A sunny Sunday summary

Yes, today is sunny: alert the media! It's also windier than yesterday, so I haven't had the window open as much, but it has been open, and it smells like heaven. I guess one benefit to winter is that it really, really makes me appreciate fresh air. Which does not make winter worth while, but it's something.

I tried a new recipe last night, and I have to tell you about it, not just because it was good (which it was), but because this website, allrecipes.com, has a very neat feature: you can search for recipes by ingredients. Either things to include or exclude, too, which is handy. I had spaghetti and sauce and mozzarella, and though I could have just cooked the spaghetti and used it that way, I wanted to step it up just a wee bit.

So I searched on those three ingredients, and after looking at a few recipes, I added an exclusion on ground beef, since I didn't have any, and several recipes thought I might. I ended up making this Three-Cheese Spaghetti Bake, that was quite delicious.


Not bad-looking, right? I modified the recipe slightly: I had only an almost-full box of spaghetti, my sauce jar was 24 ounces instead of the 28 called for, and I had no Romano, so I added more Parm instead (meaning that, technically, mine was a Two-Cheese Bake). It turned out really good, and it makes a lot: I ate plenty, and had 6 generous portions left over. It reheats fine, and if it freezes and reheats well, it will be in the regular rotation from now on.

I was playing with shells today, to avoid making eye contact with the Bruins giving away a game (the Rangers should send Manny Fernandez a thank-you note)(he was quoted in the Bruins blog as saying, "I can't catch a break," which led to my yelling, "You can't catch a puck!"), and was much struck by these augers.


I'm very fond of them, but also, see how tiny the ones in front are?


Nature amazes me.

The Bruins, by the way, are in the midst of a busy stretch of 6 games in 9 days. This will be followed by a stretch of 2 games in 12 days. Which leads one to the question, Who made this schedule, and what were they on?

The cats are doing well. They celebrate the day, as so often, by napping.


I tried not to disturb them, but apparently was not successful.

What? Did you hear something?

I haven't written much about knitting recently, but I continue to do so. The socks are moving along, getting closer:


I was thinking while knitting the other day, how I find the inside of my hand-knit socks, the reverse side of the stockinette sole, to be just slightly noticeably bumpy, but how changing the knit to purl is not going to happen, as I'm not that fond of purling. I mean, I'll do it, of course, but I've found on the baby blanket that the knit rounds race by, while the purl rounds slog.

Then I had a Thought. Instead of reversing the knitting, how about turning the sock inside out? Then I'm walking on the smoother side. As long as I liked the look of the rest of the pattern ... I wonder how these socks would look inside out?


Not bad, I think. And I hardly care about having this side show:


I think I'm onto something here.

Spam can be fun

I get what you might call a reasonable amount of spam on my e-mail account: not none, but not crippling amounts. And Gmail's spam filter does a great job. I almost never get a spam message in my inbox. I do sometimes get real messages put into the spam folder, but even that doesn't happen often. (For some reason, the "promotional" messages from my credit card provider go there almost every time.)

I usually delete spam messages as soon as I see that they're there, because I'm just that way. Lately, though, I've been seeing a different sort of spam, so I stopped deleting to watch what comes in over a day or two.

Specifically, these are masquerading as CNN alerts, and more recently MSNBC Breaking News. It's amusing me no end, some of the subject lines they're using to entice me into opening the mail. Like, "McCain told lies to get votes." No! A politician lied? I can't believe that.

Here are a few good ones:


I know, small type. Can you read that last one?

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Split; 'Pestilence to go Solo'

It's almost tempting! I mean, someone has a wicked sense of humor, and I'm such a sucker for a sense of humor. Although in the spam world, you'd think that would be a liability.

Since Monday night, I've received 23 spam messages. Four are the usual nonsense; seven purport to be CNN Alerts (with non-specific subject lines); and no less than 12 "from" MSNBC. I like "Poll: Congress's Opinion of Constituents at All-Time Low", too.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some more of these out of the oven:


And spend some time with this guy:


He thanks you for the good wishes, as do I.

Ironic isn't quite the right word...

Last night, I wrote defensively about how I spent money on a book, but! It wasn't that much! And I buy so few! And I really, really wanted it! And there's nothing wrong with that!

And after posting, I opened the MasterCard bill, and for a moment honestly thought the amount was a mistake.

Well, in a way of course it is, but it's my mistake, not theirs.

(I need to do a better job of keeping up with my running total of charges, to avoid nasty shocks like that in the future.)

It adds up, doesn't it? Yup.

So! In addition to trying harder on the self-control part (ha), I got to thinking about working part-time.

In the past, I have rejected the idea, because thinking of spending some part of my evenings and weekends at Dunkin Donuts or even Barnes & Noble does not appeal. (It fills me with dread, actually.) What I like doing most, such as reading or knitting, is hard to get paid for.

Then I thought of something else I like to do, which might be slightly more revenue-enhancing: spend time with babies.

I'm always the one at parties hanging around the babies, offering to hold one, not in any rush to give them back. Last fall, after my friend C. had her twins, I loved to hang out with them. Part of that, of course, is that C. is my friend, but I spent a fair amount of time just hanging with a baby while she took the chance to "accomplish something" (like taking a shower, or filling the dishwasher, life with twin infants being what it is).

I don't mind giving bottles and changing diapers and making faces. One time when I was there, the night nanny even commented on how comfortable I was with them.

Basically, I'm just a baby person. (I don't think I've ever met a baby I didn't like. As babies get older, they begin to turn into people, and then the situation is more like I am with adults: some I like more than others.)

Perhaps I can find some babysitting gigs, a few hours here or there, and earn a little money while not totally regretting the loss of my free time. It's worth looking into.

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In other news, I have apparently lost my mind, as tonight for dinner I tried not one, not two, but three new recipes. I know, crazy, right? I generally think of myself as adventurous if I try one. I don't know what came over me. These are recipes I bookmarked a while ago, but I couldn't tell you why tonight became the night.

Of course, at heart, I made chicken, potatoes, and green beans, which doesn't sound like much. But in fact I made Bourbon Chicken:


Crash Hot Potatoes:


and Green Beans:


Not bad, if I do say so myself.


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One more thing: I keep forgetting to mention that I finished the baby blanket! I'll try to get a good picture some time, maybe this weekend when I have more daylight to work with. But it's done!

Of food, healthy (ish) and not so

Or, real food and candy


I want to thank Annie's Eats for this simple and delicious recipe, which I have now made twice. The only thing I don't love about it is that you dirty three pans (making the "sauce", preparing the pasta, and then baking the whole thing), since I'm a big fan of one-dish cooking (and thus clean-up). However, in this case it's worth it, as the result is delicious, it makes plenty, and it reheats perfectly. I love leftovers! And if I just exert my willpower (ha), and wash the first two dishes while the meal is baking, I don't have a full counter of dirties when I'm done. Score!

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My plan to comfort myself for the neverendingness of winter by being more relaxed about eating continues. Today was actually decent weather, with a brisk wind taking some of the nice out of the mid-50s temperature, but still with lots of sun. I heart the sun! I'm trying to not over-overeat, but several people at work brought in excess Easter candy, including in one case Jelly Bellys, and can I eat those! Mmm. I've eaten too many, for sure. And of course, I went to their website to see what all the flavors are. (I wanted to put the pictures here, but it's too wide for the page, and after a few minutes of tinkering, I concede defeat. Go looky, come back to discuss.)

It makes me want to taste-test the lot. How different are strawberry cheesecake and strawberry daiquiri? What about cafe latte and cappuccino? There are some I don't particularly like, and some I kind of like, and about a dozen that I really like. Mmm, sweet.

What about you? Favorite flavors? Or is something else your preferred method of falling off the food-willpower wagon?