Thank God for Tinned Tomatoes By Aaron

Cook! cook! cook? What is the question mark for, you may ask? Well it was a question I asked my self the other night when my partner asked me what I was cooking for tea (or for any southerners that have inadvertently strayed on to this wonderful site, dinner!). Well what was I going to cook? I had no idea; we had very little in the house so I scanned the cupboards for some thing in a tin. Aha! Trusty old tinned tomatoes.

What else can I find? An onion, a bit of garlic, some pasta (well half a bag left over from some other culinary master piece I produced), a smoked Mattesons sausage and a bit of cheese (whoops I haven't wrapped it properly its gone a bit hard on one edge. Oh well.) Now chop the onion, I thought, and the garlic. Right, that's it peeled - oh I seem to be crying slightly .... a few moments pass ... right, I can see again now, so I chop the garlic first then slice the sausage and quickly chop the onion. Pop it in a pan with a bit of oil fry it off then add the garlic. So far, so good.

Meanwhile, I cook the pasta - a bit of oil in the pan - isn't that what they say, 8 minutes from boiling so its still quite firm - al dente (oh posh French words). I add the sausage to the onions fry a little then add the tin of tomatoes and cook until it has gone all thick. Right then butter? No, margarine? Yes. I melt a little in a pan after removing the toast bits from the edge of the tub (I hate that), add some flour and mix well to make a roux (another french word - I've been watching too much ready!steady!cook!) add some milk, boil for a bit to thicken then add the cheese that I had grated earlier.

Now a layer of the tomato mix, layer of pasta, layer of cheese sauce, bit of grated on the top and finish it with let me see....? Ah, I know; slice my last tomato, stick it on the top and erm ...! Oh what's this? Marjoram - I've had this for years oh well! So I sprinkle a bit on the top after an experimental sniff.

Bang it in the oven on about 200 till the top goes brown. 15 - 20 mins later it's time for the big test. I dish it up for my other half, she eats it, well what do you think, is it ok, I say. She says nothing. She finishes her plate off, looks up and says is there any more? Enough said. It was a success and there was enough left over for dinner (lunch for you southerners) the next day. Thank god for tinned tomatoes.

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