Another late entry for my Daring Bakers challenge! Ugh, I swear I will be better after school starts up. Anyway, the August challenge was "hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague."


Yum, yum, and yummy-yum-yum. I will admit, however, there were a few kinks... yes, just a few. The most notable one being starting baking at 8:30 at night. Without parchment paper (and of course I didn't even consider my silbat!). I did have my trusted side-kick, Melanie with me all the way from Indiana! And she was able to help me out quite a bit making this torte. Yes, It was late at night, but it was still a very humid day, which leads me to our other "kink" in the system... our buttercream was a little thin... well, not thin, just not as thick as it could have been. And it was a little melty, so it slid down the sides a little before I popped it in the fridge. So, that's what went wrong, but it didn't effect the taste in the slightest! I must admit, I loved the buttercream! So did Melanie, we joked that we could just drag our fingers on the sides, picking up the buttercream and hazelnuts. So yummy. So, after that write up, and a promise to pose my summer dishes and be better about posting regularly; here's a picture of our yummy torte.

(oh yeah, I totally forgot about the caramel!) So, the caramel... yeah... the layer on the cake was made permanent onto the foil I'd coated it on. We weren't able to successfully get them off into the pretty wedges they were supposed to be. So I pulled some off the edges and tried to replicate "sails" on the top of the torte. I don't know why I chose that- but there they are. They look more like shark fins in this photo, but I thought it was kinda cool.

Another Daring Cooks challenge!! Since that is all I seem to be blogging about lately... The Daring Cooks August challenge host, the talented Olga from Las Cosas de Olga and Olga’s Recipes has chosen a delicious Spanish recipe, Rice with Mushrooms, Cuttlefish and Artichokes by José Andrés, one of the most important Spanish Chefs at the moment.

He trained under well-known Ferran Adria at his three Michelin star restaurant El Bulli. José Andrés lives now in Washington DC and he owns several restaurants in Washington DC area (El Jaleo, Zaytinya, Oyamel…).

The recipe Olga brought us is from his US TV show Made in Spain.

With so much going on this August I made this recipe earlier in the month, and am just now getting to blog about it (while loving DH reads the girls their bedtime stories- Aw!) The recipe came out great, and I would love to try it again, but this time use actual cuttlefish!

I was unable to find cuttlefish, or squid, or even octopus locally! I did happen to have some tofu in the fridge, so I used that instead. I would love to taste this dish with seafood in it, though, so I will try it again. I love artichokes, so having those in this dish was an absolute plus! I must say, though, that my favorite aspect was the Aoili. Odd, I thought, given I am not a huge fan of garlic, and I really didn't think I would eat it. I had to make more to have with my leftovers! So good!! Unfortunately, that is all the time I have to type tonight, but I will be coming back more often in the fall, typing up my meals with a vengeance!!!

Another daring bakers challenge completed! Yay!
The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

This is the second daring bakers challenge I have completed. I wasn't able to do the Mallow cookies. I wanted to, but I don't eat gelatin and I was looking for a marshmallow recipe that didn't have gelatin when time ran away from me. It's got a funny way of doing that this summer. I hope to be better, but so far it looks like the only updating I've been managing on my blog is the daring challenges! I do have pictures to upload of my regular eats, but that's just not going to happen tonight.

Onto my Milan cookies!
Sigh. I meant to make these for company, but ran out of time. A couple days after company left I busied myself in the kitchen and made the cookie part of this recipe. I only burned one batch ;) I covered them and wasn't able to get to the chocoalte filling until the next day. And the next day I got a phone call inviting my family over for a pool playdate! Yikes! I didn't want to shop up empty handed, and I did have these cookies... So I whipped up the filling. Unfortunately I didn't wait for the chocolate to thicken all that much. It was either that, or the humidity that led to the cookie being more pliable than crunchy. There was a little crunch, but I would have liked more. And because I was in such a rush to get these out to our playdate, the pictures were hurried. I feel like the photo doesn't do much justice, and reminds me more of fingerling potatoes than of cookies! But it was a fun challenge and the adults of the playdate enjoyed the cookies very much. The children of the playdate, not so much. But considering my picky offspring were in the lot, I don't rely much on their critique ;)

Oh dear, yes, I am very far behind. I need to post my very first daring cooks challenge, and there after I will update the meals I've had since my last post. So much to do ;) But first things first. This month's challenge was certainly that for me! It was a dish from Grant Achatz, from the Alinea cookbook; Skate, traditional flavors powdered. As most of you know, I am not much of a molecular cook, and after wanting to opt out several times, I finally talked myself into making this dish. I mostly wanted to pass on the challenge because of the many steps that included many things I either did not have or could not locate. I am pretty sure I passed my dehydrator on a while back. My chinois might have gone that way, or it just was lost in the shuffler, er, move almost six years ago. In any case, I have yet to find my chinois. So, I was left to dehydrate my many ingredients in my itty bitty, not-made-for-cooking microwave. The dehydrating times all needed to be lengthened, and I accidentally burned my lemon rind on the first go round. That nearly brought me to tears as I was on edge to start with- powders? But I had more lemon, so I continued on- a little more carefully. I did manage to singe a little bit of the next round of lemon, also. Parts of it, anyway, and parts were still not dry. Ah, I pressed on.
The capers? Ah, the capers were a mess for me. I dried and dried and dried, and I thought the capers were all dried out, but nope. My powder seemed damp and clumpy after a go-round in a coffee mill. So, here you have my pwderes, plated. I think that since my "powders" were rather clumpy, I should have not attempted the swirl pattern ;)

But there you have it. My dehydrated banana (thankfully purchased!) and cream powder, my lemon zest poached in simple syrup "powder", my super yummy capers in the middle, even if they weren't powdery, they were still very good. The red is the red onion powder, and finally the parsley and cilantro powder.

I ended up using talapia instead of skate for a couple different reasons. It cooked up beautifully in the Burre Blanc, as did the green beans. I wasn't all that concerned about the banana taste from the "banana bed" under the green beans and fish. I thought the tastes would be fine together- tropical, really, and they were great. I tried some of the banana, fish and green beans without the powders, then with the powder. It was excellent. I was really surprised on how much flavor impact the powders gave to the dish. They're just a small component, yet "POW" they really just hit you with so many different levels of flavor.


So, all in all I am glad I made this dish. It really pressed me out of my comfort zone. It was my first cooking challenge with the group and it really did push me to try some new things. I did like the taste a lot, but given that I didn't have many of the tools needed, I don't think I'd try this one again. Maybe I'd give it another go if the dehydrator and chinois turn up ;)

Yes! My very first Daring Bakers challenge! I'm so glad that it turned out well. I can't wait to tell you about it, but first, here's the information;
The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Yes! And since the recipe is so old, it was done in weight measurements! Kinda cool. At least it forced me to get out the scale I have tucked away in the pantry that I have still never used (except to weigh a letter to mail, but that's besides the point). So, that was kinda neat for me. And what is even better about that, is even though my scale seemed inconsistent, the tart still came out great! Woo! Thank goodness. If it came out horrible I am not sure if I would have posted it or given it another whirl.


So. The crust was so yummy, like a shortbread. I took the suggestion and made the leftovers into cookies dotted with flower shaped sprinkles. I didn't get a picture of that before my girls gobbled it up. The fruit layer? Oh my. Well, I had this idea that I would make my own jam with local flavors. Then I remembered in New England nothing is quite in season yet- another week on strawberries I am told, but then the seeds.... and another thing- I don't make jam. So I looked over the flavors in the store, and grabbed an apricot jam, but at the last minute switched it out for peach-mango preserves. Sounds good, right? I had been debating on buying one jar or two... one seemed too little while two seemed too much. No ne would eat it in the house, so I just grabbed one. Then inspiration struck while I was facing this dilemma. I had two peaches in the fridge! Brilliant! I peeled them and sliced them and put them in my saucepan. A sprinkle of sugar never hurt. I turned on the heat. I figured jam would happen, but no jam. Eh. When the going gets tough the tough go drinking? Not so much for me anymore, but the peaches loved a good soakign in amaretto!! Yum. So, I cooked them for a bit until they were all drunk and mushy. I added the preserves and it really came out very good. It poured nicely over the crust. I topped it with the frangipane, which was also very tasty. I'm usually not one to lick the spoon, but it was just calling to me!
It browned a bit more than I would have liked, but it did taste incredible. Like peach-mango marzipan! My mom would love it! She's requested it already!! I did manage to give most of it away, seeing as that my husband won't eat carbs and none of my girls liked it. One tart is definitely too much for me to eat on my own, though I will admit I ate two slices today!! So good! I can't wait for my next challenge!!!

My first CSA dinner! We just did a half share from a near-by farm, and wow, did my first box surprise me. A great deal of super yummy veggies and fruits! The girls polished off the (more) strawberries while I scrubbed the spinach. I topped it with a just picked tomato and some pecans, craisins, and asiago. A great salad for the summertime!

My brother, his wife and baby daughter were able to visit me on this day! We were planning on picking out a meal and shopping together, but since things rarely work according to schedule, I picked up some salmon while I was out running errands. It ended up being a salmon night, and lucky for me, the sopas filling from the night before tasted absolutely wonderful on the salmon portions! I scattered lemon oregano feta on top, which really added a great taste. Yum!!

Strawberry season is upon us! My girls and I searched the fields for strawberries and came away with quite a few! We had a whole bunch, and since we were to attend a graduation party in the next couple of days, I decided to do up some desserts. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of all my creations, but my brother and I were able to turn out a strawberry tiramisu, strawberry rhubarb tartlets, and strawberry lemonade bars. The girls also ate plenty as snacks and breakfasts.

Sopas! I think it I came across the recipe in the latest Vegetarian Times mag. The sopas were these little "cakes" wiht a depression to hold some filling. I made my filling with zucchini and corn, as was the recipe they suggested on the following page. The filling was great! The sopas? Well, I don't know if I bought the right flour or not, seeing as my grocer's international aisle is a bit limited, and I thought I bought the right ingredient, but I may not have. The flour I purchased aws cornmeal, and I'm just not a fan of cornmeal. I never have been. I thought that since the meal was ground so fine, I would like it, but nope. Still looking for a good cornmeal recipe :D

Salmon is one of the few things DH and I will agree on, but unfortunately I'd love to douse mine with maple syrup or at least tamari!! For the sake of DH and his diet, we just did a plain salmon, but quite good). It was smattered with some garden herbs and salt and pepper.

Summer has arrived! Well, so says the calendar, but some kind of rainy season seems to have descended upon the northeast. I did have this on a sunny day, and even made a double batch for a picnic/BBQ my family was attending. This salad consisted of edamame, black beans, corn, fresh grape tomatoes and scallions. The seasoning had yummy grapeseed oil and a zing of cilantro.

After DH returned from the upright freezer commenting on the "mountain" of frozen broccoli back there I thought of my options. DH likes broccoli, but for some reason won't eat it while he's doing th Atkins diet. Weird, I know. And the girls eat raw broccoli but not cooked. Me? I don't even like broccoli! But since I was the one to buy it... And I'm not opposed to eating foods I don't like. I just haven't found the right way to prepare them, is my theory. As was the case with broccoli. I'd eat it in this soup anyday!! Which, probably translates to everyday, since we have so much broccoli. It's a mushroom and broccoli soup, from the cookbook "The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen" by Peter Berley. It has such a great earthy flavor and was easy to make. I think I found out how I will be usuin gup the "broccoli mountain".

This was a delicious (DELICIOUS) carmelized onion pizza. I can't rememebr where I found ther recipe; I remember seeing two that week, so I picked one. The onions were carmelized with some balsamic vinegar and the pizza was topped with... monterey jack? And calamata olives. I am definitely going to have to remember this one, it was so good!!

Ah. With this dish I finally used up the bottle of clam juice that had been claiming important real estate in my pantry! I'd had it for a while, I think it was buy one get one or something, so I had this extra one with nothing to use it on. I saw a recipe in Health magazine that called for a bottle of clam juice. Perfect! It also had shrimp and peas over angel hair pasta. It was ok, though I am a big fan of peas so I added way too many. And I let the sauce simmer too long, without the cover and lost a lot to evaporation. But it was still yummy!

Chickpea stuffed peppers! I forget where I saw the recipe... It was one of those things, ya know, peppers were on sale so I figured I would stuff them with something. The recipe called for black eyed peas, but having none on hand, this is what I ended up with. I'm pretty embarrassed to admit that I made these three days ago and I have no idea what I put in them! Onion probably. And I think that was parsley on there. Wow. Usually my memory is not this bad! I think I should update more often for the sake of my poor memory!

Salad! I saw my store had a deal going on, buy two bagged salads and get a salad accent thingie free! So I did. I was buying bagged salad for my husband, anyway. It's pretty neat. The package came with walnuts, dried cranberries and some shredded cheese. I added some tomatoes and viola! Couldn't have been easier, really.

Meh. Broccoli and spinach quiche. My husband has brought it to my attention that we have scads of frozen broccoli. Why? I have no idea, I'm not a fan. But I am always up for a challenge, so here I paired it with a spinach favorite and mixed it up with some eggs and cheddar. I topped it with tomato wedges for color and added spices, too. It was alright, but just "meh". I should perhaps also mention I am not a big fan of quiche either. Yeah, I have no idea what I was thinking making this ;)

Ah. Indonesian Carrot Soup from one of my favorite cookbooks; New England Soup Factory. Pureed carrots with coconut milk and ginger. So yummy. Here I added a bit of cilantro and floated some croutons. I will definitely be making this one again.

It's been a while since I've updated my blog, I was trying my hardest to remember what this was!! Salmon for sure. I think I topped it with ceasar dressing and then some panko and basil. I know I've done it before, but it was a request from my husband who likes this dish sans panko.

You know what this is :D I've had it before this year. It's shrimp scampi, heavy on the lemon, please. It's one of the few things both my husband and I will eat, though he prefers his without lemon or parsley. And why, yes! That is parsley from my garden :D (See how much I am loving all the freshness from the garden?) Yum! I just can't wait for the veggies now!

I grabbed this recipe from one of my cookbooks that I really do need to spend more time with. It's Jeanne Lemlin's Simple Vegetarian Pleasures. I've done some of the recipes, but really, everything does look really good. Tonight's dinner was a spinach and roasted red pepper enchilada. I grabbed two, but my eyes were bigger than my stomach, as my dad would say, and I ended up leaving the other on my plate. I doused these good with some plain yogurt, too- I love that tang! I only wish I had used spicier salsa. I was trying a new variety and I didn't realize I grabbed mild. Never again. I love my spice! Just ask my husband who recently planted a dozen habenero plants in the garden.

Another repeat. Beet and balsamic salad. Though, to be fair I used feta instead of goat cheese, and I didn't have a chance to toast the walnuts, so it's not like it's identical to the last beet salads ;) It's always yummy and great to throw together at the last minute; as was the case after a day of playing outside.

Summer Fare! Yes, the hot temperatures make me want to bring out the cold entrees! And here I did just that with a tabbouleh and cucumber salad. Delicious! My two year old didn't quite agree, but maybe next time.

Erm, what can I say about this? It was delicious. I think it was haddock? The whole shopping trip was a blur and I think I told the fish monger to hand over any white fish, and she did. I think it was haddock, though. And the sauce? Don't press! I really can't even remember. I was cleaning my pantry and came across a curry simmer sauce. It was something and mango, I remember, but really, that's all I can remember! I know, not the most appetizing of photos, but after cleaning my pantry all day I just wanted to hurry things along ;)

This dish right here? It was so delicious I am considering having it as part of a weekly rotation! Those of you that know me, know this is BIG! I don't much like to have the same thing twice in one month. Four times in a month? It has to be good! I grabbed the recipe from allrecipes.com; avocado and tuna tapas. It was just so fresh and yummy. I will be having it again this week for sure!

What can I say? Sometimes it's just the right mood for a grilled cheese. I was making one for my oldest daughter and decided it was a good idea, so here's mine. Just plain ol' American cheese here.

So I've finally caught up! Yay! And today I also joined the Daring Kitchen! Just in case anyone from that community is checking out my lil' blog I wanted to say Hi!! I'm excited to try the new challenges and see just how far out of my comfort zone I am willing to go :D We'll see! And if anyone reading this isn't familiar with Daring Kitchen take a look, serious fun!

Doesn't this look yummy? I really like how this picture came out. I think the sun it coming through the kitchen window just right nowadays. It's "corny spaghetti" from allrecipes.com . While I was eating this I realized I think it was the first time all year I've had spaghetti. Not a big pasta eater here. But this might just convert me. And my girls since they ate quite a few helpings despite having their own "girl dinner" to chose from. Good thing I always make extra "just in case".

Polenta and black bean pie. It's gotten to be a bit of a stand by here. Have I posted it before? I always seem to have the ingredients on hand, ya know, black beans, polenta, cheese, corn onion and green pepper. I had it with some plain yogurt and chopped (underripe again!) avocado. Now. I think I will just mention that I know the avocados aren't ripe when I buy them. I realize they are rock hard when I am in teh store. I squeeze each one and buy the one that seems softest. Ya know, like comparing soapstone ro, say, granite. So I dutifully put the avocado in my paper bag, throw in a banana and hope for the best. This one was still quite hard, and quite unedible for the day I made this pie. But it was still a very good pie, regardless.

Sometimes I think it's "easier" to let the girls cook. Then I look at the disaster they've created in the kitchen when they are done and I remember, this is why I do all the cooking. They did enjoy making their own pizzas, one was cheese, another was black olive and the third was black olive and bacon. How much did each child eat of the pizza? exactly one bite. One had too crispy crust, the second apparently doesn't like tomato sauce- a fact that I knew when I told her not to put any sauce on it, and the third, well, she doesn't talk much yet, so who knows, but it probably has something to do with seeing her sisters handly the pizza as if it contained poison, so she followed suit. I ate a few pieces, anyway, so it was all for naught, but next time, I am making the pizza.

Arugula salad! Have I used up that package of arugula yet?!? Yes, this was the last of it ;) I served it with some chopped pears (not just any pears, my favorite, Abate Fetel- yummy, yummy, yummy!), walnuts avocado and parmesan. I topped it all with a splash of raspberry vinegrette.

Here's a problem from getting behind in my blogging. This dish. It was just wondrous. It was the kind of dish I would go to a restaurant and order again. So what's the problem? I can't remember which cookbook or online source I used to get the recipe! It was scallops with a mustard sauce but who knows from where. I will have to track it down for sure. It was that good. The recipe, I think had it served over rice? But I chose some refreshing arugula instead and it was just lovely.

I think I should tell you what this is... well, it's a cake. My mothers day cake. At least, that is what is under the three pounds of assorted sprinkles. Funfetti cake to be exact, ya know, to make sure there is more than 100 sprinkles in everybite. Did I mention the rainbow chip frosting? My girls made this for me. They were so excited. Twizzler ropes divide the cake into three equal decorating parts so each girl could decorate a piece for me. Each girl also thought I would eat a piece of their cake, but no. I did spin it roulette style, and I thought of the irony of that. Death by sugar. But the amount of love they put into this cake cannot be overshadowed by their use of sprinkles. There certainly was love in every bite. Happy mothers day!

Spring vegetable minestrone. Should I say it again, this time with a "rah-rah-rah". I could cheer this soup all day long. With tomatoes, zucchini, and onions. I also threw in some mushrooms, ya know, since I didn't use the whole package (thankfully) on the nastiness from yesterday. My kids are not fans of soup- one refuses to even try soup and opts for vomiting at the prospect instead. They did, however, devour the breadsticks I made for alongside my soup. I managed to pull away one before the riot began.

What you are looking at here is nasty. Nasty on a plate. With a side of peas. Now, if you know me, you know that I will pretty much eat anything, even if it tastes not that good. I'll eat it. But this? No, no, no. I did make an effort. I had four bites. It tasted like... well. salt. It was salt covered solidified vomit. Yes, that was the texture exactly. I really wish I had liked it, though. It was supposed to be tempeh saltimbocca with a mushroom sauce. It was also mu first time trying tempeh, so I am not really jumping up and down at the prospect of trying it again. Maybe sometime, but not until the texture and taste had been a long forgotten memory in my brain. Oh, and lookie- I have this digital memior to always remind me of my feelings on this particular tepeh ;)

And here is a summer side dish that I just couldn't wait until summer to make. Close enough, right? At least I did wait for a warm day to break out my first Caprese salad of the season! I swear, the ball of mozzerlla was sheer perfection! I went on and on about this ball of chese to my husband, he just rolled his eyes. Guess he doesn't fully appreciate it. But oh, I did! And see those little flakes of basil? Grown in my kitchen :D plucked from the stems just moments prior to the photo being snapped. Delicious!

Honestly, I had some leftover hummus and some extra arugula. Sounds great to me, so I chopped up a not yet ripe avocado (darn the grocery!) and tomato and threw the lot on some bread. I did manage to get my girls to try this, but none of them liked the sandwich much. I even was able to get my husband to try a piece of arugula. Apparently he's not a fan. I, on the other hand, love this leaf and hope to be growing quite a bit of it in my garden this summer. An announcement to all my summer visitors? I hope you like arugula!

Is there anything that tastes better on a cold night than a nice, flaky spanikopita? Or, at least spanikopita filling inside puff pastry? I know, traditionally it's phyllo dough, but without my trusted sidekick (Mom) I don't cook much with phyllo. I really should though. But then I woudln't have this little puff pastry of goodness that you see right here.

Spinach Timbales! From the Victory Garden cookbook. I must say, I think these are my first ever timbales. I figured it was like a crustless quiche. They did take a lot longer to cook, and I finally gave up and cranked up the oven. That did the trick. And surprisingly enough I didn't rubber-ize the whole dish with the temperature increase. It was light and fluffy and still moist. A very good timbale, but, alas, I am not sure I will make them again. I did miss the crust.

Soup! I really should make more soup, it's so good! And easy to make, too. This one was a chickpea and ginger stew. Quite good, I must add. I did wallop mine with a bit of sour cream, too. That little dairy island you see in the picture there is a little bit of butter melting into creamy goodness. I just wish I'd had a nice slice of bread with my soup, though. That would have definitely made the meal.
Now, doesn't this look divine? Imagine waking up to the smell of fresh banana bread. Now imagine picking up that nice thick slice, and having it be so moist, and soft... oh yeah. It was good! But don't tell any of my kids that. They all hated it! I have no idea where I've gone wrong. Ah, at least I was able to eat half of it before I came to my senses and put it in the freezer away from my greedy (and banana bread crumbed) paws!

Ok, now, no one have any adverse reactions when I tell you this is cauliflower and cashew croquettes. The last person I told about these ended up gagging away from me. Really, they were good!! It was my attempt to get my daughter, who is in a "phase" to eat more variety. Her proclaimed favorite food is cashews, so here ya go. Yeah, that was a big strike out. I liked it, though! The cauliflower and cashews were held together with some egg and cheese. I did prefer them cold, though, and will have to remember these the next time I go on a picnic.

I was just talking to my mom (Hi Mom!) last night about this scrumptious little bites. I think it was a library recipe? Anyway, mushrooms filled with feta, walnuts, dill, butter and breadcrumbs. I think there was some onion and garlic in there, too. But these actually weren't the best part! I chopped up the stems and mixed them up with the leftover stuffing and made a casserole thing out of it. That was the yummy part! If I make this again I will just save myself the hassle of stuffing the caps and made the casserole.

Mmmm. chocolate cookies made with brownie batter. My daughter wanted some M&Ms in there, too, so in they went. Then she wanted some chocolate chips in there, too, so in they went. A very yummy concoction of chocolate! My other daughter turned up her nose, though, and claimed that these cookies are, "too hard". Erm, more for me!

An eggplant tart that turned out pretty good. I picked this to make to clear out some freezer and pantry space. A puff pastry crust? got it. A can of tomatoes? got it. I did have to buy an eggplant, though, but I did have the egg, cheese and green pepper on hand. I love it when it works out that way.


Can you almost smell the herbs from your computer screen? This is my wee little collection in my kitchen. I just picked these up at the local greenhouse. I don't want you all going and thinking I am a good gardener or anything. Not just yet, anyway; check back in the summer ;) Anyway, here I've got some parsley, rosemary, sage and chives. You can't see the basil in the photo, though. Below this there is another shelf where I planted some cilantro and scallions. We will see how those turn out (especially after the two year old ransacked it already).

Green curry with tofu. It was more of a last minute thing when I realized I never planned anything for me for dinner. Oopsies. But I had these things on hand, and you all know how much I love (read, am addicted to) curry!

My old standby. A baby green salad with beets, goat cheese, caramelized pecans and a balsamic vinaigrette. I swear I can't get enough of this salad.

Leftovers! My husband and I actually went on a date! It was just Applebees since we wanted to get to Home Depot for a bit, but it was still great time alone with the hubs! I had a veggie quesadillas, which apparently is made from two discs of pizza dough, but still, it was tasty with the sour cream and avocado!

Ah, yum. Just looking at this photo makes me wish I had more of this soup!! It's mushroom barley soup from "100 Best Vegetarian recipes". And really, there are quite a few very yummy recipes in there. After paying so many late fees to the library I finally went and bought myself a copy!!

Holy Smackerel! I really thought it had only been about a week since I had not updated the blog and lookie at this whole stack of photos I have to upload! I've been a bad, bad blogger. Of course, I am sure it will happen again, after all, the weather is getting warmer and this little beings I share my house with will actually want to go outside and play! Ah, it will be nice- and hopefully I will have more pictures of salads in the summer!