It's Amazing What A Little Resourcefulness Can Do For Your Cooking

Tonight I made dinner on the fly. The refridgerator is stuffed with so many things. I do think Pam knows half of what is in there. Today, while putting dinner together, I found small bag of green beans that had begun to mold. The deal is, if, and only if, Pam can get all of her work done by Friday, the girls can take the WHOLE day off of school and we can go to the Central Market in Florence where you can buy American goods, and basically anything you ever desired. Plus, we would just be getting to spend more time in Florence! If she does not get her work finished, then we will still go to Florence, but will just take the girls out of school early, and skip the big market. I do not know if Pam will be able to get all of this done, but I figured I would try to help her as much as I could, so I told her I would make dinner tonight. Of course, I had no idea what to make, and had none of the ingredients I needed for the select amount of recipes I have. Fortunately though, Pam had the presence of mind to buy four chicken cutlets, pre-breaded and partially cooked, while at the grocery store this morning. So, I knew I was going to heat those up in the skillet with some oil, salt, and lemon juice, but I had no idea what else to make. I asked each girl what she would and would not eat, and ended up making plain cooked carrots for Emma, roasted tomatoes with rosemary, salt and olive oil for Pam and I, and green beans parboiled then sauteed in olive oil and prosciutto. I was trying to think of simple ways to season each vegetable without going over kill or using garlic. Although I like garlic, I am trying to not use it so much in my cooking because it really can overpower the dish. The tomatoes were the most interesting thing. Of course, I had to turn off the dishwasher before I turned on the oven, and then I slid the tomatoes onto the first rack and turned the heat up to broil. Well, not five minutes later the electricity went out. I tried to turn off each of the gas burners I had going, and then left with Pam to go outside where the breaker box is to see how to turn the power back on. When we came back in I had to turn out about half of the lights going in the house, and pray to the electricity gods, the power would not go out again. One thing Pam and I notice immediately was that although I had extingushed the flame on the stove, I had not turned the gas off all the way, so I had to wait, and pray some more, before I turned the stove back on. It was a little scary hearing that click, click, click of the burner. I was worried I might walk out of the kitchen bald and smoking. Fortunately, nothing happened. I was tending to the things on the stove, when I happend to think to look in on my tomatoes. The second I opened the oven tons of foul smelling smoke rushed up and stung my eyes. I closed the door immediately and shouted "Oh God!" Pam came rushing in, and I told her I thought I had burned the tomatoes, but I was not sure. We turned off the oven, and waited for a minute, then, mostly out of impatience, we threw open the oven door. I was really worried at this point because I had used aluminum foil in an effort to not have to clean so many dishes, and I was wondering if the aluminum had melted to the pan or something. Pam pulled out the rack and said "Wow, these look great!" The tomatoes, as it turns out, were almost perfectly cooked, and whatever the smoke was, it was not coming from my tray. I gather something like cheese, Pam did make pizzas in the oven the other night, had fallen in the stove and was burning off while my tomatoes were cooking. Fortunately, the tomatoes did not retain any bit of the foul smell they were cooking in. In the end, everyone raved about the meal. Pam says I am a natural cook. Well, I am certainly not cooking any masterpiece. I think if I can just master cooking food that tastes good I will be happy. Plus, it is amazing what resourcefulness can do for your cooking skills. In this house, there is just more food than is neccessary, so when I cook, I just have to look in the fridge and say, 'Okay, what can I use up today?' Generally, everything comes out ok in the long run.
In other news, I am about to begin piano lessons. Siena, who has been bugging her parents about quitting lessons after four years of practice, finally won the battle, and now no one is using the piano taking up space in the livingroom. Tonight, while at dinner I asked Pam how much she paid for lessons for Siena, she told me it was 30 euros a month. "30 Euros a MONTH!" I cried. "I know," said Pam "it is a really good deal." She thinks the woman should have space for me, and that she could take me to lessons once a week, and told me to remind her about it tomorrow, and she would call to make sure the lady would agree to teach me. Also, I will have to find out about registering for Italian lessons in Siena. Maybe this way, I will meet some more people. At least I will be getting out more. Tomorrow is market day in Castelnuovo, and I am very excited. First of all, I love the chicken and french fries we buy from the market lady. Second, I need more candy from the candy stand. Third, I want to get a little plant for my apartment. Pam told me she would take me early, around 1030am, and then come back around 1230 to pick up the chicken and then get the girls from school, tomorrow is a short day for them.
Then, Saturday we have plans to go to a friends house for a Valentine's Day dinner. I am very excited because this is the first time I will have ever done ANYTHING for Valentine's Day. I am going to buy the hostess a gift while we are in Florence, it is always nice to bring a gift to a dinner party I think, maybe something like flowers, or some specialty food item? Any ideas on what a good gift would be?
Even though I am cooking almost every night now, and doing the dishes after dinner and lunch, I am glad to be staying busy. Of course, it would be nice if someone offered to help, but I guess I AM the hired help, and no one helps the help. Still, if I can learn to cook well, then I think it is worth doing the dishes every night. It's all about me, and so long as I am doing something that will help ME in the future, well, I cannot really complain.