By Teri Cayton
The Parsons Advocate
The gas prices and the weather around here have a lot in common. One day the prices are fairly low and the weather is warm and sunny. The next day the prices are through the roof and the weather is in the tank, cold and rainy. The only good thing is we can look forward to the weather starting to warm up. Not so much for the price of gas. Momma Said, “I guess the gas prices can warm up to because they are on fire right now.”
Have you noticed in your part of the country that they will jump 25 to 30 cents a gallon over night, but when the price starts to come down it is only by a few cents at a time? I know the prices do not fluctuate that much just overnight. I wish I had some stock in Mobil or Exxon, I know for sure they make billions in profits every year.
I remember mom had a big ole station wagon one time and that thing must have had a 50-gallon gas tank on it. But gas was less that a dollar a gallon. I can still remember the very first time gas went to a dollar a gallon. It was something I never thought I would see, but now I have lived through an attack on our country, a pandemic and gas at over four dollars a gallon. Momma Said, “Sometimes seeing is believing and I have seen more than I want.”
Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
Ingredients
• 16 ounces spaghetti
• 1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 6-8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1⁄4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1⁄4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
• In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain well, reserving some pasta water. Transfer the spaghetti to a large bowl.
• In a cold skillet, combine the olive oil and thinly sliced garlic. Place the skillet over medium heat and slowly toast the garlic, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.
• When the olive oil starts to bubble, reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking until the garlic turns golden brown, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
• Remove the skillet from the heat. Carefully add a ladle of the reserved pasta water to the skillet with the browned garlic, doing so gradually to avoid splattering.
• Season the spaghetti with red pepper flakes, salt, and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Pour the hot garlic and oil mixture over the pasta. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and half of the grated Parmesan cheese. Toss the spaghetti until all the ingredients are well combined, and the pasta is evenly coated with the sauce.
• Garnish with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately and enjoy!
