer, until the garlic is soft and tender and the liquid has reduce to half. (about 15 minutes)

Add the tomatoes, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Toss basil on top and give a quick stir. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve on top of freshly cooked pasta.

Printable recipe