yummy! the recipe is here!


... but for some reason, i went digging in all these books. i like cooking a big batch of something so i don't have to cook again for several days.

i'm a little teapot ...

short and red ....


i tell you what, i have been absolutely spoiled during this holiday season! and it's a good feeling .... i send out many thanks to all those who were so kind to me :)


... including those who are anonymous .... i finally was able to punch in the last quarter of 2006 via the kindness of a stranger. i did a good deed on friday. the person asked, "what can i do for you?!" ... my reply, "all i need is the north dakota quarter." ... somehow, i missed it. well, someone else over heard, and delivered ! ... and now, i am ready to move on to 2007.


yes ... i am .... as is jackie & the hippie ... and i even think rrrrrita might participate!

i got this lovely vase a couple of weeks ago when my neighborhood had its annual artwalk. a good friend of mine was participating, and at the end of the day, i got to take the froggy vase home with me! i bought these button mums the next day, and they still look as good as day 1 ... probably because my place is like an icebox.

speaking of iceboxes ... i'm sure everyone has seen the news on cnn. i think it's rather unfortunate. but, i have to say too that it's a high risk activity. and only these three can or could tell what happened. and there's not many mountain climbers around with friends in his/her peer group ... because joe died in an avalanche, miguel disappeared on the descent, and franz developed hypothermia. these people go out seeking something that no one else has seen. they feel unfulfilled without the adventure. and everything has its risk, but i think i'd rather see another day than die cold and alone on a mountain top. and i'm not looking for an argument on the quality of life. please, keep your opinions to yourself. it's not often i rant here. but when someone says they only expected one overnight and to go light & fast, i still believe you should carry gear that could sustain you no matter what. ... in my humble opinion. it just pisses me off!

comments are closed for this posting.

food bliss

i am having a turkey sandwich with ninth street bakery bread, with dijon, romaine, tomato, cheddar and red onion. i'd forgotten how yummy and pungent red onion is. it's wonderful.

visitor

solace finally came to visit cupcake....






9 april 2004 - rocket, solace, ktr, cupcake, and grits - springer mountain.

perfect day!

the weather outside is ... delightful ! seriously, it's so warm, that i have my doors and windows open, and cooked wearing a tank top! in november! almost december!

and with this warmer weather, the cooking was on the light side ... jackie's mediterranean chicken stew. i have fumbled through many a recipe. but, what made this one so special was, if i had a question, i called the chef directly!

she made this on sunday for dinner ... and it was so simply delicious. i love cooking, and i love knitting, and jackie is a cooking-knitter!

happy thanksgiving !

have you even been grocery shopping the day before a major feast holiday? well, mom and i dashed out yesterday evening for some last minute items. one item on the list for brining our turkey ... kosher salt. on this aisle ... the baking aisle.

the funny thing was the cookie aisle was completely empty!

we also bought a silcone basting brush and a deep pie dish for the apple pie which is in the oven right now, and i'm not sure if it's finished baking or not, because it's not "bubbling" like the recipe says it should be. hmmm ....

if i don't burn anything, i will have pictures later!

home for the holidaze ...

see what justin did with my new bread pan?

the weather here has been all over the place. somedays, it's cold, other days it's balmy, and sometimes it's perfect. sometime ago though, before i brought all my cacti indoors, we had some very cold nights ...


... and my christmas cactus budded! and now it's about to bloom !


... and i wonder if i throw its butt out again, on some cold nights, before christmas, will it bud again?!

i do know, though, that i will do paperwhites again this year. some people think they stink, but i like their fragrance. but, i also like scents such as onions & garlic!


i went to my library's annual book sale this morning. the money goes directly to my library's funding for buying more books. i learned that my library fees go to the county. that was quite a disappointment. so, if you're in the triangle area, please venture out to the book sale!

oh, and speaking of cooking, 'cause i love to cook and i love great food ... i made some chicken chili on monday. i was all distressed because i could not find my recipe ... but, i remembered that i had posted it HERE ! i still haven't found my paper copy, so i sure hope blogger doesn't go under in the meantime!

another wonderful sunday ....

that is how you (or jackie) makes the absolute best chicken & dumplings in the world!

this is the second time i've seen it made, ... the first time by jim (of jim&corbett) when i went up to new york for rhinebeck.


be sure to move mouse over photo


we also had a little banana bread bake off. i lost. i soooo lost. for starters, i had not read my recipe correctly, and mixed all the dry ingredients first. i was suppose to cream the sugar with the butter. oops. so, i kinda creamed the butter with the mashed bananas. that wasn't such an issue though. then, just before i put it into the oven, i realized i had forgotten the sour cream! so i scraped the dough back in the mixing bowl and added the sour cream. then, as i learned after the fact, my loaf pan is the wrong size. it needs to be just a little bit bigger. oops.

so, guess which loaf is mine? ... i'll give you a hint ... it's probably the one that is super moist in the middle with the outsides well-baked! (yes, the little dark loaf in the left corner!)

see, it's totally beneficial to cook with someone else, or else i would never figure out how to make dumplings and that my banana bread can be better!

my favorite pictures from ny & back

oh. my. god.

i did it again .... i took the quiz, again ... almost a year later, and the internets are still convinced ....

I Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique woman like myself needs a city that offers everything. No wonder I and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

so, pinky, when do we go flat hunting ?

I LOVE KALE !

i do, i do ! this was my first time cooking with kale, and it's love at first simmer ....

yet, another recipe from my williams sonoma's essentials of healthful cooking. i tell you what ... the pictures in this book are so nice that they'd certainly lure any devout vegetarian!

what was for dinner tonight? .... kale & potato soup.

i had shopped at whole foods for my ingredients ... but, their canned cannellini beans failed me (i popped open the can to find a mish-mash of overcooked fused mushy beans).
so, there was a slight delay in the process, as i rushed out the door to the local grocery to buy another can of beans.

but, i did find a couple of other goodies on the grocery shelves ...





and for the two disclaimers ....

chardonnay ... i don't like chardonnay with oak. this chardonnay is oakless ! all you taste is the grapes :)

mint tea ... i love hot tea ... especially tea that's bold enough to stand on its own ... with out the accroutements of milk or sugar. that's just me. i'm not a big fan of sugar, but i sure do love milk with something hot & spicey.

the first time i gave a certain someone some flowers, it was as a birthday gift. well, he took the flowers, and buried them in the woods somewhere. you figure out the meaning behind that ! sometimes, what goes around comes around, and it's not out of spite, revenge, or subversive planning ... it just is what it is. and now, for the first time ever, oh so many years later, i have flowers from this person, and i feel quite the urge to go bury them, and bury the past ....

my first blogiversay has come and passed here ... which i just realized this evening ... feel free to go back and catch up on my past year .... here's my first posting. i was a bit tipsy then .... i'm sure it had something to do with the flower giver.

back during labor day weekend, mom came to visit and i took her out to my favorite nearby state park for a little hike ....















i wanted her to do lots of things with me, so she could have a visual the next time we talked and i said, "hey mom, i'm on my way to the park ...."




we had a great time, though the visit was much too short!

the first time i made this, it got gobbled up before i bothered to post. this is serious yum! this is 28 cook's tofu stuffed shells. i really love the idea of using tofu in lieu of ricotta and mozzarella, as it provides great protein w/o all the fat. i did this too, with another recipe for a vegetarian lasagna back in the winter. that too was delicious, and i've made it on several occasions.

i am also a big fan of making a big batch of something to eat from all week. i'm not usually the sort to fizzle upon repeat meals. i'm just happy to not have to think up something to make or cook for each meal. with the stuffed shells, i can reheat the shells in the microwave, and steam some broccoli to serve on the side. and this dish will last me through the rest of the week. easily !

now, i can't wait until the weather gets even cooler and i will be making soups!

and, my skin is burning between my lip and nose. it seems i rubbed that spot while i was making another batch of cilantro jalapeno hummus. whoops !

it gets superfreaky !

remember the interesting encounter i had last week, with the freaky startrek ears girl? well, i saw her again, today !
but, this time, was out in public, in her place of employment ... and she had her hair down covering her ears!
and after that, i went up front to the cashier to pay for my teeny purchase, and the cashier was picking his teeth with a toothpick. he said that he had just come off his lunch break and didn't want to look all unprofessional with leftovers in his teeth, so he was picking them at the register ?!
i should had stayed home today ....

let me just say, watch out for the characters at the a.c. moore up on capital blvd!

feeling kinda under the weather ? i am. i'm so glad i made this yesterday though ... so i don't have do any cooking for awhile ....

mish-mash

what are all those yummies? i was in the cooking mood today ... so i made another batch of the southwest couscous salad from 28 cooks.



it came out just as yummy as last time, and i think even a bit prettier! i also made a batch of cilantro jalapeno hummus, but forgot to take pictures of that. i have a bad habit of snacking on the garbanzos before they get pulverized.



i picked this up from the library today. i had read a review of it over at lolly's, and it sounded interesting ... and, i could listen to it on cd!



darth tater is just daring me to speed ! (... or dust my steering column)

so, that was my randomness of the day. the weather is nicer, ... cool and breezy. perfect. i got my painting back up on the wall. i need to clean house and bomb again. i need to get organized!

sometimes, i just feel like my day is over, but it's too early to go to sleep ... so i think i'm just going to crawl into bed with a pile of books. nighty night.

interesting?

today at work (i work in my LYS) ... this interesting girl came in to browse. the first thing i noticed about her was her tatoo up the back of her neck, very startrek: the next generation (spotty). then, a few moments later, i noticed she had rather large earplugs (thingies in her ears, where most people were earrings ... to stretch out her earlobes). then, while she was browsing at the needles, i noticed her left ear looked kinda pointy on top.

shit! WTF?!

so, i waited for her to turn around, and the other ear was exactly like the first! so, i soooo had to ask ... ,"why are your ears like that?! how did they get like that?!"

she went to NY to have surgery on her ears to be startreky pointy. (she did not say that exactly ... i said startreky pointy ... she just said she had surgery to shape her ears that way.)

i also heard that the last time she was in the LYS, that her boyfriend (?) came in and she greeted him with licking his neck.

geeeez .........

ready to ride ?

i finally got my rack mounted onto my bike, and the panniers ....

now, the question is ... will she ride to work tomorrow ?



ps. aren't they pretty ?! they're blue, just like my bike !

well, my photo does look a little congested with that overly leafy border, ... too late now. what is it? it's something yummy! it's this recipe from 28 cooks. i made this last night, and another batch of the couscous salad. all i need now is some hummus and i won't have to leave the house at all!

what's cookin' ?

as it's been a very hot summer, i have not cooked as much. instead, i've done more assembling. though lots of people seriously lay off carbs, i've found them to be the basis of some of the salads i've been making lately ... whether tabouli or ...



...this yummy Southwest Couscous Salad with Chipotle Lime Vinaigrette from 28 cooks. mine may not be as pretty as hers, but i'm sure it's just as delicious.



i was hesitant to use couscous because i thought i could only get it with semolina, but found other varieties at the grocery store. this box is whole wheat with milled flax seed and soy. bizarre, huh?

the nice thing about these salads is that they are made with minimal cooking ... cooking usually only means adding some grain to boiling hot water, and then turning off the heat and waiting for the grain to absorb the water. easy peasy!

this particular salad recipe was extra easy because the only things i had to chop were part of a red onion and two romas ... everything else went into the food processor.