Happy Warm New Year! Comfort Food for This BRRR-Cold Night!

Happy New Year Dear Readers!  I extend to you my warmest greetings on this fr-e-e-zing cold day!  It was 4F when I left for work this morning but it felt like spring when I returned home as the temperature had climbed up to 19F! Thank God!  

I have been blogging in my mind everyday, but was determined today to post something. My delicious dinner gave me the push to post about it.  My son had mentioned that he had made some spaghetti earlier and that had brought on a desire for some pasta - yes, my body was asking for some comfort food. So I quickly boiled 2 cups of gluten-free pasta.  I discovered that I still had some dairy-free cheese in the refrigerator; however, I couldn't remember when I had opened the packet. I sniffed to see if there was any odor and crossed my fingers while I made sure there was nothing blue (mold)!!!  The angels were looking after me today! I was in luck! I was going to have Penne with Cheese! Yeah! Why the exclamation and excitement over pasta? Well, I don't eat processed food everyday and to have gluten-free pasta with dairy-free cheese and have it taste like something you would get at an Italian restaurant, not cardboard, is very EXCITING!

I sautéed 2 cloves of garlic in olive oil and then added some pasta sauce, which was a combination of Whole Foods' organic pasta sauce and Trade Joe's marinara sauce. Perfect marriage! I also added some freshly-picked oregano from my window-box garden. When the penne was cooked, I rinsed it with some cool water, and put it in the pan and let it bathe in the fragrant pasta sauce. I tossed the Daiya cheese on top of the pasta and mixed it until it melted and got all gooey and yummy!

Garlic and Oregano are powerful, natural "antibiotics" and are antiviral, antibacterial - great for fighting those nasty cold germs. 

There is a sense of true nourishment when you prepare food with vegetables or herbs that you have grown yourself. Real, complete food for the body, mind and soul.

By posting this blog, I have crossed off one of my goals for this month.  What goals have you set for yourself this year? Have you written them down?  If you are like me and don't remember what you had for lunch yesterday (LOL!), I would suggest that you right down your goals.  It's a great way to have them in front of you to look at and constantly remind yourself of what you want to accomplish.  After all life doesn't just happen, you make it happen. What do you want in your life this year? Go for it - write down your dreams and let the Universe guide you!

Warmly,
Jyoti