I'll play along.

Jeanette tagged my ass. Per her orders, I need to list 8 random things about myself. I'll do it, too, since I'm about half skeered of her!


1. I love lime. The color, the taste, the smell, even how limes look.
2. I caused someone I used to post with on a message board to have a mental breakdown once. Literally. I didn't mean to cause *that, but I was still sort of proud.
3. I have a tendency to buy and hoard certain, odd items: fabric softeners, scatter rugs, silk flowers, soft drinks, air/fabric fresheners, new toothbrushes and mops.
4. I carry a folded up dollar bill in my wallet. It's signed "Love, Daddy. 1972" When he gave it to me, he told me that as long as I kept it, I'd never be broke.
5. My car tags expired last month and I keep forgetting to get my new sticker.
6. Blue Christmas lights are my favorite.
7. I am a gun owner and an excellent shot. For years I had a concealed weapon permit and carried a Ruger .357 Magnum. I still carry it occasionally, but not legally.
8. I support the legalization of all drugs.

Okay, I have no idea who has been tagged and who hasn't, so if you read this and haven't been, please do it and let me know so I can go read!

How to cook like me.

I always get tickled seeing blogs where the professional camera comes out in the big, fancy kitchen, all so we can see how to make a sandwich. That's not cooking, that's showing off. So, today I cooked one one of my favorite comfort-food meals and cooked it in my 10 x10', stock Lowe's kitchen on my new $350 stove. Photos will be courtesy of my Kodak EasyShare and a pirated copy of a nice photo-editing program that I don't know how to work very well. Sound like fun? I think so, too.

First, let me say that I'm cheap. I hate wasting food and today's meal is going to be a chicken and vegetable curry with rice, using stuff that has been in my fridge and freezer too long. It's not gone bad, mind you...I'm too freakish about germs and bacteria to do that. It's just some food that was looking a little shop-worn. C'mon, I know I'm not the only one that lets things sit around too long and I doubt I'm the only one who figures out how to still use them, so don't look cross-eyed at me over that.

We need one packet of red curry paste (somewhat expensive in grocery stores so I buy them by the case when amazon.com has a big sale and I've got coupon codes), one can of coconut milk, one bag of frozen okra, a couple of sad looking yellow and zucchini squash and an eggplant I've had for maybe 2 weeks. We're also using (not shown yet) 2 large chicken breasts I found wadded up in a Zip-Loc bag in my freezer. Jackpot! *snickers* It's only fair to mention now, before I forget, I will wind up adding a second can of coconut milk in to this because I tend to wing it when I cook. All that being said, let's chop the veggies and chicken into chunks.



Roast the raw veggies for oooh, maybe 30 minutes. They have salt, pepper, a bit of cumin and some smoked paprika on them, so you know. No reason for that combination other than that sounded good.



At this point we're ready to put the chicken in a skillet and this is when I realized I need onions, too. I dug through the crisper and come up with these lovely gems. Man. They're sad and a little slimy, too. Ah, well...they'll be fine! *flicks the bluebird off my shoulder and proceeds on*



Now look at that...some washing, some peeling, some chopping half their tails off and hiding them under some garlic and they're now nearly new again!



Throw the onions and garlic in a pan with some olive oil. sea salt (regular would do fine but I only use sea salt for cooking), fresh ground pepper and cardamon. I love cardamon and it's such an underused spice, probably because when you buy it you can't afford to feed your family for the next 4 nights. You can pass on the cardamon, if you like. I'll never know.



This next part is crucial: Start your rice cooking too early and have yourself an energy drink while you feel all good about the fairly healthy dinner you're making.



Time to add the okra! Also, in a separate pot, combine a can of coconut milk and the entire package of curry paste, even though it says to add only a tablespoon or so. Screw them, add it all. Trust me. Heat and stir this mixture until the curry paste melts into the coconut milk, then realize you really need to add that second can of coconut milk now. Forget to take pictures of this whole procedure. At least that's how I did it.



Add that curry concoction into your skillet and it'll look a lot like this. If you really want to make it like I did, get to thinking about the fact you've fucked up your proportion of curry paste to coconut milk and add extra curry powder to what's in the skillet, just to be sure. And mind you - taste *nothing as you cook. Have enough confidence in your skills to know it will be perfect, dammit.



While the chicken/okra/curry mixture simmers, keep looking at that pot of rice you made too early and get a little irritated. The energy drink helps with this part.



In 15 minutes or so, get the roasted veggies out. They should still have a little bite to them and not be cooked to death.



That's it! Pile it on a plate, spoon the "sauce" over the whole thing (especially the rice, since it is now room temperature and gummy), artfully stick a fork in it for the picture and head for your recliner. Okay, you don't have to eat in your recliner if you don't want to...I did, though. I promise you, this tastes far, far better than it looks. It's rich, a little exotic and has some
heat to it. The heat isn't the searing kind found in jalapenos, but that subtle, warm-in-the-back-of-your-throat heat...mmmm!



PS: For those who have never seen or eaten okra that wasn't fried, I did this just for you. See those little seeds? Flavor beads. *nods*

Today.

I just felt like taking pictures today.

When I woke up, this was the little face sleeping next to me. His name is Tucker and he has bedhead.


I went to check on Miss Arse. When I asked her if she felt better, this was her response. I shall take it as a "yes". Yay for her not choking to death on snot in her sleep last night. :-)


When I came home, I spotted my new stove. I'm still sort of excited about it. I don't get out much.


I took a good look at my old fridge and wondered how much longer until it dies, too. It's 16. The answer would be "soon".


I came to get online and found Tuck and Gina in the office. I got her the same year I got that fridge. The answer would be "soon" for her, too.


As I sat here, I heard things happening in the living room. When I walked out, I found this little scene. Apparently they helped themselves to the throw and quilt. The cuteness kills me. Left to right: Tucker, Ginger and Beatrice. Ginger is 16, too. Uh-oh.


I made dinner. Want some?


Wooo, now wasn't *that exciting?

Oh, ewww...help!

Really, I mean it, I need help. I'm on my third round of damn mealy bugs in as many months. Well, I call them mealy bugs but Googling tells me I'm wrong, they're weevils or mill bugs. Maybe. Who knows. Whatever they're called, they're those little, tiny black bugs that get into flour, rice and pasta. I've cleaned my hutch out entirely each time, disinfected, thrown out anything infected and when I open a box of, say, pasta, I always store the remainder in a Zip-Loc bag. In the past, scattering bay leaves has taken care of them but not this time - they just keep on coming back, in pure defiance of my bay leaves. So, does anyone have any ideas on what I can do to prevent this from happening a 4th time? This time, they actually were inside a couple of Zip-Loc bags and I'm sort of freaked out by that. I'd appreciate any ideas...please!

Sunday afternoon miscellany.

A couple of years ago, I went on a kick of eating avocados all the time. I saved the seeds from 10 of them and did that deal where you support 'em with toothpicks in glasses of water until they sprout. Stretched along my kitchen windowsill for months were a row of crystal wineglasses, each with an avocado seed supported on top with four toothpicks. I babied those suckers. Their water got changed daily, once a week I added a drop of fertilizer, I stayed vigilant against cat-crime...I was a very good avocado seed mama. Then the day came that my babies were ready for soil. I went and bought 10 new little clay pots and a bag of premium potting soil and set to work. Oh, I just felt so accomplished. I got them all potted and lined up in a little row, envisioning a veritable overflow of avocados in a few years. And then I promptly lost interest. Every little avocado tree died right there in its new little pot, never receiving a bit of attention again. I felt guilty, once in awhile. Sometimes I'd think about them out there and how it would only take 5 minutes to go care for them. It never happened, though, and eventually I dumped everything in a garbage bag, including the pots, and tossed them out. Why do I mention this now? I was chopping an avocado a few minutes ago and decided to save the seed. As I reached for a wineglass, I had this whole ugly flashback to the Avocado Seed Incident and promptly felt awful all over again. I suspect there's a moral to this story, though, and also something very telling about me as a person. If you're reading this, you might want to give that some thought.

Oh a more positive note, I was cleaning out some old pictures and found this little gem I'd taken awhile back at Books-A-Million. Who says religion isn't fun? :-D

7 random facts.

I got tagged by Jennifer, so here goes:

1. I owned a trucking and freight brokerage company for many years with my ex-husband. We ran semis all over the continental US, in fact. I still have a CDL and can drive a semi but hope I hope I never have to again because they all smell really bad.
   
2. I do not own a cell phone. I do not want a cell phone. I hate cell phones.
   
3. I speak some Arabic and understand a lot more than I speak. I have a real love for the Middle Eastern culture, especially the food and music.
   
4. I'm a perfume junkie. This week, my favorite is Bijan Nude.
   
5. I have Reverse Seasonal Affective Disorder. You will typically find my house chilly and very dark inside, as a result. I try to not go out in the daytime unless it's rainy and dark. Lol, I'm not a "light and airy" kind of person.
   
6. I'm actually a very good artist, although I rarely draw or paint anymore. In a fit of depression and anger many years ago, I destroyed all my work. My mom had a couple of pieces I forgot about and they are all that survive now. This was my version of cutting my ear off.
   
7. I collect Barbies and have over 200.

NEXT!! I'm tagging: CPTWife, Bella, Karen , and Tara

Who knew?

I saw this at Publix.
I'm going to see if I can find breast flavored chicken.