What’s truly inspiring about a meal of pasta is how easy it is to throw together an elegant topping: a few chopped-up vegetables that would otherwise suffer an undignified death at the bottom of your produce bin, sauteed in a little olive oil with a clove of fresh garlic and herb of the day, a splash of white wine, a finely chopped sun-dried tomato and a brief shaking of salt and white pepper. So in my kitchen, when time and ingredients are at a minimum, the fettuccine cache always comes through with a delectable solution.

There are endless variations — think of all the shapes to choose from. For instance, wide pappardelle swathed in Parmesan and butter to soothe the mood of a picky-eating youngster. Or try orecchiette — or little ears — that will cradle the goodness of tuna and capers. The general rule of thumb when pairing pasta to toppings is to consider the thickness of the sauce. Thinner sauces go perfectly with strands or ribbons, while shapes and tubes are designed to grab thicker, chunky sauces.

You’ve probably been constructing simple pasta sauces your entire cooking life, but I thought I’d provide you with a few more concepts. The following preparations should springboard your creativity into all sorts of new dinner options.

Experiment with new pastas, substitute ingredients in the recipes for whatever is on hand and make it work. And by all means, use freshly ground Parmesan cheese whenever possible for ultimate flavor.

— Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis food writer, artist and author of “Oregon Hazelnut Country, the Food, the Drink, the Spirit” and four other cookbooks. Readers can contact her by email at janrd@proaxis.com or obtain additional recipes and food tips on her blog at www.janrd.com.