Dining al fresco.

We haven't been eating outside as much this summer as I would like.  Usually we have at least one meal a week outside during the warm months, but not so much this year.  My menu planning hasn't been the greatest lately, I've felt a bit like I'm scrambling to toss something together these past few weeks, or Uriah has something on the table and before I can suggest we eat outside, the dishes are done and the kids are getting ready for bed.  I vow to do better for the rest of July and August.  

The few times that we have taken a detour from our normal dining room table and transplanted ourselves outside, it has been glorious. The conversation seems to flow in a different pattern (if you can call Abby's constant chatter and Finn pointing out every bird and airplane conversation.  These days, I do.).  We linger a little bit longer over a glass of wine and the kids seem more apt to chase each other around the yard and practice somersaults and cartwheels until their knees are grass-stained and their sides hurt from laughing.

I'm still looking for lighter summer options in an attempt to lighten my own frame (I'll probably have a weight update later this week.).  We've tried a few options that won't see a repeat on our menus, but the Spaghetti alla Puttanesca is already in the queue to be had again.  I know what you're thinking - spaghetti?  In the summer?  To that I say: Yes!  Absolutely!  The sauce isn't a heavy traditional tomato sauce.  The spaghetti noodles were whole wheat and we paired it with a big, fat salad (and a big, fat glass of wine for the adults!).  Don't be put off by the anchovies.  I promise, you only need a small amount of them to add some salt to the sauce and you wouldn't even know that they're there unless you made the meal.  They don't add any sort of fishy taste at all.  And the capers, too, add another layer to this sauce, but it doesn't use a lot, so again, you probably wouldn't even know they were in there.  Abby usually doesn't like capers but she ate this spaghetti and didn't bat a pretty little eyelash.  Finn, of course, is being groomed to eat what's for dinner and he asked for more when he finished his plate the first time.  I love healthy eaters!

A light summer meal that's kid friendly?  Check and check.

We need to eat outside more often!  

• ¼  cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 28.2-oz can whole, peeled tomatoes, undrained
• 4-5 fresh large basil leaves, roughly chopped
• ½ - ¾  cup Kalamata olives, halved and pitted*
• 3 anchovy fillets, chopped**
• 1 ½  tablespoons drained capers
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½  teaspoon crushed red pepper
• ½  pound spaghetti
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat.  Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add the fresh basil and the tomatoes, squeezing the large tomatoes until they break up into smaller pieces (you can rough chop them before you add them, but I sort of like the feeling of squishing those tomatoes!).  Add olives, anchovies, capers, oregano, and crushed red pepper.  Simmer sauce over medium heat until thickened, about 8 minutes, breaking up tomatoes with a spoon as necessary.  Season with salt and pepper.

While your sauce is simmering, cook pasta until it is tender, but still a little bit firm to bite.  Drain pasta; add to pot with pasta sauce and toss to coat.  Serve with cheese.

Makes 4 servings.
Adapted from Bon Appetite Magazine, January 2008
*I found Kalamata olives at the grocery store that were already pitted.  I added extra.  I love olives.
**Double trust me on this, the salty-ness of the anchovies is so good and, unless you are a food-hound, undetectable in the sauce.