Pasta with Red Clam Sauce

Very popular at our house... BTW, that's whole wheat spaghettini in the above photo; hard to tell, eh?

Pasta with Red Clam Sauce
1 # pasta (I use bionature 100% whole wheat)
1-3 Tbs (total) butter and olive oil
4 + cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
a few sprinkles of crushed red pepper
1 (15 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
1/3 to 2/3 can tomato paste
3 cans (6 1/2 oz each) minced or chopped clams
extra olive oil, optional
Parmesan cheese, optional

Boil water, then cook and drain pasta.
Meanwhile:

• Heat butter and olive oil in large skillet. Add garlic and saute gently, until fragrant but not brown. Add oregano, basil, and red pepper.
• Increase heat and add diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Open cans of clams and drain the broth into the skillet, reserving clams. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until as thick as cream.
• Add clams and heat briefly. Dump pasta in bowl or platter and pour sauce on top. Drizzle with extra olive oil and serve with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Note: The clams are added at the very end so they don't get tough from simmering and simmering and simmering. They just need to be warmed up.