The Joy of Cooking

One of my great joys in life is cooking. I've thought about training to be a chef, and I'm not ruling out the possibility completely, but I'm not sure my body could endure the long, grueling hours of standing and bending. For sure, I'd have to practice yoga every single day (which isn't a bad thing).

In the meantime, I'm happy to be an at-home chef, experimenting and playing and creating. My favorite pastime is "make something delicious with whatever you have in the frig and pantry." I also have a penchant for making one-dish meals during the week that also give me leftovers the next day. If you want to play this game, too, the easiest things to use as a base are pasta, eggs, or potatoes. This time of year, pasta is my fave.

So here's my concoction of the week. Feel free to copy, change, or just drool over the recipe. For those of you who need measurements, I've estimated them, but pretty much everything is "to taste." Veg people, this would work nicely without the bacon.

1 lb. fettuccine, cooked to the consistency you prefer

While pasta is cooking, make sauce as follows:
1 stick butter
8 T. extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Heat above ingredients until hot, then turn down heat to medium. Then add:
3 chopped jalapenos (too spicy for most of you, so try 1 to start)
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
2 T. minced garlic

Cook above ingredients for a few minutes. Turn down heat to lowest setting, then add:
1 c. big pieces of tomato
Salt and pepper to taste

When pasta is done, mix sauce and pasta together and add:
6 strips bacon, cooked until crispy, then crumbled
3/4 c. coarsely chopped toasted nuts (I used walnuts, but next time I'm going for pine nuts)
3/4 c. coarsely chopped Italian parsley

Serve in big pasta bowls and enjoy. Absolutely fabulous!