My kitchen & I

I've never been one of them: someone who claims the kitchen as their domain. Ironic since my parents have worked in the restaurant longer than I've been alive. They even own a restaurant; my father cooks there. They're big fans of the food. How come this apple fell so far from the tree? I'm not sure. Perhaps the cooking genes fell to my younger sister. She's pretty comfortable near the stove; though she has been known for quite a few boo-boos in the kitchen (ex. leaving the stove on). I haven't dabbled in the kitchen enough times to come close to creating a cooking faux-pas. Although I do vaguely remember a near grease-fire incident this past Valentine. Does that count? Enough of the past, I'm gearing up for a new era in my kitchen: a new dawn for my kitchen and I.

I'm comfortable enough in the success that was Sunday to count that as my debut into the foodie world as a cook. Don't get me wrong, I've been a big fan of food for a quite a while, but on the other end: I eat well.

The menu on Sunday focused on tackling the items in my fridge on their way to perishing. I figured it was a good idea to start cooking by a method I'll need to be utilizing: being able to cook with what you have, not what you can purchase. Due to my affinity for the glorious establishment known as Costco, I had already had copious (Costco) amounts of certain ingredients:

Wheat pasta (penne and rotini)
6 large bell peppers
Spinach
Rice
Grape tomatoes
1 white onion
Pasta sauce

My main concern was for the peppers; they had been sitting in my fridge for about a week. The pasta...is something to slowly work through. I've still got 7 boxes of that stuff. Gotta love Costco...I definitely won't starve this winter. Given all this, I knew I wanted to cook two meals (what ambition!). This way, my leftovers would then be left to sustain me through a portion of the week to come. The plan eventually came to a baked penne dish and stuffed peppers. Early Sunday morning, I headed to the local farmer's market and returned home with:

6 heads of garlic (for $1!)
2 bunches of cilantro
1 bag of rosemary
Scamorza cheese (similar to mozzarella)
Italian sausage

Above are the ingredients used in the cooking adventure. I also picked up a bottle of raspberry vinegar, a bag of fresh pita bread and a container of yummy olives. Altogether, I paid roughly $30. Not too shabby I think. Alright now onto the recipes:

Baked Penne

4 cloves of garlic
1/2 lb of italian sausage
Penne pasta
Spinach
1/2 white onion
Cilantro (however much you want)
Scamorza cheese (however much you want)
12 oz Tomato sauce
Skillet
Pot
Casserole dish

1. Boil the penne
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
3. Chop up garlic into thin slices
4. Slice onion into long strips
5. Toss garlic and onion onto skillet
6. Add italian sausage into skillet
7. When sausage is close to done, put in the cilantro and spinach
8. When sausage is done, add the tomato sauce and turn down the burner
9. Drain penne and add to casserole dish
10. Top penne with contents in skillet and mix
11. Top mixture with liberal helping of the scamorza
12. Stick casserole dish into the oven for 20 minutes

So it's harder to post a recipe than I had previously thought. I'll have to update again with the stuffed peppers (I have pictures!).

For being a tease, I'll leave you with another Lady GaGa masterpiece: Bad Romance