Rosie Makes Spaghetti.

As I was making cheesecake, homemade ice cream, and sundry other things for the Birthday Boy, Mr. Hawthorne brightly asked me, on his way out to the pool, to make spaghetti for dinner. Like the dutiful little wifey mouse that I am, I complied. I went out in the garden and picked assorted peppers and basil, and foraged in the fridge for an onion.

Chopped everything up.

Sauteed in butter and olive oil.

Added in a big can of roma tomatoes.

Then some tomato sauce.

Herbs from my garden. Rosemary (which went to the bread and croutons, not my spaghetti sauce), sage, parsley, thyme, oregano, and basil.

Adding fresh herbs to my sauce.

Parsley, thyme, oregano, and sage.

Here, I'm adding garlic to my sauce.

Spaghetti goes into the pot.

Here's my sauce after simmering for about 3-4 hours.

I added the delicious meatballs to the spaghetti sauce.

Just added in. Didn't stir. Covered and let heat through.

This is my son's first helping.

Then he went in for seconds.

One of his friend's bowl.

His friend is a pastry chef at a local restaurant. He asked me if I had any green onions. Of course I did. He wanted to garnish his spaghetti bowl with the onions. Earlier he had asked me for shallots, which, of course, I had. I asked him, "How many homes could you go in and ask for shallots and actually get them?" He pondered this for a few seconds, and responded with, "Probably none, except yours."

I loved the fact that there were absolutely NO leftovers. But when you have 3 18-20 year olds, you should be glad that you have anything at all.