Monday, April 25, 2011

stove top

I used to have this awful stove. It had one big burner, one small burner, and a grill on the other half. People who saw it would say, "Oh that's so great - you can grill indoors." That's not great. That's the only cooking I get my carnivore to do. And it gets him out of the kitchen too. Plus, whenever I wanted to cook more than two things at once, I had to heat up an entire side of the stove. This meant I could put two things on that side, but they had to be cooked at the same temperature or I could put one thing on that side and let the flames heat up the house. It was terrible. Then one year, after much complaining on my part, my loving carnivore caved and upgraded me to a brand new stove. I love it! Its not anything super fancy, but it has four burners. And, when I cook up a recipe like this one, I delight in lighting each one up!

I start by boiling a big pot of salted water on my largest burner. Once it is ready I add in a box of whole wheat penne. On another, I saute some thickly sliced baby bella mushrooms and broccoli crowns over medium low heat in olive oil. On a back burner I put diced ham and 1/2 cup of peas on low. Then I take out a small sauce pan and make a light alfredo from a mix according to the directions. When everything is done, I drain the pasta and toss it with the sauce. I then divide the creamy coated tubes into two large bowls. In one bowl I mix in the veggies, then the ham and peas in another. When everything is well coated I add some salt and pepper to each. Usually the carnivore and I top our dishes with grated parmesan too.

It may sound like I have a lot going on, or look like it if you ever saw my stove in action on a night like this, but I assure you - there is nothing I love more than having a stove that can make it happen.

2 comments:

Blog Widget by LinkWithin