On-the-Fly Elbows

I have been a busy girl recently, hence the posts on what to make when all you have time for is boiling water. Boiling water is miraculously useful, and when I worry that by the time I'm an old lady, the world will have fallen around me and we'll be living in caves again, I think, "Well, at least I can still boil water in my retirement cave."

Whether I will have pounds of pasta at the ready is another story, but I don't want to go there.

I keep a 2 lb stash of elbow macaroni at the ready for times like these. I like them specifically for hurried meals because two handfuls of elbows go an awfully long way, and they cook in under four minutes.

For this meal-in-under-ten-minutes (Rachael Ray, I got you beat!!), boil the water, cook the pasta, reserve half a cup of the hot water, and tumble the pasta, chopped soft cheese, fresh parsley, salt and pepper with the elbows and the pasta water. Fresh and light.