Saxophone Penne with Garlic Bread

Adolphe Sax patented the saxophone on June 28, 1846. (This was prior to the wacky intellectual property laws we know and suffer, so Sax's patent was good for only 15 years.) There were 14 versions of the design, some of which must not have caught on, because as far as I know from my days of playing alto (and occasionally bari) in school bands there are only 7 or 8 versions in semi-common use these days. [I just looked it up on Wikipedia, and apparently there are a bunch of weirdo variants, e.g. a straight-necked B♭ tenor.] Anyway, thanks, Adolphe, for giving the world such a great instrument and helping African Americans revolutionize Western music again. (N.B. "jazz" was originally slang for "sex," so it's not totally juvenile when I call it a "sexaphone.")

Speaking of juvenility, the past few days have been full of poop. Poopie diapers! My girlfriend and I are in Maine with her friend and her friend's adorable two-and-half-year-old son. Fun in the sun. Fun with marbles. Not fun: Clambake, a local mega seafood restaurant with taxidermy hell decor. Luckily, g.friend and friend were also disgusted. Young one cried lots and had to be walked home in a harness.

Also not fun: spotted in Red Hook, NY prior to Maine leg, a mobile pig incinerator parked outside a church!

For dinner on Tuesday we had to make do with what was in the "cabin" (actually a really comfortable 2-bedroom house by the beach) and what we scrounged up at the local Hannaford, a grocery store I first became acquainted with in Red Hook.

makes 3-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. penne pasta

1 big can of whole peeled tomatoes

1/2 medium eggplant, diced

1/2 yellow onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

fresh parsley

fresh oregano

salt

ground black pepper

olive oil

agave syrup

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sauté the onion with some olive oil in a smallish pot over medium heat. Toss in the eggplant shortly after and let it get browned. Add the garlic.
2. Pour in the can of tomatoes. Crush with your hands or use a wooden spoon. Add seasonings to taste.
3. Cook the noodles. Dunzo, bon appetit!