I know I seem like a broken record going on and on about summer and summer fruits and how much I love summer foods, but it was a long winter.

And here in the city, we don’t get much of summer.

So I embrace every moment of it.

Outside right now, it’s pouring.

It feels like all it has been doing lately is rain. Yes, yesterday was the perfect blend of summer heat and spring breezes, but I can’t shake the feeling that it has just been raining forever.

Looking outside and seeing the rain falling makes me feel cold. It could be the most humid and sticky rainforest-like rain, but just seeing the droplets fall gives me a chill.

I want something warm and comforting for dinner, but I still want to embrace the bounty of summer.

A bowl of pasta. That’s what rainy days call for. Carbonara. That’s my go to comfort food dish in the winter. But it’s too warm for that. And bathing suit season is around the corner, somewhere, I swear.

So how about taking out the pancetta and using some summer tomatoes to keep things light and fresh?

It won’t be the same smoky taste as traditional carbonara, but the richness and the texture will still be there.

For this dish you will need

• angel hair pasta
• tomatoes, diced (if tomatoes aren’t fresh and ripe and juicy, you can use a can of diced tomatoes)
• garlic
• heavy cream
• black pepper
• parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs

This is a one pot and one pan dish. You’ll boil the pasta in a pot, make the sauce in a pan, and then add the pasta to the pan to combine and coat with the eggy, tomatoey sauce.

Traditional carbonara starts with frying up some bacon or pancetta. We’re going to get our flavor from the juicy tomatoes and from some browned garlic.

Drizzle some olive oil in a pan and add the diced tomatoes and a clove or two of garlic. I used two tomatoes for two people, so adjust accordingly depending upon the number of people you will be serving.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil.

Cook the garlic and the tomatoes down until the tomatoes release their juices and the garlic starts to brown.

When the water comes to a boil, toss in the angel hair.

You’re going to want to time this so the pasta will be done at the same time that the tomatoes are cooked. Angel hair cooks really fast, so don’t go anywhere.

Grab 2 eggs, a splash of heavy cream, a few grinds of black pepper and a few tablespoons of parmesan cheese.

Oh my god. I just realized something.

Whenever I ask my grandma or my boyfriend’s meme how to make something, they always give ingredients as first you add a little bit of this and then a few scoops of that and then a little bit of this. And I always laugh and say they do that on purpose so I will never make it exactly the same as theirs, because really, what’s a little bit?

I’m not doing that to you!

I promise!

Cooking is such a personal thing. If you like a lot of spice, you add more pepper. If you want more of a salty bite, bring on the parmesan cheese.

I hate recipes. I prefer guidelines.

So thank you grandma and meme for always giving me guidelines.

Okay, back to the eggs.

Beat the eggs, cream, pepper and parmesan cheese and set to the side.

Now, here’s where you have to work quickly.

As soon as your pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to the tomato sauce. Lower the heat and toss, coating the pasta with the mix.

Remove the pan from the heat and pour the egg mixture over the pasta, tossing constantly.

The heat from the pasta will cook the eggs, but if you leave the mixture for too long in one spot, the eggs will scramble and seize up. You want this to be a smooth, silky, creamy sauce, so keep those pasta noodles moving.

When the eggs coat the strands of pasta and the tomato juices have turned the cream a pale pink, plate up heaping bowls of pasta.

Top with an extra sprinkle of parmesan if you want some more cheese.

Twirl your fork and let the creamy strands coat your tongue and the tomato bits punctuate the richness with juicy bursts.