Today, Charlotte is going to teach us how to use our cooking skills to make a simple, healthy, and delicious lunch or dinner using the BRG in a Box Cooking with Herbs kit. This kit is part of our new BRG in a Box for schools and homeschool pods! Your BRG in a Box Cooking with Herbs kit includes all the cooking tools, ingredients, and instructions you need to follow along with this video and make your own tasty pasta dish. You can find the written instructions at the bottom of this post, following the video.

Stay tuned to see the rest of our BRG in a Box projects — from cooking, to sewing, to bike repair. If you are excited by the prospect of cultivating these skills at home, get together with your class or homeschool pod and contact us at info(at)buildrepairgrow(dot)org for more information on how to get your own kits!

Written Instructions
Ingredients and cooking tools
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound cut pasta (you can also use spaghetti or linguini)
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
30 fresh sage leaves (or another herb — such as thyme, chervil, fresh oregano, tarragon, or other green herb)
1 cup or more freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggian (optional)
1 Large pot
1 large skillet or saucepan
1 can garbanzo or great northern beans drained (optional)

Step 1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil; salt it. Cook pasta until it is tender, but not quite done.

Step 2
Meanwhile, place butter or olive oil in a skillet or saucepan large enough to hold the cooked pasta; turn heat to medium, and add sage. Cook until sage shrivels (and, if using butter, until it turns nut-brown), then turn heat to a minimum.

Step 3
When the pasta is just about done, scoop out a cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta. Immediately add it and the drained beans to the oil-sage mixture, and raise heat to medium. Add 3/4 cup of the water, and stir; the mixture will be loose and a little soupy. Cook for about 30 seconds, or until some of the water is absorbed and the pasta is perfectly done.

Step 4
Stir in cheese if using; the sauce will become creamy. Thin it with a little more water if necessary. Season liberally with pepper and salt to taste, and serve immediately, adding more cheese if you like.

Enjoy!

We hope after this project you feel empowered to use your cooking skills, share your meal with loved ones, and explore more projects on your own.