Every year, we grow vegetables in our garden over the summer. It feels so good to get out there and dig in the dirt every spring, and it is so rewarding when you are able to make dinner entirely of vegetables picked from your own garden! Recent years have been difficult for our garden, as Georgia underwent a severe drought. Luckily, the drought is over (for now), and this summer has been one of the wettest we have had in many years! What did this mean for our garden? An abundance of veggies!

The first budding tomatoes of the season - May 2010

I grew two cherry tomato plants this year, and they produced like CRAZY! Most of them became ripe at the same time, so I was challenged to find dishes that would use these sweet and juicy tomatoes up at their peak of flavor. We love to eat them as a salad, sliced in half tossed with feta, basil, and balsamic vinegar. But they are also great to cook with. This is a recipe that I have tweaked over the years, originally inspired by Cooking Light. It is also great if you add in some diced and sauteed onions….mmmm!

Cherry Tomato Pine Nut Spaghetti
Inspired by a recipe in an issue of Cooking Light magazine

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon garlic powder, divided
3 cups fresh cherry tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
1/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
3-4 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and toss together lightly. Toast the mixture for about 2 minutes, until the breadcrumbs turn a light golden brown. Remove the toasted mixture from the pan and set aside.

Return the pan to the stove and heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the cherry tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 7 minutes, or until the tomatoes turn wrinkly and begin to soften and release some juices.

Add the remaining garlic powder, the sliced garlic, and the Italian seasoning. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook for another 1-2 minutes over medium heat; then reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and let the mixture simmer while you cook the pasta.

Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions, and drain. Add the hot spaghetti, the toasted pine nuts, the breadcrumb mixture, the fresh basil, and the feta and parmesan cheeses to the tomato mixture. Toss lightly to combine, and serve immediately.