Cooking is Fun!

This one goes out to all of you who feel like you can't cook. YOU ARE WRONG. Haha, let me explain. With just a few tools and pieces of knowledge you can make delicious and often very cost-effective meals. When you are stuck in a country with really only one cuisine, things can be simple or much more difficult (imagine trying to make something from another culture...), but especially when one lives in a mixing pot like the Seattle area, pretty much everything is available to you. What spawned this topic you ask? Last night, with the prep work of my roomies here in Rome, I cooked a sweet gumbo for seven people (with plenty to spare). Why is this so special? I have never made gumbo before, yet here we made something so tasty that the few people who thought they only wanted a little were running back for more! Ok, so you have never cooked anything but bowls of soup and quesadillas? Maybe jumping up to something like a gumbo is out of your way, but I'm sure you can make some delicious and easy pasta. Here's your meal for tonight, if you choose to accept my challenge.

Easy Pasta:
First off, you are going to need some noodles. Really, any kind will work for this idea, but fresh pasta (a little pricier mind you) works out to taste better and actually cooks faster! Now, you want to decide on your sauce and what else is going into your meal. Lets start off with a tomato sauce, since it is easy to prepare and tastes good on a lot of stuff. You can just buy any of them, but I'd stick to ones that are just veggies and herbs. Ok, now it is time to decide if you feel like meat in your meal. For most Italian meals this is likely going to be a sausage, but feel free to do chicken or something else (more specialty meats may require advanced cooking knowledge or ideas about what to cook with them, so for now lets stick to chicken or sausage). Finally, lets add some veggies to this meal. Here, if you are going for fast and cheap, buy a bag of frozen veggies (peas work great) and just let them thaw for about an hour-ish before cooking. Otherwise, let your stomach guide you to the flavors you want. Carrots, peas, beans, onions, garlic, mushrooms, peppers... the list goes on. Try to experiment with things, but for your first endeavor, lets just do two things (onions and peas would go great, although you could really pick any two of that short list and be happy). This is enough (with some common spices) to make a meal, but you might want some parmesan cheese to put on top too.

Ok, lets make this meal! First, find a pot and pour in some water (half is usually fine), a pinch or two of salt, and a little olive oil. Once this comes to a boil, the pasta goes in (you will occasionally have to stir the pasta, and check it to see when it is done to your liking). Meanwhile, in a separate pan, pour in some olive oil and cook up your meat. You might want to cut the meat into small pieces to make it cook faster, but that isn't required. Once the meat is looking nearly finished cooking, now is the time to add the veggies. I usually dice them small so that the flavors mix well. Once the veggies are tasting cooked, pour in your sauce and let the whole thing get up to heat. This is where you can add spices like black and/or red pepper, basil, oregano, garlic, etc. Now, hopefully your pasta is cooked and strained out, so serve it onto your plate and pour the now heated and delicious sauce, meat, and veggies on top. Buon Appetite!

For more advanced meals, try mixing in more veggies, multiple meats or more specialized ingredients. The world of culinary gems is within your grasp! Experiment with flavors, colors, and textures. Perhaps soon I will post some ideas for something else tasty, but for now cook out your imagination and you can see why so many people fall in love with cooking as not only a small mental escape from life, but also because some of these things you make taste so good! Happy cooking everyone!