Guiltlessly Perfect Summer Pasta

A friend of mine was coming over around dinner time and I remembered that she was a vegetarian.  I looked in my pantry and in my freezer to figure out something that both she and I (your resident carnivore) would enjoy.  I happen to love peas.  Not the shriveled, canned variety that tastes closer to Elmer's glue, the petite fresh or frozen kind.  Truth be told, growing up, my sister and I used to fight over peas because I tended to eat them as snacks after school and before dinner, leaving nothing for her. 

This is a wonderfully simple recipe that is as good in the summer as it is in the winter.  It calls for basil.  Did you know you can take your summer basil harvest and freeze it for gloomier days in the fall and winter?  Just stick your basil surplus in a freezer bag, eliminate all the air and put it in the freezer.  Take out what you need, chop it up and put the rest back in the freezer.

I also suggest low carb pasta, such as Dreamfield's.  It takes all the guilt out of this tasty meal. 

Ingredients:
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs butter
1 Tbs minced garlic
4 Tbs chopped fresh or frozen basil
The juice from a half of a fresh lemon
1 lb. petite peas (I like C&W or Bird's Eye frozen)
Salt and pepper to taste
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1/2 lb. spaghetti
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1 cup shaved parmesan cheese

Boil the water for the pasta and add salt so the water tastes like the ocean.  Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the box, al dente.  In a separate pan, saute garlic in the butter and olive oil for a few minutes without color. Turn heat to medium. Add chopped fresh basil. Add warm petite peas, add 1/2 lb of cooked pasta. Add the juice of a half a lemon. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss to combine it all and serve with fresh grated Parmesan to taste.