Pasta Picante (or “Mom’s Pasta”)

My best girlfriend is vegetarian, as is the rest of her family.  She found this pasta sauce at a restaurant and they all loved it so much that she went home and created a reasonable facsimile of it that she's been making now for decades.  Hence, her children just call it "Mom's Pasta."  I think it's basically Aglio Olio.  It is mostly comprised of dried spices and when her children went away to college, they all demanded that she make "to-go" containers of the spices that go into this pasta so they could make it on their own.  

My friend cooks by ear (in much the same way I do) and never measures anything, but did her best to give her children their heart's desires.  The measurements in the following recipe are what she came up with.  The resulting sauce is piquant without being overwhelming and is lovely served tossed with pasta alone, or served with a protein such as chicken or shrimp.  Enjoy!