Putting On My Apron

Recently Chris and I determined that despite the hassle, cooking was way better than Subway for the third time in a week, or spending money on an over-priced restaurant. Our town has some tasty restaurants for a community so small, but only a handful. So if you’re eating out several times in a week, the same fare gets pretty old.

So I have re-opened the kitchen, officially. Chris is a happy man again.

Here is a tasty recipe I adapted from Terry Stirling’s pasta dish, found on www.allreceipes.com. If you haven’t discovered this website, I definitely recommend it.

Death By Garlic

½ cup olive oil
10 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I used dried parsley, and it turned out just fine)
1 pound dry bowtie pasta
1/3 cup grated Romano or parmesan cheese
2-3 large chicken breasts
Cherry tomatoes, halved

1. Cook pasta and set aside
2. Cut chicken into small pieces and cook in a pan in oil. When the chicken is almost cooked, add garlic and brown, then add parsley and spices and remove from heat.
3. Toss pasta with chicken and add cheese and tomatoes.

Besides cooking, we’ve been trying to organize our house now that Chris has brought all our furniture for our house in Birmingham. So far I’ve got one room full of boxes full of stuff I don’t know what to do with. I don’t understand how we ended up with SO MUCH STUFF. Obviously we don’t need it all, since we’ve lived without it for 6 months. Our good friends Ryan and Tyler braved the long trip via U-Haul with Chris. It was so awesome to have them visiting in Bishop for several days; they were our first guests since we moved out here. We went for a strenuous hike at Yosemite on Mist Trail up to Vernal and Nevada falls, along with my friend Crystal and her family on vacation from Houston. I wish our camera wasn’t broken; it was so beautiful.

I am going to get my driver’s license renewed tomorrow, and be issued a California license. I guess it’s official; I’m no longer an Alabamian. But considering every time I open my mouth I get “Where are you from?” I don’t think I’ll shed my Southern roots too soon.

-Katy