Pasta and sauce is one of our go to meals. It is great when we've just pulled into an anchorage.. start the water boiling and in less than 30 minutes you have a warm, delicious meal.

We try to buy the pasta in a plastic package or transfer to a plastic container as cardboard doesn't work on a boat.

For sauce I've found the 8oz can of plain tomato sauce in the tomato section not the pasta and jarred sauce section works best for 2 people. I season it with onion and garlic (that is if we have it or if I'm not exhausted after a long sail day) and my Italian Spice Mix*.

While I cook the pasta, I heat up and season the sauce in the skillet.

To make a "meat" sauce, a 1/4 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein) can be sautéed with the garlic and onion and added to the sauce. A can of mushrooms is also good to mix in. If we just came from the grocery like last night we had spicy, fresh Italian sausage. If we've just come from the farmer's market we love to add squash or zucchini.

Italian cheeses are great for storing on the boat with no refrigeration. The hard cheeses work well. A few shavings of parmesan or asiago with the veggie peeler usually tops off the dish.

But wait... While exploring Santa Rosa yesterday we stumbled into this great spice shop. They had a large selection of mixed spice blends for sale and encouraged tating! One was called Parmesan Pesto Sprinkle. This really added something special to the dish.. no refrigeration required. I also picked out a blend to restock my quickly disappearing Montreal steak seasoning. A great stop while we were waiting for our table at Russian River Brewing.

*Italian Spice Mix

• 2 Basil
• 2 Oregano
• 1 Rosemary
• 1 Thyme
• 1/4 Sage
• 1/4 Marjoram
• 1/2 Coriander