We had a quiet, drizzly Sunday where the kids and I decided to plant our vegie patch for the coming season. It was hard work turning the soil, weeding, planting, and anyone who has kids would know that they’need’ to do the work too. Miss L (7) and Miss B (4) enjoyed the gardening and being outside, even though we were doing it in the rain, or maybe because we were doing it in the rain. Our carrots, kale and broccoli went in and potatoes will be planted soon. We found a birds nest in our lime tree with not one but two baby birds! It was a beautiful morning.

Once done we were all very hungry. So a pantry pasta was whipped up. Your pantry, like your freezer, is a great place to go for a quick meal. Ours was a creamy tuna pasta. Perfect for a cold, rainy day and something the kids love. I’ll share the recipe below, but you can use any vegies you need using up (sliced zucchini, baby spinach, corn), you can add things like capers if you like, or make the sauce a tomato sauce and add olives. It’s an easy meal, made out of what you have. If pasta is not your thing put the sauce over some baked potatoes, just be aware baking the potatoes will take longer than making pasta.

I hope you’re loving this easy food.

CREAMY TUNA PASTA

2 cloves garlic thinly sliced (I always use lots of garlic, tailor this to your tastes)

300ml cream

100ml water

1Tbsp vegie stock paste (I make this in the thermomix, but you could use your own stock equivalent)

1Tbsp tomato paste

2 sprigs parsley

1 bunch asparagus chopped

1 cup peas (frozen or fresh)

425g tuna, drained

300g pasta of your choice (I used fettuccine as that’s my favourite. This amount served Miss L, Miss B and myself with some leftover)

Put the pasta in a pot of boiling water with salt until cooked

Fry the garlic in some olive oil until fragrant but not browned, then add the cream. Let the cream come to a gentle simmer then add the tomato paste and stock paste. Mix this so its blended into the cream well.

Add the vegies and drained tuna and let simmer until the pasta is cooked. Add the parsley. Once the pasta is cooked it to the cream sauce and stir through.

Serve immediately.