kamut spaghetti with baked tomato crumble

On Monday night I got back from a 5 day trip to visit family back in Ontario. My dad – who never used to cook anything other than fried eggs, potato pancakes or kugelis (a Lithuanian potato dish), has been making the meals for the past couple of years since my mom has been unable to. While he does try his best, his meals often resort to a few frozen pizzas and a can or two of Chef Boy….oh boy. Whenever I visit, I not only bring along some home-baked treats, but I gladly make all the meals from scratch while I’m there. My dad is not a cook and I’m so happy to help out while I’m there. I know that home cooked meals from scratch are always appreciated.

This tomato and pasta dish came about when I spotted 5 beautiful beefsteak tomatoes sitting on my parent’s sunny kitchen window ledge. Inspiration struck and within a few minutes, I was slicing the tomatoes up ready for roasting. I didn’t think much beyond that but figured some pasta would be a good match. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any pasta, and while I could have made due with what I could find, my brother volunteered to go to the store. It’s nice to have a handy younger brother who doesn’t mind running errands! While rooting through the cupboards, I did spot some saltines-minus-the-salt in the pantry. Perfect! I crushed them to oblivion and made a little crumble topping with the help of the cheese and some melted butter. Scattering over the bubbling red hot mess, it reminded me of a roasted tomato crumble!

This dish was happily gobbled up by both my brother and my dad ( you can see their animated hands in the top photo). The taste was fresh and way better than anything that comes out of a bottle or a can. It was a simple meal to remind them that great doesn’t have to mean a lot of fancy ingredients or complicated directions.

11 comments to “kamut spaghetti with baked tomato crumble”

  1. 1
    tara   September 16, 2009 at 10:51 am

    This sounds delicious and homey, perfect for these cool evenings we've been having in Ontario. I do hope you enjoyed your trip!

  2. 2
    Bijoux   September 16, 2009 at 11:57 am

    Just curious…how did you take that shot? Did you climb on a chair? I love simple pasta dishes with just 3 or 4 ingredients…this is a dish I would enjoy even the next day or so as leftovers!

  3. 3
    Dana   September 16, 2009 at 1:37 pm

    I so admire how you can pull thing together with simple ingredients and a little imagination. I hope it was a good trip for you!

  4. 4
    french-treasures   September 16, 2009 at 3:13 pm

    It's so nice that you cook for your folks when you're home. It's such a wonderful way to say 'I love you.'

  5. 5
    beentsy   September 16, 2009 at 5:19 pm

    Mmmmmm, that looks gorgeous! Thank you for a recipe to help deal with my current dearth of tomatoes! 🙂

  6. 6
    Maija   September 16, 2009 at 11:37 am

    Love the top photo with the hands and the bright green placemats. Really interesting & different from your usual shots.

  7. 7
    Joanne   September 17, 2009 at 3:16 am

    Roasted tomatoes give the perfect homestyle touch to this pasta dish, which is certainly a great one for you guys to share. I'm sure they were thrilled to have you around!

  8. 8
    eatme_delicious   September 17, 2009 at 6:10 pm

    This sounds and looks absolutely awesome. I would love to eat this for dinner tonight! Love that top photo with the hands.

  9. 9
    kickpleat   September 18, 2009 at 1:18 pm

    Thanks Tara, it was a most excellent trip 🙂

    Thanks Maija. It's different because there are willing hands and lots of light! Oh one day I will have a kitchen with a window!!

    Bijoux, normally I do get up on a chair to take a photo, but this time I just reached up. There was enough light so it worked out pretty well.

    Thanks Dana!

    I agree, treasures 🙂

    Glad I could help, beentsy!

    Thanks Joanne, very homestyle and very loved.

    Thanks eatme! It was a perfect dinner feast.

  10. 10
    Laura.   September 18, 2009 at 5:30 pm

    this looks so delicious, and i like those green woven place mats.

  11. 11
    kickpleat   September 20, 2009 at 11:55 pm

    Thanks Laura!

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