Oooh, shiny!

My parents just gave me my birthday present several months early. See, I've been in the market for some new cookware. I've been using these beat up old pots and pans with scratches in the nonstick coating.

Yuck.

So I've been keeping an eye out for good deals.

And last week I found it. A magnificent sale on 10 pieces of sleek, stainless steel glory.





I mentioned it to my mom, who completely understands that sometimes birthday presents don't have to arrive on or even anywhere near a person's actual birthday.

So when she and my dad came to town for a family get-together this weekend, they had the pots and pans in the trunk for me.

Sure, it might be a little bit of a letdown when November rolls around and the only thing I get to open is a card. But I'll have had an extra four months of cooking with these gorgeous pieces, and I think that's worth it.

Tonight I made my first dinner using them. I kept it simple: whole wheat pasta tossed with cilantro garlic scape pesto.