Page 41 of A Dream for Daphne

“I’m not a fan, but I can pick around them,” he said.

“Or we can leave them out,” she said. “I just grabbed everything I was going to use for the meal, but I can use these in something else.”

Nothing ever went to waste when it came to food.

Or anything in her life.

She worked too hard for what she had to throw it out.

She put the mushrooms back in the bag but pulled out the butter to cook the chicken.

“What kind of pan do you need for the chicken?” he asked.

“Just any big skillet you’ve got.”

He walked over and pulled one out that was plenty big enough.

She turned his stovetop on, put the butter in, and watched it melt while she coated the chicken breasts in Cajun seasoning and dropped them in to cook.

After a few minutes, she turned them and the water started to boil.

“Can I drop the pasta in?” he asked.

“Sure,” she said. “Did you add salt to the water?”

“Nope,” he said. “You didn’t instruct me to do that. This is your deal. I’m just your helper.”

She laughed and handed him the salt.

When the chicken looked about done enough, she grabbed the strips of peppers and dropped them into the pan too, and then poured in heavy cream and added the rest of the spices.

Abe kept an eye on the pasta. “You can take it out when it’s not quite finished. It will finish in this pan,” she said.

“This smells so good,” he said.

“I’ve made it a few times. It’s one of my favorites.”

She pulled the chicken breasts out, sliced them, and put them back into the sauce. Abe drained the pasta and she instructed him to dump it in the pan with everything else.

She stirred it all well and let it simmer for a few minutes.

“What do we do with the cheese?” he asked.

“Sprinkle it on when it’s on your plate,” she said.

“I’m getting plates now because I’m starving. This is like a meal my mother used to make for my father and me. We burned a lot of calories. Carbs and protein were the things for us.”

“I’m glad I could give you that tonight,” she said.

He set the table and then pulled out her lime seltzer from yesterday.

Within five minutes they were sitting down and eating.

“This is awesome,” he said, making a production about slurping up linguine.

“Thanks,” she said, smiling. “Glad you like it. I’ve got tons of recipes like this. When it’s cooler, I make hardy soups.”

“I love soup,” he said. “I don’t work as much in the winter. I’ve got a few plow trucks and keep busy with that more than anything or if someone has an issue on their property.”

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