Mediterranean Pasta

The other night found me coming home with little idea of what to cook for dinner or even what's in the fridge.  On a good day, I can have dinner mentally on the back burner, go through the shelves in my mind, fit bits of this and that together.  On a great day, I've prepped the night before and there's something ready to go already, or at least thought through and planned.

Every once in the while though, it all comes together despite it being the last minute and dinner is still pretty darn good.  There's something about bringing a bowl of beautiful steaming pasta to the table that makes one feel a little redeemed, for the moment, anyway.

1 pound short fat pasta (rotini, farfalle, penne, or the like)
1/2 jar prepared pasta sauce (I find myself very partial to Barilla or Classico--something without much added sugar)
1 can chickpeas, drained
a few chopped olives
4 cloves of garlic
splash of olive oil
generous pinch of oregano
1/2 to 1 cup crumbled feta

Set the pasta water on to boil, chop the garlic and throw it in a skillet  with a bit of olive oil,  give it a few stirs and when it starts to sizzle, add most of the can of drained chickpeas, reserving a 1/3 cup or thereabouts.  Add the pasta sauce, olives and oregano.  Let it simmer while you cook the pasta.

When the pasta is finished, drain, toss with the sauce, put in a serving bowl.  Top with the reserved chickpeas and feta cheese.

(I think one could easily throw in a few bits of veg lurking towards the back of the fridge while the sauce is simmering--broccoli, greens, zucchini or green beans would work great in this mix.)