Pasta with Mushroom Sauce

"I'll make you dinner." Who doesn't look forward to hearing those wonderful words when they're sick? I certainly thought it was the best thing Austin could have said to me last night, when I was feeling like I had the plague. When he asked me what he should make, I told him I was craving mushroom spaghetti. He responded he'd be happy to make it if I told him how. So, in between coughs and sneezes, with a tissue in my hand, I walked him through this mushroom pasta from the couch.

It wasn't the easiest process, especially since were weren't exactly on the same mushroom sauce page. "I'm throwing in a whole onion!" "Noooo, use only half *cough* *cough* *cough*, please." "Fiiiine". I don't want you to think I sniffled all of his contributions though. At one point he asked "Should I add some white wine to this?". I answered, "*Aaaaachoooo!* Wine sounds great, but make it red if we have any. It will go better with the mushrooms". And so it went. After about 40 minutes I had a delicious bowl of pasta in front of me. I quickly took a picture and dug in. Full of gratitude, I turned to Austin and said "Thanks, babe. I couldn't have done it better myself".

Pasta with Mushroom Sauce
Makes 3 servings

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 oz / 340 g cremini mushrooms, diced small
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 small onion, diced small
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 15 oz / 425 g can diced fire roasted tomatoes, including their liquid
• 1/2 fresh tomato, seeded and diced small
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• About 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1 13.25 oz / 375 g box of spaghetti or the same amount of another pasta
• Optional: 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes and almesan to garnish.

1.  In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Toss in the mushrooms and cook them stirring occasionally until they're brown, about 12-15 minutes. Add the garlic and onion, sauteing them for around 5 minutes or until softened. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and cook until it has reduced in volume by about half.
2.  Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water for as long as the package indicates. Meanwhile, add the canned tomatoes, fresh tomato, salt, oregano, black and red pepper, if using, to the sauce. Turn up the heat to medium high and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce has reached your desired consistency, about 10 minutes in our case. Turn down the heat to low until your pasta is ready.
3.  When the pasta is cooked and drained, toss it into the sauce along with the parsley. Cook over medium heat until the pasta is heated through. Enjoy immediately, with an optional sprinkle of almesan.