Healthy spaghetti with grape tomatoes & basil

Moving out of my apartment and back home until I find a full-time job meant a lot more than free rent. It meant full access to my mother's kitchen. Which is why I've been posting so many recipes lately. At school, the extent of my spices were garlic salt, Lawry's seasoning salt, cinnamon and oregano. I hated buying spices for one recipe, because it usually meant that I'd never use them again. So now that I'm home (hopefully not for too long!), I'm taking advantage of my mom's extensive spice collection. My parents have been so crazy-busy at work that I've taken to making dinners when I get home from my part-time job. So far, my dad and brother has hated everything I've made, but my mom seems to like them.

The other night, I practically picked all of the leaves off of her basil plant and paired it with a lot of garlic and fresh grape tomatoes. Atop linguine, it was the perfect Italian dinner, and didn't leave you feeling overstuffed from a heavy sauce.

Healthy spaghetti with grape tomatoes & basil (makes enough for 5-6)
- 1 box of spaghetti (I used linguine)
- 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped (I just threw them in a food processor)
- 4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp chopped fresh basil (again, I just threw them in the processor...it saves a lot of time!)

• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Reserve about 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.
• While pasta cooks, add olive oil to skillet on high heat. Add garlic and sauté until golden brown (do not burn). Add tomatoes, chopped basil, salt and pepper and reduce heat to medium-low. Sauté about 4-5 minutes. When pasta is drained, add pasta to tomatoes and toss well. If pasta seems too dry, add some of the reserved pasta water. Serve and top with grated cheese.