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.

have you ever seen ?!

... such a pretty carolina blue sky ?!












i went for my second ride today, and went maybe twice as far as i did last time. what was different about this time? well ... i had a girl-friendly skort on (with padding) and i took multiple breaks to take pictures!

i am not totally geared out (yet). i wore one of my short sleeved hiking shirts, and got a serious sunburn on my lower back where my shirt rode up! also, my arms are burned. ouch!

i also made some decisions about my bike rack/pannier options ... i got a rack today that will hopefully accommodate my ortlieb panniers i'm getting gently used for $50 from a friend of a friend bike riding buddy! (they look new! and they're blue!)(though i want everything in green!) i like green. i guess it is my favorite color ....

so, i had a great time, i got sunburned. i rode more miles than i thought i could, and it was all in the name of fun & exercise!





when he smiles, it just makes me ... sigh ............



look! i'm 1/2 through my ride and i'm still smiling!

(b)itchy

i may have killed the fleas, but with the windows open and my place airing out, i have let in a bloodsucking mosquito!