Inspired by Orangette's recent adventures into pasta without tomatoes, I tried my own hand at it. This, my dear reader, is a poor man's variation of Ms. Orangette's elegant dish...

Pasta...sans Tomato (for two)
4 fistfuls of penne
1 carrot, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minced (!)
olive oil, butter
2 cubes of vegetable stock
Lemon Pepper
Oregano
Mint Basil
Thyme
1 Tbsp of mayo
4-5 leaves of fresh basil
Parmesan

1. Cook the pasta al dente.
2. Heat up the olive oil and butter. Saute the vegetables til translucent. Add seasonings.
3. (here, I tried to follow Orangette's instructions for thickened broth, this is what happened...) Dissolve vegetable bouillion cubes in water. Boil til "thickened" (I had about 1 cup of stock) Add to vegetables.
4. Add mayo to thicken the sauce. Stir in pasta. Top with grated Parmesan and chopped basil.

Next time...perhaps, some more fresh herbs, as recommended.