Pasta is a good thing to start with. Try spaghetti with a simple tomato sauce. Get the spaghetti water boiling and follow the directions on the package. While the spaghetti is cooking, heat some oil (I use olive oil, but it's your choice of oil) in a sauce pan at medium heat. Add one chopped onion and one green pepper and let them cook for about eight minutes, stirring often, to keep it from burning. They should feel soft, but not mushy. Add a garlic clove, chopped fine. After one minute, add a can of diced tomatoes and let it simmer (cook on very low heat) for about five minutes. (When you feel more confident, you can add celery and a couple of carrots to the sauce at the same time as the onion and pepper). If you want, have garlic bread with the spaghetti. Preheat the oven to 350, take a loaf of French bread (a baguette) and slice it ALMOST, but not quite, all the way through. Butter (or you could use margarine) each slice on both sides, then add garlic salt. Bake for 20 minutes. Have fun!
