Monday, Again?

Huh. Another weekend disappeared in a vortex of dog walking, housework and errands, and my to do list is still as long as my arm. This seems to be a new phenomenon, one that I want to relate to owning a house, except that apart from the dog, most of my weekend stuff lately hasn't really been house related. Well, all the raking was. And the bookshelves we put together this weekend (pictures later in the week, I promise). But the groceries, laundry and cleaning...we had to do those in an apartment. So, where is all my time going? I am not complaining - I would rather be busy than bored, and I like getting stuff done. I just don't know where it goes...

Hard to believe that Thanksgiving is only a week and a few days away. We are getting a turkey from our CSA. I will be baking a pie and making rolls, while Amber and Vincent and Vincent's mom will be bringing various side dishes. Yum. Just thinking about Thanksgiving is making me drool.

Urgh.

I spent 5 hours yesterday raking and grinding and bagging leaves. I only got the front cleaned up, and not all the way - there are still two piles left to go. 12 39 gallon trash bags. And the back is even bigger. Urgh.

But, in the evening, Benjamin and I went to hear a talk by Marion Nestle, a nutritionist and public health professor at NYU. I have read one of her books and read her blog - lots of common sense to be found. Last night she was discussing how the food companies market their food with so-called health claims and added vitamins. Ick! She had a picture of a box of Froot Loops with added marshmallows, that had some sort of "good for you" message on the box. Huh. I am now very grateful that my mother never really let me eat sugar cereals, except as a very occasional treat. I still eat too much candy, but at least I know what a decent breakfast looks like!

Tonight, Crystal, Emily, Mindy and I are going to see Charlaine Harris - the author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels, the ones that have been adapted into the TV show True Blood. That should be fun and possibly exciting, especially if she talks about the next Sookie novel (not due until sometime next year).

Pasta and beans

Or Pasta e fagioli, if you want to be Italian about it. Yum. One of my favorite meals, and Benjamin's too, ever since my dad first served it to him. We made it last night. This is an approximation of the amounts, since I am working from memory, but it is pretty flexible. If you want to make it vegetarian, simply eliminate the bacon and the sausage, and use vegetable broth. If you want to play with the vegetables in it, feel free. My dad makes it with fennel some times. There are lots of similar recipes out there, in cookbooks and on the internet, so find them, try them out, and combine what you like about them. That is basically what we did here. We usually have enough for two people for dinner, a lunch each the next day, and one dinner serving for the freezer. Make sure to make enough pasta!

• 3-4 slices of bacon, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, diced or crushed
• 2 carrots, sliced
• basil - amount is up to you. I always think the more the merrier. Dried or fresh, also up to you. If using fresh, you should probably wait and add it closer to the end.
  
• oregano - see note with basil
• salt - 1/2 tablespoon or to taste (keep in mind that the beans do suck up some of the salt)
  
• 16 oz. can of tomatoes (diced or stewed or whole, whatever is your preference. I use diced)
• 1/2 cup broth
• 1 can each of : pinto beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans (or cannellini, or whatever floats your boat), drained and rinsed. Try to get beans without added sugar or flavors.
  
• 1/2 kielbasa, sliced or diced
• Spaghetti or other noodles of your choice.
  

1. Crisp the bacon in a large saucepan or soup pot. When it is brown, scoop it out with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain. If there is a lot of grease in the pan, or if you want to be healthy, remove the grease. Otherwise, leave up to 1 tablespoon.

2. Saute the onions, garlic, and carrots until soft - 5-10 minutes on medium heat. Add the basil, oregano, and salt. Add canned tomatoes, broth and crisped bacon and cook for 5 minutes to combine flavors. Start water for the pasta.

3. Add the drained and rinsed beans. Simmer for a while to combine flavors and warm the beans.

4. Add kielbasa to the beans when you add the pasta to the water.

5. Serve the sauce over the pasta and top with Parmesan cheese.

Creamsicle says...

What are you doing at work? Why aren't you outside?
Because, my dear Creamy, I have to pay for your cat food and to support your nip habit.
Hmph. You humans sure have silly priorities. The sun is out, and the breeze is just right, and you sit, inside, not even napping, but working!
Well, sweet kitty mine, I promise to get outside as soon as I can.

Let the composting begin!

Our new compost bin arrived yesterday, and we set it up while waiting for our soup to cook. Yay! We have been waiting years to have a full garden, and a full-sized compost bin. Now that we have a house, we can finally stop waiting and start - and the compost bin is the first step. The worm bin we have will continue to get some of the peelings, but it just can't handle all our organic waste. I plan to shred a whole bunch of leaves this weekend, and we will have plenty of food scraps - mostly vegetable and fruit peelings, and tea bags - to put in the bin. And I can put Kirby's cage waste in too - it is just like rabbit manure, which is a good source of nitrogen. Who knew!

Addendum to yesterday's Miikka post: not only does he destroy beds and toys, apparently he also eats couches. Last night we discovered that he has started chewing and eating the fabric skirt around the bottom of the couch. Oops. Thank goodness it has already received that cat claw treatment, or I would be upset.

Miikka, destroyer of beds and toys

Here is Miikka, in what was supposed to be his new bed. You will notice that it is upside down, and his head is sticking through the bottom. Now Miikka has no bed. His carrot and nylabone, and other various and sundry toys have also gone away. Miikka is not an "average chewer," as the strength rating on one of his toys put it. He is an aggressive chewer. Silly puppy...beds are for sleeping, not for eating!

What do you think?

I have been playing with the template a bit. What do you think of this style? I am not sure if I will keep it or go back to the old one. Leave me a comment.