Besties

   And to top off the six-hour diving extravaganza, Britten and Rich stopped by the shop with lunch from Haus for me, and to drop off my race packet for the Groundhog Run tomorrow morning. After all those hours in the pool with only my breakfast of coffee and oatmeal to hold me, you have no idea how good homemade bratwurst with sauerkraut and sautéed onions on a pretzel bun & hand cut french fries taste. Yum! I'm so lucky to have such thoughtful friends. THANKS GUYS!!!!

   And this is my dinner experiment for the week: BBQ chicken sandwiches with fresh mozzarella, Oklahoma Joe's sauce, and either avocado, or pineapple, or both! My twist on the pickles are miso-sesame-cucumbers, and jalapeño-lime salsa (Kristin's recipe). Success!

Cooking up a storm

   Today one of my generous coworkers, David H, brought me a bag of tomatoes and fresh herbs from his garden. Though I'd intended to spend a quiet evening recovering from Roatan (read: zonking out on the couch), it inspired me to cook a big meal: marinara and spaghetti squash, and roast chicken and vegetables. Yum! So lucky to have such awesome friends. :)

   I forgot to add roasted red pepper to the label, but you can taste it for sure. And the cayenne and red pepper flakes too. I made up the recipe, but it is my best batch of sauce yet! Here's what I did:

- chop the ripe tomatoes and sauté them with olive oil and garlic

- roast carrots with a little olive oil

- separately (they cook faster), roast the red pepper, onion, and garlic 

- when veggies are roasted to carmelized perfection, throw them in the food processor until smooth. Blend with sautéed tomatoes.

- add a can of tomato sauce to thicken 

- add fresh basil, rosemary, thyme, and sage

- stir over low heat as the spaghetti squash roasts (45 min at 425 degrees)

   Eat and enjoy!

   The chicken was adapted from this classic Ina Garten recipe: http://m.foodnetwork.com/recipes/21404 . It's as good as it claims to be, or better. Which is good, because with these quantities, I will be eating this meal for days!

Hot dog + Hot lemonade

   Sawako came over last night. She brought presents for the dogs & kitty, homemade croissants for us, and a giant cup of homemade Japanese hot lemonade for me! YUM!
   While we were sitting at the dining room table, eating and talking, all of a sudden Sawako felt something on her leg. She looked down to see this: The Hungriest Dog in the World strikes again!

"PSST! SAWAKO! Don't tell Jen, but I'm very hungry.
Please pass some food down to me."

   Sawako was kind enough to overlook Taylor's rudeness, and even kinder to share her recipe with me—in two languages!

ginger from Target; lemon juice from Whole Paycheck Foods

Best Dinner Ever?

   I blog about my food mostly so that when I am hungry and without inspiration, I can search for one of my food tags and be reminded of dishes I've made before. This one may be the winner, though: roasted chicken (I cheated and bought rotisserie to save time), roasted acorn squash with homemade chili-lime vinaigrette, and spinach salad with fruit, goat cheese, and raspberry dressing. YUM. The chili-lime vinaigrette upstaged everything. It's so good I may have to put it on my cereal in the morning. Okay, maybe not. But it's really, REALLY good!

* * *

   And two hours after dinner, I had a craving and went to the kitchen for a little dessert... another plateful of squash! This is some seriously good stuff.

T-Minus 13 hours to Surgery!

   In preparation for my ankle surgery tomorrow, I came home from work tonight and cooked for nearly three hours. I went grocery shopping on Sunday, and loaded up my fridge. And now I have a fridgeful of healthy & yummy prepared food, in case I'm not feeling up to cooking over the next few days. Homemade crab cakes, soup, salad, and a few supplements from Trader Joe's kitchen.
   Tonight's dinner combination was admittedly odd, but everything sounded so good that I wanted to try it all at once. It was still 55+ degrees when I got home, so I went outside and grilled a few huge pork steaks, with sweet & spicy Thai chili sauce. It goes great with roasted apples, mango and red onion. And I tried a new recipe, cauliflower "mac and cheese", which is much healthier than the pasta version of the dish. It didn't disappoint!
   Since I am not allowed to eat or drink *anything* after midnight, I'm facing a long 11+ hours before the procedure. So my plan is to stuff myself right up until midnight so maybe I won't feel so hungry. Hope it works.
   In any case, I have so much food in my fridge & freezer that anyone who saw it would think a family of twelve lived here. Nope, just one very tiny, very hungry person! :)