Went lookin for a steel...

...and found a steal.



Over the last few years, I've discovered a new-found love of cooking. Now, I always sorta liked it. And even when I just sorta liked it, one of the things I demanded in the kitchen were (was?) sharp knives. I usually bought cheap knives...but I kept 'em sharp.

We've been using some Taiwan-Bob, cheapie knife sharpener that we probably bought at the Dollar Store. It did the job...for a while. But I decided that we needed a steel, so I checked out the knife section at our local Bed Bath and Beyond the other day. I not only found a steel, but I snagged three Cuisinart knives...for about half price!

I know they're probably not "chef-quality"...you can spend hundreds of dollars for really good knives. But I figure these'll be just fine for me.



Lemme tell ya...this little serrated job can cut through a tough, whole-grain baguette like it was buttah. It does an equally good job slicin through those tender-skinned 'maters, too...

...which leads me right into my next train of thought.



My summer "staples". Really good quality olive oil...fresh, homegrown tomatoes...fresh basil...and

McCormick Crushed Garlic

.

I know, I know...I demand fresh tomatoes. I demand fresh basil. But I use jarred garlic? But, I'm tellin ya...this is the best stuff I've ever tried. It's waaaay easier than choppin garlic. I bet we go through a jar every two weeks, I use it that much. It mixes in everything. It makes great dips. I stir a spoonful into my sauces. It's fabulous in topping for bruschetta or in homemade salsa. Anywhere ya wanna use garlic. We just happen to loooove us some garlic, so when I say I use it a lot, I mean a lot.

Which leads me right into my next train of thought...

I swiped the recipe from

Elisson

, who swiped it from somewhere else, I think. I fixed it the other night, and it's fantastic as a light, summer supper. And easy...lemme tell ya...maybe a half-hour, start to finish. And ya only dirty up one pot and one bowl. Aaaaand, it's good for ya!

Cook up a pound of whole wheat pasta and drain. I used linguine, but whatever's your favorite. While the pasta's cookin, take a big bowl and throw in a couple big spoonfuls of McCormick crushed garlic, 10 or 12 good cranks of fresh black pepper, a couple pinches of Kosher salt, 10-12 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped, maybe 1/3 cup good olive oil and two or three medium sized tomatoes, chopped. I used about a half pound of our home-grown grape tomatoes, halved.

When the pasta's cooked, drain and throw it in the bowl. Mix everything up good, top with some freshly grated Parm and serve with some crusty bread. I used the above-mentioned whole-grain baguette.

The warm pasta just melts all the flavors together. Makes ya feel like you're havin supper in Rome.

Oh, wait...we have supper in Rome every night. heh