This is the dish you make when garlic is what you have. Half a head sliced thin turns silky and sweet in hot oil, clinging to every strand of pasta. Fast, warming, and will get you fed.

Serves 2. 20 minutes, 15 at the stove.

You need half a head garlic, 8 ounces pasta, 1/3 cup oil, to taste salt, to taste pepper, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, .

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add 8 ounces of pasta, stirring once. While it cooks, slice the half head of garlic thin, separating the cloves first.
2. Pour 1/3 cup oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, stirring often, until the garlic turns golden and soft, about 8 minutes; watch it so it doesn't brown.8 min
3. Drain the pasta when it is tender, reserving 1 cup of its water. Add the hot pasta to the garlic oil, tossing to coat, then add salt and pepper to taste.
4. If the pasta looks dry, add 2 tablespoons of the reserved water at a time, tossing until it is silky. Taste and adjust seasoning, then serve at once.

Note No garlic on hand but have anchovies? Add 2 or 3 finely chopped anchovy fillets to the oil with the garlic. Leftovers keep two days cold or reheated gently with a splash of water. Serve with a simple green salad or crusty bread to soak up the oil.

Tonight's dinner hangs on three cloves of garlic, cooked slow and whole in butter until they turn golden and mild. Sage rounds out the quiet flavors, letting you rest after a long day. Toss it all with pasta and you have dinner in twenty minutes.

Serves 2. 25 minutes, 8 at the stove.

About 470 calories a serving, 12 g protein, 65 g carbohydrate, 18 g fat. From USDA figures for 75% of the ingredients; amounts are the recipe's.

You need 3 cloves garlic, 3 tablespoons butter, to taste salt, to taste pepper, 6 ounces pasta, 6 leaves fresh sage.

1. Fill a pot with salted water and bring it to a boil while you cook the garlic.10 min
2. Crush 3 cloves of garlic lightly with the flat of a knife. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a small skillet over medium heat and add the garlic whole, stirring now and then as it turns pale golden, about 8 minutes. The garlic is done when it feels soft when pressed and has turned a deep caramel color.8 min
3. When the water boils, add 6 ounces of pasta and stir. Cook until it is tender to the bite, usually 9 to 11 minutes.
4. Tear 6 leaves of sage into the garlic butter off the heat and let them steep for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Toss the pasta with the garlic butter and sage, adding pasta water a few tablespoons at a time until the sauce coats the noodles lightly.

Note Swap sage for 1/4 teaspoon dried sage if fresh is not at hand. Leftovers keep two days refrigerated and reheat gently with a splash of water in a small pan. Serve with grated cheese and a green salad.

When a clove has sprouted, its green shoot is tender and mild, perfect scrambled with eggs. This shelf is bare, so we cook from staples: a quick, fortifying supper that asks nothing of the grocer.

Serves 2. 8 minutes, 8 at the stove.

About 180 calories a serving, 11 g protein, 1 g carbohydrate, 14 g fat. From USDA figures for 67% of the ingredients; amounts are the recipe's.

You need half a clove sprouting garlic clove half, 1 tablespoon butter, 4 eggs, to taste salt, to taste pepper.

1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a wide skillet over medium heat. While it foams, separate the green sprouted shoot from half a garlic clove and slice it thin.
2. When the butter stops foaming, add the sliced green garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring once, until softened. Crack 4 eggs into a bowl, whisk with a pinch of salt and pepper, and pour into the pan.
3. Stir often with a spatula, pushing the set curds to the centre, until the eggs are just set and still soft, about 2 minutes. Taste and season again if needed, then serve.2 min

Note Swap the green garlic for scallion if you find one. Leftovers keep one day, cold or warmed gently in a dry pan. Serve with toast, rice, or rice cakes alongside.