Vet School and Food

My adventures through the Veterinary School process, and the meals along the way.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Andrew's Favorite

Life is crazy, but wonderful. This whole owning a home thing isn’t as different as I had expected it to be. Yeah, I am crazy in debt, and scared something will go terribly wrong—you know like in that eighties movie with Tom Hanks and that girl from Cheers. Mostly, however, I am pleasantly surprised how much fun it is. Homeownership is hard work, but it is turning out to be very rewarding. This week I painted 12 different colors on my wall (along with my very patient mother) before deciding on a pleasant blue.

In addition we have managed to get our new gas stove piped and installed, ripped out and replaced (almost) our shower-including raising our shower head to the level of normal people from its previous location at midget height- and hooked up our wireless network. Naomi (Andrew’s mom) has done wonders with our very scraggly looking yard and managed to make friends with our neighbors who have a truck. I think this will be incredibly useful in the scheme of things.

It is strange, but I think I am going to get real into this small town, nearly rural living. I love running down to the building supply (which happens about five times a day) and knowing everyone’s name, and them knowing mine. The rolling green hills and the mosey-along speed of life is going to work just fine for me. When school starts I would neither have the time nor the energy to keep up with the speed of life in the city.

The first meal I made on my new stove is Andrew’s favorite:

Sausage and Orzo Simmer
2 T olive oil
1 lb of Italian sausage, removed from casings
½ of a large onion minced
1 small garlic clove minced
1/3-1/2 box (5-8 oz) of orzo pasta (It doesn’t seem like that much, but remember the volume increases exponentially as it cooks)
2 cans stewed tomatoes (with juice)
1 can chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
1 T of butter
Ricotta to top

Heat oil on high in a deep skillet or dutch oven
Add onions and garlic, simmer a minute or two
Add sausage, break apart into bite-sized pieces and cook until brown on the outside, then reduce heat to medium
Allow the sausage to cook a few minutes longer-the amount of time will depend on the size of your pieces
Once the meat is mostly cooked through, add the orzo, tomatoes, and chicken broth.
Bring to a simmer breaking tomatoes apart, reduce heat to low, cover and cook stirring occasionally until orzo is cooked through. You may need to add some more water or chicken broth to completely cook the orzo.
Remove from heat, stir in butter and add salt/pepper to taste
Serve in warmed bowls with a dollop of ricotta

Note: The Italian sausage can be mild, sweet or hot depending on your taste. Also if you get sweet or mild you can always add some chili flakes or powder to increase the spiciness.

1 Comments:

Blogger Alan said...

I'm looking forward to a meal cooked on this new stove!

10:21 AM  

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