Lunch Pail!

I have been absent. I apologize. However, I have a very good reason for having been absent. You see, my best friend and college roommate got married last weekend. If you know me, you most likely know her, and are well aware that she got married. You prolly also know that she did not have a traditional wedding. She had a spectacular, dinosaur-themed wedding at a safari park. It was possibly the best thing ever. Anyway, I was her maid of honor. I did not realize how much work goes into such a role. But I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was quite a busy week. On top of heading to the location a day early and setting up and doing the rehearsal and all of that, my mother flew in for the week. So, there was a bit of sight-seeing and entertaining and driving this past week.

BUT, because the bride and groom are super awesome, they got me the Hamilton Beach crockpot that I've been eyeing for about forever as a wedding party gift!
I've been itching to use it, and finally today broke it in by making The Crockpot Lady's Quinoa Casserole. It's one of our favorite recipes. I haven't really made any significant adjustments to said recipe, so I don't feel that I have the right to distribute it myself. But I urge you to check out her site. She's pretty cool.

After the casserole was done (I did a double batch) I put it in this handy little pail that I have. We're going to see a cemetery viewing of Labyrinth tonight with some friends, and this works well for a picnic addition (and Muppets fit the theme).

It reminds me of the lunch pails from Return to Oz, another childhood favorite. Go watch!

Rice & Beans

Tonight, because I have been super lazy this week, and not planned a single meal until it's the oh-crap-we-kinda-need-to-have-dinner time, I made an easy fall-back. Rice and beans that pretend to be fancy.

This is one of the few recipes that I don't owe credit to anyone else. Unless you count the genius who had the idea to have rice and beans TOGETHER. I guess I owe that guy a little bit. But, I totally threw this together one night, and my boyfriend (who is incredibly patient, and often adventurous when it comes to my cooking) told me I needed to write it all down.

Rice & Beans

Serves 2

Make up 2 cups broth (I've used the Better Than Boullion Vegetable broth before, but this time tried the No Beef broth, and it was even better!) and pour into a medium pot.
Stir in:
1 cup rice
Cover and bring to a boil.

While you're waiting for the rice to boil, heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a large skillet.
Add:
3 diced slices of jalapeño 
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Heat for 2-3 minutes.
Add:
1 can red beans 
½ can black beans
Stir, cover and heat for about 5 minutes.

At this time, your rice should be boiling. Stir, then reduce heat to low, and simmer until the liquid is absorbed. About 10 minutes or so. Twice I lifted the lid to quickly stir during this time.

Add 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar to your beans, stir, and cover again. Heat 2-3 more minutes, then remove from heat to cool.

Once the liquid has been absorbed into the rice, you're done!
Serve together in a bowl.

The first time I made this, I finished cooking, removed everything from the heat, and then took a 2 hour nap.  While the dish is always quite tasty, I feel like it's never been as good since. My point being: If possible, allow the flavors to meld for a little while.

44 green, 1 red

I am trying very hard to not pick this little guy right now and eat it!

Quickie Ladybug Update

Ladybug Update: It's been four days since releasing the little guys to help me with my spider mite problem. Somehow, I think the mild California evenings are still a bit too chilly for them. The first couple mornings, I found all the ladybugs huddled together on the pots. And now, most have died. This morning when I misted the tomato plants, I saw a few ladybugs actually ON the higher leaves, so that made me feel a little better. But they've definitely not put the dent in the problem as I'd hoped.

I suppose I'll just keep misting the plants, as the spider mites like dry, warm environments, and I'm sure that's the main reason they've enjoyed such success up until now. If all the ladybugs die/leave, then I'll try spraying the plants with a flour and water mix, to hopefully kill off the mites. My plants aren't so bad off that they'll die any moment, and I've got tons of little tomatoes growing. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Green things.

I was released early from work this afternoon, and was at an incredible loss as to what to do with myself. So I stopped at the store and picked up Ben & Jerry's Greek frozen yogurt. I really liked the Blueberry one, so was eager to try the Banana PB one. I figured I'd sit out on the porch and enjoy. I did not.

First: While I love Ben & Jerry's with all my heart, this flavor fell flat. I know they use all natural ingredients, but the banana tasted artificial. Maybe it was the banana/greek yogurt combo. At any rate, I picked out the peanut butter swirls, and I'll just move on to the honey flavored pint I'm hearing rumors about.

Second: I decided to take some pictures of the plants I spend so much time with lately. Here are my first few shots, just to share. The top picture is of two of my UFO squash plants, grown from seed. It seems like every day they've grown another half inch! Then, below are my green onions. They're incredibly easy to grow. Just take the ends from market-purchased bunches and stick them in some soil. Keep the soil moist, and these guys grow about 1⁄8" per day. The other bottom photo is one of the pots of basil. These are a lesson in being patient, and remembering to snip them back so that they'll grow fuller.

And below is what I saw when I decided to show my tomato plants. I have three big pots on the porch, two of which have 5' plants. The third has a smaller one, and I did not realize what a bug problem I had until I saw this big, clear shot. All of those little yellow spots you see are (from what I'm gathering via my research) spider mites. Which, from the sound of it, are near impossible to get rid of. :(

On the plus side, I have found the people here: www.gardenweb.com to be very helpful. I'm off on another trip to OSH, for spray bottles (regular water spraying, and perhaps a homemade flour solution) and ladybugs. I SO hate OSH. ;)

Pot pies of wonderfulness.

Nearly 8 months ago, I moved across the country, to live with my boyfriend. It was an amazing trip to make by myself (and my two cats). When I arrived here in October, I began a bit of a domestication process. On myself. I've been slowly learning to cook, started keeping house much better than I ever had before (don't tell him that), and began experimenting with urban gardening.

There will be much more fleshing out of my background and life later. Right now, I simply want to share the wonder that is this pot pie recipe. It's fantastic in that I can make up two dinners in one medium pot. I'm sure I could make many, many pot pies in a large pot, but I only have four Corningware pop-in baking dishes (for now). They can either be baked immediately, or saved for a future meal.

Veg Pot Pies

I modified this recipe from the one at Vegetarian Times

Preheat oven to 400° (If baking immediately. If you're like me, and only cooking for two, then toss these puppies in the toaster oven, same temperature, but no need to preheat!).
Make up 2¼ cups broth (I love Better Than Bouillon No Chicken broth, but you can use ready-made broth) and set aside.

DOUGH
Whisk together:
1½ cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
Cut in:
4 Tablespoons butter or margarine
Gradually add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, making sure to gently mix as you go (the amount you use will vary, the original recipe called for 3-4 tablespoons, but I always have to use about twice that). Gently mix the dough until you can form a ball, then wrap and chill.

FILLING
Heat in a medium pot:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Add:
1½ cups chopped green onion
3 chopped celery stalks
3 chopped carrots
1 large chopped parsnip
8 oz chopped mushrooms
Sauté for 5-7 minutes.
Stir in:
2 Tablespoons flour 
2 cloves minced garlic
Coat the vegetables and cook for about 1 minute.
Add:
1 large chopped potato (or approximately 1½ cups)
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 tied thyme sprigs
2¼ cups broth from earlier.
Cover and bring to a boil.
Reduce to medium heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Stir in 2 Tablespoons cashew butter, making sure it melts in with the juices, then cook for about 1 minute.
Remove pot from heat and add:
½ cup corn
½ cup peas

Roll out your chilled dough, and cut with a sharp knife to the size you need to cover your pies (the pop-ins I use are 16 oz, and the dough is plenty to cover all four of them).
Divide the filling amongst your baking dishes.
Press the dough down over the filling, pressing against the edges.
Poke a couple of holes in the top of the dough.
Now you are ready to bake for 30-40 minutes! Or refrigerate/freeze for later.


As I said above, these pot pies are phenomenal. When I'm done cooking everything, I always scrape the pot for every last taste of gravy.
The real kicker is they're entirely vegetarian, vegan even, if you use margarine instead of butter. I'm used to eating meat, and just recently turned quasi-vegetarian. I've considered getting Certified Humane chicken to add, but to be honest, I'm a little concerned it wouldn't taste as good with the meat!

I hope you enjoy. Let me know your thoughts!

Tater Famine 2012

I use Facebook quite a bit. Almost my entire family is three time zones away, and I have friends and acquaintances strewn across the country. Lately, though, I've been thinking more and more on the social and marketing aspects of this huge network. I may still be in touch with my best friend from kindergarten, but are we connected? I can 'like' an update from a professor who taught me ten years ago, but all that tells her is 'I saw your post, but I have nothing real to say about it.' We see these people every day when we log on, but are we interacting with them? Do I want 130 faces, or do I want a few deep connections?

On top of this lack of social connection due to over social connection, I feel that my Facebook experience is becoming more than anything else an agreement to be subtly (and not-so-subtly) advertised to. The social network continues to push the bounds of privacy. There are many options for me to limit what the world sees about me, but there are also many avenues for the world to be foisted upon me while I scan my newsfeed. Logging on has become a compulsive chore. I MUST see what my friends are up to, but I take little joy in it.

And so, I come to the point of this. The first of hopefully many frequent posts. I want to share what's actually going on in my life. What brings me joy and what I'm currently stumped on. I hope that some of the people whom I share a real connection with will check in on me every so often, and will share thoughtful commentary. Even if it says 'Good point!' or 'I disagree.' at least it's not a click of the mouse on a little thumbs up that tells me nothing more than 'I saw this amongst hundreds of other posts'.

I'm not boycotting Facebook, it has it's uses. It just shouldn't be the basis for my social life. And so, without further rambling, I give you my little collection of stuffy stuff: Tater Famine. :)