Well, I attempted to make homemade pasta for the first time last night. Needless to say, it didn't work out so well. At least I got to run some dough through my new pasta maker. I think my mistake was that the dough was a bit too sticky, so that when I ran it through the linguini (?) setting the strands came out sticking together. I ended up with a big, doughy, mess. A dusting of flour probably would have solved everything.

Fortunately, I had a backup plan.

I made a dish similar to this last year with asparagus, and I loved it. I liked the fact that there was no need to cook the sauce.

4-5 oz dried penne pasta
1 medium tomato, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 large spoonfuls ricotta cheese (1/3-1/2 cup?)
1 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
handful fresh basil leaves, minced
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
salt & freshly ground pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the zucchini and cook for a couple minutes, just until tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, then bring the water back to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the garlic, basil, ricotta, parmesan, salt, and pepper. Mix until smooth. When the pasta is done, reserve some of the cooking water (I completely forgot to do this and had to use fresh water) then drain the pasta. Add enough of the reserved water to the ricotta mixture to make a creamy sauce. Add the pasta, zucchini, tomato, and pine nuts and toss until everything is coated with sauce.

Serves 2-4