Only 24 hours left...

Until my giveaway will be gone...the socks, gel, Nuun, Moons and earbuds...all gone! C'mon, you know you want to enter ;)

Double work day = no run for me...unless I learn how to get up early. I know there are tons of you morning people out there! How on earth do you do it?? Fess up!!

I had two extremely pleasant surprises waiting for me when I got home today. FIRST was the smell of dinner cooking when I walked into the apartment :) Jamie set out to make Penne Arrabbiata from our stack of How to Cook Everything calendar cards.
Penne Arrabbiata (from How to Cook Everything)
1/4 c olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 (28-oz) can whole plum tomatoes
1 lb penne, ziti or other cut pasta, cooked
1/4 minced parsley
grated Pecorino Romano (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil, garlic, and chiles in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic becomes brown (but not black) - 7 or 8 minutes. Turn off th eheat for 1 minute. Meanwhile, drain the tomatoes and remove their seeds, if you like. Crush them with a fork or your hands and add them to the skillet, along with salt and pepper; turn the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture becomes saucy, 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Top pasta with sauce, parsley and serve with grated cheese if desired.

I was a little worried that the garlic would taste burned, but it was actually quite nice in the sauce. We only had a box of rigatoni so that's what we used for this dish. I don't know why, but I always associate rigatoni with meatballs or a chunky meat sauce. That being said, we both agreed this dish might have been good with some ground meat, or without the parsley garnish (which was a little leafy/grassy tasting to me). I like when I don't have to cook dinner :)

My second surprise came via mail. A week or so ago, a friend of mine suggested I sign up to receive the Republic of Tea catalog. She's a die hard fan and has always talked about their teas so I figured why not...I like tea and glossy pictures! I totally forgot about this until I opened the mailbox and saw my catalogue...with a free teabag! Thanks to the generous folks at the Republic of Tea, I am now sipping on a very tasty mug of this:
It smells fantastic and fruity as it steeps - it smells a tiny bit like the Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Zinger, but not quite as tart. The flavor is smooth. I didn't really notice the green tea at first, but now that I'm a little closer to the bottom half of my mug, I get that green tea-y aftertaste (hard to describe!). Anyway, it's a tasty tea that I bet would be great iced. Hmm...now that's what I call a fun introductory catalog :)

For dessert, we hacked into that Korean melon from our Eastern Market adventure. The one that was supposed to taste like a watermelon and canteloupe
Yeah...not quite watermelon-y or canteloupe-y...and trust me, I KNOW my watermelon and canteloupe hehe. This tasted like a crisp honeydew. The flavor of a ripe honeydew with the texture and crunch of an unripe one. Not bad. Though, I am a little bummed it wasn't a cantemelon or waterloupe :(

Ok, off to finish up the last few pages of Eat, Pray, Love. Definitely going to make a Borders trip tomorrow for a new read. I think Bitter is the New Black is the winner ;)

Speaking of winners...why not enter for a chance to be one??