Yeeeeee Haaaaaawwww!!

Oh yeah...now we're talkin...

oh yes~~

Happy Birthday to my lil brother Anthony!!

loooooooong time no bloggy...

Sigh!! 10 whole days without a new post!  Things have been ramping up at work - Jon got back and we're slowly starting the new lab migration - we are moving upstairs to a corner lab with windows!!!  There is much to be done to clear out the lab of random lab equipment, and it needs a good cleaning!!  That in addition to the other labby things to do makes for a very busy time - but having more than enough work to do is always a good thing!!

Here are a couple pics of the garden..not much has changed.  The eggplants and peppers are going strong, the tomatoes are still giving me a little beaut here and there, but mostly "there" than "here".  It has been super hot up until this week - we're now finally getting regular thunderstorms barreling through which keeps me and the garden happy - hannah not so much...

I managed to put together the stereo system...i should take pictures to show that progression.  I hope to setup the speakers outdoors, but I haven't decided how I want that to look just yet...

only 8 more days until Dan comes home!! It's been so long but these last two weeks are starting to fly by finally!!  So great and I can't wait to say "one more week" tomorrow!!!  The night Dan comes in is the My Morning Jacket Show...I still haven't figured out how exactly I am going to juggle the show and picking up Dan...but something will work out.

Anyhow, I'm waiting for work on Dan's Matrix to finish up here at Tuscaloosa Toyota.  Then I'm off to get my AL driver's license so I can be an official Alabama Belle!!

xo, hopefully more garden work this weekend and pictures to boot!

mmm...food

Another simple but tasty recipe...I was craving tofu in a big way and wanted to stir fry something for dinner last night.  oyster sauce keeps indefinitely in the fridge btw, so pick it up at the asian market and go to town!  It does not in fact taste like "oysters" but it does have a deep salty flavor..  I got to use the eggplant, peppers, basil, jalapeno, and onion from the garden! Yippee!!  The Jalapeno and onion were last minute additions since they were laying around - added a nice kick to the dish!  I also didn't have low sodium soy sauce and kinda forgot about that - a little on the salty side so I probably should have cut down the soy sauce to maybe 1/4 cup, but when paired with rice it was still good.  Since the basil is plentiful around here I put in about a cup of fresh picked - that was super fun to not have to slice them or anything and just let the heat of the dish melt the basil flavor into everything else.  Definitely a keeper and one we'll have to try when Dan comes back (T-minus 18 days folks!!).  I think I also converted Mike to tofu finally - he had given up on it being flavorful and instead looked at it as a bland protein source, not so!!  I heart tofu, and the combination of pressing the liquid out and sauteing it in the wok beforehand made it nice and chewy with a slight crunch...

mmmm

xo

ct

Hello August...

Hi there, pictures here, more details....possibly later..T-Town Family reunites in 19 days!!!

xo!

ct

hello!!!

This recipe is absolutely fantastic!  I had a plethora of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant that needed some attention, and this was one of the first recipes to pop up upon googling "eggplant pepper recipe"...This garden has been so satisfying and I will be sad to see it go (but on to Fall vegetables!).  I made a big batch so plenty for a week of lunches and some to go into the freezer and maybe Dan can try some in a few weeks when he returns home!  I also made a loaf of bread...mmm fresh bread with butter and the eggplant braise - delicious!!  Well worth sweating in the kitchen for the hour - whew!  I heeded some of the advice in the reviews of the recipe - tripled the turmeric, added some ground fenugreek, cayenne pepper, and coriander and a teaspoon of garam masala at the end for that full on "Indian" punch...I've been surprised how satisfying these veggie meals have been - the heat certainly curbs the appetite as well.  I've also surprised how little basil I've been using....It's been growing great but I just haven't had the desire to add it to many meals.  I went out for Thai yesterday and I noticed their parking lot was lined smartly with alternating bushes of Thai basil and lemongrass - how functional!! I snapped off a small stem of the basil and I'm hoping it'll take root!!  Although I don't seem to be using it much in cooking, I love the smell of basil when I go out to pet my basil plants....

For the next recipe adventure I may try this one.  I went to the organic market last week when picking up a friend from the airport and we loaded up on goodies that are scarce or pricey here in Tuscaloosa - chocolate covered espresso beans, dates, unsweetened shredded coconut, and these dates rolled in coconut flakes that Dan got me hooked on in Moscow. mmmm.  Anyhow, the recipe sounds pretty tasty, and I never cook with dates (except wrapping them in bacon thanks to Adam!).

A few random pics

AND!!  From Dan:

"Check out this seminal paper that was just published.  I have a feeling it may revolutionize science as we know it.  "

Congrats dearest!

:)

xo

hi-o!!

a new round o pics!
xo!!