Thursday, April 22, 2010

Opening Day

Happy Earth Day! Today was Opening Day for my garden. We had the ceremonial first delivery of compost here in the midst of the sugar snap peas:





As you can see, it went off without a hitch. You can really rely on Tonka trucks to deliver.

The opening day ceremonies were sparsely attended; basically it was just me, with a brief appearance by this surprise visitor:



I don't think he appreciated my impersonation of the paparazzi, because he disappeared into a hole next to that garden bed after I snapped a few pics.

I had a lovely Earth Day. I planted tomatoes and peppers, composted, mulched, and got a great quantity of soil under my fingernails. I also helped the b/f spread (purchased) compost over much of the front lawn, in hopes of making it look like less of an eyesore. Now it is gently raining, a perfect end to a fine day.

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Monday, April 12, 2010

Eeek!

B/f was outside, mowing the lawn. I hear the lawnmower stop, then shortly thereafter, b/f sticks his head inside the back door, calling, "Honey! Come here!"

I hasten over, and am greeted by this:



A laugh a minute, that b/f of mine.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Lentil surprise

In my continuing search for lunches that aren't sandwiches, I stumbled across the Hillbilly Housewife's Taco Style Lentils and Rice. I decided to give it a whirl, even though I had yet to find a way to prepare lentils that I liked. They always seemed so bland and blech. But chili powder and cumin definitely aren't bland, and I figured, as cheap as it is, I wouldn't have wasted much if I didn't like it. I did decide to cut the recipe in half, since the whole recipe would make a whole LOT of lunches.

I must admit, I was skeptical. I mean, taco-anything without tomatoes? I was going to toss in some canned diced tomatoes, just on general principles, but then discovered I didn't have any. So I made it as indicated, except I substituted fresh onion and garlic for the powders. I just tossed everything in my rice cooker, reducing the water to the amount specified for my model. Pushed the button, and walked away.

A while later, the rice cooker beeped, and I had this:


Which, admittedly, doesn't look very exciting, but let me tell you, this stuff is good! I like it warmed up with some grated cheese on top, but I imagine it would make a good burrito or taco filling, as the Hillbilly Housewife suggests. This half-recipe makes three lunch-size servings for me of about a cup each. Add a piece of fruit and maybe a cookie, and I've got a lunch that is a very nice change from sandwich monotony.

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