Feeling good today

About to head out to Costco with my dad, then to the gym, then come home and clean my room. Feeling good and I haven't taken my anxiety meds since Wednesday night... that's good stuff. Things seem to be going great.

Weird little random thing going on lately- Marcy, Viv, and Gonzo are 3 of my coworkers that speak Spanish and I've been using Spanish with them when we're at work. It is fun because I'm getting practice and it is coming really naturally for me. I feel "in" because I can understand everything and laugh right along.

I find myself at home using Spanish to test my parents and sister. It is funny- my dad hasn't had Spanish in 40+ years, but he knows the grammatical rules. He knows few words. My mom knows enough Spanish because she was able to pick it up working in East LA for 10 years, then having to teach her class in 2 languages when she started at the school she is at. She can figure out what I'm saying 90% of the time, whereas my dad can't, and is lost and annoyed. Stupid sister says she knows Spanish, and she knows some, but in comparison to me... the other night I was telling my parents I was going to go to the gym, then to see Gonzo, then the mall. My sister translated that as I was going to "marry the gym, make with Gonzo, and then go to the park." Sure sis, you know as much Spanish as me. I like showing my sister up. My mom translated what I was saying perfectly. Yay mom!

Unfortunately I can't find this on iTunes... it is Beyonce's "If I Were a Boy" sung by her in Spanish.

I've been wanting to blog about this for a while, but I'm a huge fan of Rachel Ray. Gonzo makes fun of me because I tell her that she is my wifey in the kitchen. I am always starving about 11:30 at school, so since November or so I've made a Rachel Ray 30-Minute Recipe each week for lunch to eat while at school. Here's the link to all of them... It takes me 30 minutes Sunday night and I have food to last me everyday of the week at lunch. It also isn't more than a few dollars...


Mamacello Pasta
Rachael Ray

From Every Day with Rachael Ray
June-July 2006

4 SERVINGS

1 pound spaghetti or linguine
Salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), 3 turns of the pan
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped *** I like big flavor, so did not hesitate to chop up the whole bulb of garlic, and it was not overpowering
2 pinches of crushed red pepper flakes
½ cup dry white wine (a couple of glugs)
Zest of 2 lemons, 1 lemon juiced
½ cup heavy cream (eyeball it)
Handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 cup fresh basil (20 leaves), shredded
Freshly grated Parmigiano- Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese, for topping the pasta and passing around the table

*** I added some chicken to this and it was good

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and salt the water liberally. Cook the pasta until al dente, 6 to 7 minutes.
2. While the pasta cooks, heat a deep skillet over low heat and add the EVOO, 3 turns of the pan. When the olive oil is warm, add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Turn off the heat and set the garlic aside for 5 minutes, then raise the heat to medium, add the wine and lemon zest and boil to reduce the wine by half, about 3 minutes.
3. When the pasta is just about cooked, add a ladle of starchy pasta cooking water to the skillet with the sauce and stir in the heavy cream. When the cream is warmed through, whisk the lemon juice into the sauce and season with salt. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce, then let the pasta stand for 1 minute so it can soak up a little of the sauce and lots of flavor. Toss with the parsley, basil and a couple handfuls of grated cheese, then serve immediately. Pass around the extra cheese at the table.