Tortellini with Garlic Cream Sauce

          I will never forget the first time I had tortellini with garlic cream sauce.  It was last summer when my family and I where camping in Crescent City.  We had just come back from a long, fun day at the beach.

          We were all ready to have a warm and filling dinner.  My mom asked if we wanted some tortellini with garlic cream sauce.  Even though I didn't know what that was I said yes just because I was so hungry.  While my mom was making dinner at the camp stove and I was sitting by the campfire I asked her what the sauce tasted like.  She promised I would love it then described how she prepared this meal when she was single and living alone.  That comment made me a bit worried since I had heard stories about how she virtually lived on macaroni and cheese from a box during that time in her life.

          Dinner was finally served.  My plate had tri-colored spinach and cheese tortellini with a velvety white sauce gently oozing over the top.  The smell alone was to die for.  Then my mom grated fresh parmesan cheese over the top.  I watched the cheese melt into the sauce as I took a deep breath in, smelling the fresh garlic.  I could hardly wait to take a bite.

          My first bite was heavenly.  I'll never forget it.  The tortellini itself was cooked perfectly, slightly firm and dense with just the right ratio of spinach to cheese inside.  The real treat was the garlic cream sauce.  Warm and smooth with tiny bits of minced garlic and fresh pepper.  Keep in mind that it was served at the campfire surrounded by Redwoods.  No finer dining to be found.

          The main dish was a treasure in itself, but the side dishes are also worth mentioning.  What seemed to be ordinary French bread was drizzled in light extra virgin olive oil and generously seasoned with a blend of oregano, garlic and sea salt, then delicately wrapped in foil and placed over the open fire to brown.  Once off the fire, more of that fresh parmesan was added.  A simple salad of field greens tossed with cucumber and roasted almonds in a creamy caesar dressing was just the ticket to keep things light.

          I've tasted variations of this delicious main dish and each time I'm more and more in love with it.

CNF

November 17th 2002, is when this picture was taken. It is about a year after my sister was born and it is a few days after my cousin was born.
     In the picture my mom is standing and holding my cousin,Laurel, who is wearing a purple and white onesie and is sleeping. She was like the perfect human being because she was so young she couldn't say or do anything she would regret and had made no mistakes. At the time she didn't know that she would be the yougest kid in the family or that she had an older sister. She didn't know that she would have a lot of people who would love her.
     My mom is holding Laurel like she is cradiling her. She is wearing a gray sweatshir, blue jeans, and a pink bandana. She is wearing a bandana because at the time she had breast cancer, but you probably couldn't tell by looking at the picture because she has this big smile on her face that shows all her teeth. She probably had no idea that she would end up having cancer when she was in high school and her dad would embarrass her in the stores by dragging his leg and acting like a person with a mental problem. When she had cancer she lost all her hair including her eyelashes, eyebrows and her hair on her arms and legs because of the chemotherapy she was going through. The doctors even told her she would have a hard time swalloing because the chemo would eat at the soft tissue in her throat. She never really seemed like herself when she was on chemo because she was always sleeping and getting sick a lot. She has told me that when you don't really know if you are going to live or die, you feel like you know everything. You would never know by looking at my mom that her mom died when she was six or that she would beg her sisters to drink her milk at dinner because she hated it so much. Even though my mom has had some sad things happen to her she always seems like she is happy and always willing to help out other people. She is always giving me advice now that I'm older like, to marry someone that makes you laugh or to not judge people by the way they look.
     Looking at this picture makes me feel happy and sad. It makes me sad because I remember how close I was to not having a mom and how my mom was in pain a lot of the time. On the other hand, it reminds me of how lucky I am that my mom survived. When I look back I can see how special she is to me because I recall how worried I was about losing her. I was so young at the time, only six, but I remember cherishing every minute I had with her, because I was unsure what the next day would bring. It also makes me realize that I have a really good mom that would never think of embarrassing me in stores by dragging her leg.

CNF-Monologue

     I am blue. I have the ability to make peope feel relaxed that's how awesome I am. I can come in different shades like dark blue, light blue, blue-green or just blue.
     I am part of the two biggest things in the world, the sky and the ocean. People can't get enough of me because I am so beautiful. I show up everywhere. I'm the colors of some peoples eyes, the colors of the lines on lined paper, the color of pens and crayons, and even the color of some cars. I can even be the color of some ones shirt, shoes or pants. I even have my own spot in the rainbow.
     When people get asked what their favorite color is and they don't know they are most likely to choose me, blue, because that is all they can think about is the color blue.
     I am blue and I am the best color. There is no other color like me that is why everyone loves me and chooses me as their favorite color. I am the most likeable color out of all the colors that exsist.