Boston

So, its been awhile. But it was time well spent – I transported myself to Boston, where I now live in a cute little apartment and go to a cute little school. No, they wouldn’t like me calling it that…. A very serious little school. Where we bind books all day, eat baked goods, and wonder what that noise is. The bookbinding program is on the same floor as the piano tuning program, over the carpentry program and under the violin making program, so we really do spend a significant part of our day trying to guess what that weird noise/rattling/humming/bone-shaking vibration might be.

So far so good, and I’ve been knitting – I’ll get to that later in the week, can’t share everything with you right away can I?

Seriously.

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

It's a grammatically correct, valid sentence. Surprise!

squash problems

Garden update. Again. Apparently this is a gardening blog now, who knew?

So, I’m confused. I believe that I have both pattypan squash plants and butternut squash plants in my garden (yeah, I think that’s right but at this point no one can be sure).

If you don’t know, pattypans look like this:

And butternuts look like this:

And my squash looks like this:

Could they be interbreeding? Is that possible? Or could my pattypans just be weird shaped? So, they’re white like a pattypan, kind of spikey like a pattypan, and taste like a pattypan, but they’re shaped like a butternut and grew off of what I thought was a butternut plant…. Interesting….

In other news, mini red bell peppers!!

garden update

I didn’t realize how big the butternut and pattypan squash plants were going to get. They’re pretty much invading the squash corner of the garden. But I have to say, I am impressed with myself. I started these from seeds – last year everything I started from seed was either destroyed by bugs or looked sad and sickly all summer. This year almost all the squash and cucumber plants I started from seed are still alive, and they all look surprisingly healthy. They even have flowers. I don’t understand it, but I’m not complaining.

Also, Turnips! I grew a turnip!

Also from seed. And a carrot. I have a lot more still in the garden, we decided these weren’t quite big enough yet so we would leave the rest in for awhile longer.

Mini red pepper plants (not from seed. I’m not that awesome).

Bush beans, pole beans, wax beans, purple string beans, and peas!

Peas! I was pretty excited about these.

Green peppers!

Way Better than Regular Yellow Rice

This weekend Paul moved apartments. In short, it was really hot and everything was really heavy. But that’s not what I want to talk to you about. I want to tell you about the dinner I made Monday night.

We had no real food in the apartment (due to the whole moving thing), and we were tired of leftover pizza, so I used what we had and I think it turned out pretty good. I call it “Way Better than Regular Yellow Rice.”

First, make some Goya Yellow Rice. I’m not going to tell you how to do that, it’s on the box.

When it’s finished get out a big ol’ frying pan and combine cooked rice

Olive Oil! (A tablespoon or two. Or more! More can't hurt!)

A can of Great Northern Beans (drained and rinsed)

A can of Chickpeas (my favorite food ever) (also drain and rise)

A can of petite diced tomatoes (drain)

One Yellow Onion (diced)

A liberal amount of garlic (we use this jar stuff, I have no idea what amount this translates into in real-garlic world. But I always use a LOT of garlic. So use whatever you consider a lot)

Ground pepper, cumin, and paprika (I don’t measure things, I can’t say how much. A lot, I use a lot of most everything)

Okay, so that’s all in the frying pan, right? Now heat it up.

Consume.

Feeds 4 as a main dish, or 2 and one Paul. As a side dish it probably feeds 100.

Balls and beans. And bobby pins.

Over Memorial Day I made this salad to go with our cookout.

Black Bean and Couscous Salad (or, as my 2 year old cousin calls it, “balls and beans”)

It was fantastic. And I don't like vinegar OR cilantro, but it was still good. We forgot to buy corn so I used tomatoes instead, and it was a good decision.

Bobby pins in the shop! These were so fun to make, I started making them and couldn't stop. I have about a ton already made sitting in a box, waiting for a home. I think the white ones would be great for a wedding.

not doing math homework

All I can say so that the Summerfest craft show was a complete FAIL. I sold one whole thing! But I can say that I did better than most of the tables around me – turnout was horrible. I think I saw about 40 people who were not other vendors or volunteers. So in a way that makes me feel better, I failed due to circumstances, not because people don’t like my things. But a good turn out would have been nice– then I would at least know if people liked my stuff and if I should try again! Maybe I’ll look for another show around Christmas, but I’m taking a break for now. I’ve moved back to knitting:

Hopefully, someday, this blob will turn into this sweater. (Slinky Ribs)

Also, it’s very hot. Quinn doesn’t like it one bit.