Penne Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce

A very yummy recipe that I just tried tonight....it originally came from the Cook Yourself Thin show I guess. My neighbor tried it and passed it on to me.

Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil, plus extra
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cp chopped red onion
3/4 tsp salt
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
Pinch red pepper
8 oz penne
1/4 cp heavy cream
2.5 oz evaporated nonfat milk
1/3 cp grated Parmesan
1/4 cp shredded fresh basil
1/8 tsp black pepper

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the penne.
2. In a large saucepan, heat the 2 tsp oil with the garlic over low heat until the garlic begins to brown, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the onion and 1/4 tsp salt, cover, and cook until the onion is softened, about 2 more minutes.
4. Add the tomato, 1/2 tsp salt, and the red pepper.
5. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat, and simmer very gently for 10 minutes.
6. After the sauce has simmered for 5 minutes, add the penne to the boiling water and cook until just shy of al dente, about 6 minutes.
7. After the sauce has simmered for 10 minutes, stir in the cream and evaporated milk and simmer 1 more minute.
8. Drain the penne, reserving about 1/2 cp pasta water.
9. Add the drained penne to the sauce and simmer until the penne is al dente, about 1-2 more minutes. Add a little of the pasta cooking water if the mixture is dry.
10. Stir in 1/4 cp of the Parmesan, along with the basil and black pepper.
11. Sprinkle additional olive oil and Parmesan over the food if desired. Serve.

This yields 4 servings.

When we made the dish, we just used minced garlic instead of whole cloves, since that is what we had on hand. For the same reason, we substituted shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese for the Parmesan. It turned out really good!

Getting nervous....

You'd think someone who's wanted a baby for years and totally planned her pregnancy would be more excited than scared at this point. Sophia is due Sept 14 and I am just terrified. I don't have all the stuff I need yet, which makes me very anxious. The bigger issue, however, is I'm just not sure I'm going to be a good mom. I don't have the patience I think I should, nor do I particularly enjoy playing games with little kids. But I don't want to be one of those moms who resents their kids and parks them in the playpen in front of the TV all day either.

It probably doesn't help that I've been watching my neighbor's baby this week. He's a good baby, and a cute one, but needy. I don't mean he needs food or diaper changes or things like that, because those are normal and no big deal. It's that you can't put him down for a more than a minute before he starts crying to be picked up again. His mom carries him around all day apparently, and so he expects the same from me. I love holding and cuddling with him, but when he's crying because I have to put him down on the floor for 2 minutes so I can pee, it becomes a bit of an issue. Especially when I have to pee about every 25-30 minutes. Vic told me maybe I should try to break him of this habit, but I'm not sure it's worth it for only 2 more days of watching him. I don't think he'll learn that quickly and will just cry the entire time. If I were watching him for a longer period of time, I'd put up with that so he would learn, but it's hard to undo 11 mths of training in just a few hours. In any case, I feel a sense of relief when his mom comes to pick him up--which really scares me, as soon I'll have my own and no one will be coming to pick her up.

So, I'm just starting to wonder if having my daughter is going to be like this too. I'm hoping the whole maternal love thing will kick in so I enjoy being a mom. I feel a bond with her, but it's still more abstract in some ways than I expect it to be when she's actually here. At least I hope the bond will get stronger. And I enjoy being pregnant so much--rubbing my belly and feeling her kick in particular--but I'm not sure I'm ready for the actual child herself. I know that, ready or not, Sophia's coming in 2 months but it's just freaking me out!

A Rough Week

Last week my husband Vic and I flew up to Iowa to visit my parents. We needed this vacation, and were excited about seeing my family again. People in Florida often ask me what we do when we go to Iowa--no doubt they imagine cow-tipping and other stereotypical pastimes. And NO, I have never in my life tipped a cow! In any case, we go to Iowa to relax, so we spend most of our time sitting around and visiting. It may sound boring, but we always have a lovely time. This time we got to see my brother and his entire family, as well as an aunt I hadn't seen in 11 years, so it was pretty neat.

Unfortunately, this particular trip was cut short by a day, as we received some very bad news from Florida. Vic's grandmother, a lovely woman named Ofelia, passed away. This was a nasty shock, as you can imagine. She had been in the hospital while we were gone, due to a cold, swollen, painful foot. Obviously a circulatory issue, though we were (and still are) unsure as to the underlying cause. Vic was on the phone with his family every day to get updates on her condition, and as far as we could tell, the worst-case scenario would be amputation. Now, she was 86 years old, so that would've been hard on her and possibly the beginning of a decline, but we certainly did not expect her to die. The day before she died, the doctors were even discussing discharging her. Of course, the doctors and the quality of their medical care is a whole other angry story that I won't be posting, in case legal action is taken.

So, Sunday night, Vic got the call. I was outside talking to some friends until my mom came and told me I was needed in the house. When I came in, Vic was sitting at the table. He just looked up at me and told me she had passed. The look of anguish on his face...oh my god...it just broke my heart. Completely wrung it out...and that image has been haunting me all week. I can't get it out of my head. It makes me cry every time. I wish I could erase that memory instead of seeing it over and over in an exhausting mental loop.

Vic, naturally, cried himself that evening. I have never seen him cry before. He's held it together ever since, and truth be told, seems to be in better emotional shape than I am at the moment. How stupid is that? It's his grandmother, that he's known and loved all his life. I didn't even know his grandmother that well, as she spoke only Spanish and I know very little. But I have grieved for his grief and that of his family. Vic's mother and his grandfather have been the most visibly affected. I found out at the funeral that his grandparents had been married for 67 years--an amazingly long time, and I cannot imagine the loneliness his grandfather is feeling now. Vic told me later he was talking to his grandfather at the viewing and could see in his eyes just how lost he felt.

The viewing and funeral service was held in Miami on Wednesday. Nobody likes funerals, of course, but there is an undeniable feeling of closure afterwards. Not that we don't all still grieve, but it's a first step towards learning to adjust to life without the one we love.

Descanse en paz, Ofelia. Te extranaremos y estaras siempre en nuestros corazones.