Last night when I asked, "What should we have for dinner?" Todd realized that he doesn't think of the kitchen when I ask that question; he thinks of the phone and the pile of takeout menus on the desk. And I have discovered that I really hate most takeout.

So the other night I pulled together dinner from what we happened to have on hand: some broccoli, elbow macaroni and strips of chicken from the top of a salad we ordered for lunch. While the macaroni cooked I heated about 1/4 cup oil in a skillet and added some red pepper flakes, then some minced garlic. Then I added the broccoli florets and sauteed them, then the chicken just to heat through. Then I spooned in the macaroni along with some of the cooking water into the skillet, added salt and stirred and heated to meld the flavors. Served it with Parmesan grated on top.