Finals and Food

     Today was the final for my English 250 (Backgrounds of Western Literature) class. I walked into class and my teacher handed me the paper I had written and asked that I email her a copy of it so that she can use it next semester as an example. Yes, I know, I've been bragging about it, but this means a lot to me. It's disheartening enough to start college at 23, it's even more disheartening to still not know what you want to be doing with your life. It is, however, encouraging to see that you are doing well in the subject you have chosen to study and make a career out of. I never really fancied myself a writer. I mean, I did angst filled poems as a teenager that were probably classified under "emo", but I felt like that's what all the kids were doing and it was nothing special. In high school English, I was lucky to pull a B on a paper. But since starting college, English has been the one thing that has really clicked for me. I love it. I love researching and writing, and most of all I love seeing an A on a paper that I literally wrote, start to finish, in one day. Enough rambling about my paper. . .

      The final was pretty easy. The last half of the semester we read The Canterbury Tales, Everyman, Hamlet, and Don Quixote. I've studied Hamlet so much that I didn't even bother rereading it (thanks literary criticism), and out of the other three my favorite was Everyman. It was a simple read and also very simple to understand what the author was saying. As simple as it was though, it had a deep message: only good deeds can follow man to death. It seems plain and stuff, but after losing my grandmother and thinking a lot about death it got me thinking about how people remember you after you're gone. As for my NeeNaw, we all remember her not only as someone that would put you in your place, but as someone who would drop what they are doing and run to be at your side if you need them. Her good deeds followed her into death, and that's something that everyone should strive for, being remembered for all the good they did. So that was what I took from this semester in that class.

     On to my dinner for tonight! I have been stressed a lot lately and usually when I get stressed I tend to overeat. The past couple of days I completely lost my appetite. I had some delicious sushi last night, and I could only eat 1/3 of it because I felt like if I ate anymore I would get sick. I had a small lunch and I guess receiving praise from my teacher helped me gain an appetite. So tonight for dinner I wanted my favorite combination, tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. A quick trip to Walmart later and Nikk and I were in the kitchen whipping up this recipe. I decided that I would start posting recipes in blog form so if anyone else decides they want to try it then they can.

 Balsamic Tomatoes and Penne Pasta 

 Half a box of penne pasta 

1 Package of cherry tomatoes, halved 

3 Cloves of garlic, minced 

2 Tablespoons olive oil 

1/4 Cup balsamic vinegar 

Fresh mozzerella cheese, cubed 

3 Basil leaves, chiffonade 

 Salt and Pepper to taste 

Directions:

 -Bring water to a boil for the pasta. Always salt your pasta water so you can flavor the pasta while it's cooking. Cook pasta according to package directions. 

-In a small, hot pan, add olive oil and garlic. Cook for about a minute, don't burn the garlic. 

 -After pasta is finished, drain it, and put it back on the burner (burner should be set to low). 

 -Add garlic, oil, tomatoes, and vinegar. Mix and cook for a few minutes just so things heat through, add cheese at this time and mix it in well. 

 -Garnish with basil and enjoy! 

 It's a really simple recipe bursting with flavor. I enjoyed it and will probably enjoy leftovers tomorrow for lunch. Anyway, it's time that I go study for my last final, English 220- Introduction to Literature.