It's time to eat!!!

This is the phrase where you start to salivate, your mouth has watered all day, as you find yourself in your chair on the left of your father, your brother across from you and your sister with her nose in a textbook.

I was always the last one at the table, always. I think I stared down my milk glass until it emptied somehow, a little on the floor, a small saucer for the cat. I never cared much for milk, I love it now, but I'm not a gallon-a-day like an old boss of mine. I could always count on having some at the radio station if I was really in need.

I eat slowly. But, tonight, I gorged myself. I was totally nuts for the food I had prepared. New kitchen gadgets are always a major thrill- I used my "Sharper Image" salad spinner (and mandolin slicer combo) to spin out the baby red lettuce leaves.

I cooked up the spinach penne pasta in a big red kettle-- also new, but from the consignment shop, so, previously loved.

I sliced up a red onion, and I put it in the salad, with a few pepperoncini's for zesty taste and color. I was very much craving the green of the meal, the asparagus was from frozen, and roasted in the oven at 350 degrees, topped with that old balsamic I just about finished off tonight, with onions, mushrooms, ginger, and olive oil. These were, fantastic!

The pasta was cooked perfectly, the knowledge gained from reading other online blogs, add in your pasta when your water is actually boiling, make sure you have a lot of salt in the water-- 1/2 tsp is not enough, I hear it needs to be salty like the sea. check your pasta with your spoon.  You can feel in the water the way it moves, if it is ready for you. You have to immediately take if off the heat, and throw it in the colander in the sink. My next gadget is one of those strainers which spans the sink. Run the coldest water over it. I did cook with reverse osmosis water, I am sensitive to chlorine in tap water.

Then, I put the pasta back into the pan, tossed over some marinara, and sliced in the cooked sausage that I sell in my job everyday. It is amazing. I threw in some parmesan cheese for effect.

Fantastic. What a return to the kitchen!