Under smoke-filled skies

Under the smoke filled skies of Southern California, Andy and I have been cleaning out the garage of my house to make room for everything I deem necessary to store. Mostly, It has turned into a chore of taking everything out of the room, organizing a box, and then putting everything back into the room into a different arrangement. It’s been super fun. Dad found a bunch of pictures of him and the family from about thirty years ago. Its amazing how short men’s shorts were in the 70’s.

In more pressing news, my visa application has been officially turned into the proper authorities. Now begins the waiting game. Andy and I have started a preliminary look at apartments near my campus; some look promising. We have been making boxes of what we can survive with in England. So far, it’s a Le Cruset 3l pot (early wedding present from Emily), a wooden spoon, a pair of tongs, a 13x9 baking pan, and three knives. If we can stick with just that, I think it qualifies as an adventure cookbook…

On Wednesday we went to see Inglorious Bastards. It is by far my favorite Tarantino movie. On Saturday, we went to dinner with my grandparents. They gave me three books on British history and tourism. They have some amazing pictures and a dictionary! This will help us better understand what those English people are saying. And what their signs mean.

I also made a pretty tasty pasta dish I’m pretty proud of and will be sharing with you now:

2 Sweet potatoes, peeled and large diced.

4-5 Chicken and apple sausages, cut into ½ in sliced disks

2 cloves garlic, minced

10 large sage leaves

¾ cup white wine

½ cup cream cheese

1lb fresh pasta (we used whole wheat)

1.Place a medium sized pan filled with water, the diced sweet potatoes, and a tablespoon of salt on high heat. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 2 min. Drain and rinse with cool water.

2. Fill a large pot with water and place on high heat. Bring to a boil and salt liberally.

3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the sausages and brown liberally. Remove the sausages from the pan and lower the heat to low. Drain the fat into a receptacle.

3. To the brown bits, add 3 tablespoons of butter. Allow to melt and start browning. Then, add the garlic and cook for 1 min.

4. Add the sage leaves to the butter and allow to fry for 1 min. When the leaves have started to curl, add the wine. Allow the sauce to reduce for 3 min over low heat. Add the cream cheese and stir.

5. Put 2 tablespoons of salt into the pot of boiling water. Add the pasta and follow package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of starchy cooking liquid.

6. Add the cooked pasta and the reserved liquid to the skillet with the sauce and mix. Serve immediately.