9-30-09 Wedding Soup

(I am sure by now you are noticing a recurring theme...)

We got some miscellaneous Arkansas-grown greens in our basket this month. J. saw in them some hearty wedding soup so we decided to give it a whirl. I had some chicken stock I had made and frozen, along with some shredded chicken from the same batch of stock. J. whipped up a batch of tiny meatballs and, using his mom's recipe, put together a bright wedding soup. We ate it topped with grated parmigiano reggiano and with pizza bread leftover from the other night.


Have you had wedding soup before?

9-29-09 Fall is in the Air

And on the plate...

Smashed Arkansas-grown sweet potatoes, steamed brussel sprouts, Arkansas Rice Pilaf (with Arkansas brown rice and Arkansas Shiitake mushrooms) and Homemade Pizza Bread (leftover dough from Sunday's pizza).

9/29/09 Photo 1: Lottery Day

On the November ballot, Arkansans voted in the ability for the state to hold a lottery. Monday was the first day on which scratch-off tickets were available.

This was one of the coffee cups in the cabinet at work. I quaffed my daily coffee from it on Monday in honor of the occasion.

9-28-09, Photo 2: Cultural Experience

A friend and I attended UALR's Artspree which featured Kathakali - a Classical Dance Drama from Kerala, India.

9-27-09 Homemade Pizza

We got some pesto in our Basket a Month this month. I think they intended that the pesto be used on the homemade spaghetti, but we decided to slather it on a pizza crust. We had some mushrooms, olives and fresh mozzarella cheese to throw on that one. The other one was topped with some leftover meatballs and farm-fresh ricotta cheese.

Baking them in cast iron skillets makes all the difference in the world.

9-26-09 "Learnin iz bad on Saturdayz"

Kitten says: "Saturdays are not for studying."

9-25-2009 Sunshiny day

After a bunch of dreary, gray days, it was nice to drive into the sun on the way home.

9-24-09 September Basket-a-Month

Obtained our September Basket-a-Month.

So many beautiful colors in this basket: orange, green, purple, white, brown, red, and black!

Contents included: Greens; sweet potatoes; farm-fresh milk, eggs, butter, and ricotta cheese; ground beefalo; fresh basil pesto; fresh spaghetti; black Arkansas apples, shiitake mushrooms, an Arkansas-grown tomato; herbs; and brown rice. Oh, and some apple-elderberry jelly.

For information on how to subscribe, visit ArkansasFood.Net.

9-23-09 Overqualified

Someone in the house got an invite to apply for this card.
Sure, it has no limit.
It also carries with it a $500 per year annual fee.
Shredder hasn't been used lately, but you better believe it got some use for this!

9-22-09 No Pic

9-21-09 Study Session with a Friend

9-20-09 Mortar and Pestle

A component of my Wild Plants and Their Uses class involved crunching up some Jewelweed and adding it to vinegar to yield a spray which would help to relieve itchy skin.

9-19-09 Map & Compass

Someone learned how to use a compass today. Like, as in, if I put in a heading, then I know in which direction to walk so I can find a location. Look out world!

9-18-09 Raptor!

Attended a Becoming an Outdoors-Woman seminar this weekend. When I noticed on the schedule that the presentation on Friday night would be on Raptors I wondered what Dinosaurs had to do with being an outdoor woman in Arkansas. Then, when the presentation began, we learned that Raptor = a Bird of Prey.

Rusty Scarborough gave quite an excellent presentation on birds of prey in Arkansas. Here he shows off a Red Tailed Hawk which was rescued after falling out of a nest.

9-17-09 Sleepy Study Session

I will sit for a certification exam next month so a lot of time will be spent studying. Sometimes with kitten help!

9-16-09 No Picture

Watched my blackberry float away from me Tuesday night. It was drying on Wednesday.
My camera batteries were dead.
No picture today!

9-15-09 The Root Cafe's Cheese and Herbs Class

Rebecca gives instructions to the class about how to curdle and drain our cheese.

9-14-09 Trashy Sloppy Joes

Grilled Cheese Sandwich topped with Sloppy Joes. Served with canned corn on the side. A wonderful dinner.

9-13-09 Hearty Breakfast

We reused rolls from Saturday's dinner to build this delicious breakfast. We made little garlic toasts, melted cheddar cheese, topped the breads with crispy bacon and then finished it off with poached eggs. It was too filling to eat the whole thing.

9-12-09 OHIO State Football

We had friends over for dinner and to watch the Ohio State Football game against USC. We had a nice dinner and good conversation with friends. It was a good game until OSU lost.

9-11-09 Movie Night

Went to see the newish Transformers movie at the cheap theatre. That's right, admission is only $1.50. We paid way more for our popcorn and cherry coke than we paid to actually *be* entertained. We didn't get suckered into this little trick though: Popcorn Seasoning only $1.50 - made with Real Cheese!

9-10-09 Football is Back!

Ah yes, that great time of year is upon us once again! Time for Steelers Football, Buffalo Chicken Dip, and a frosty beverage. I love Football!

9-9-09 Off-Target

Did a little shopping. Not among my purchases were these beauties. Among the items I did purchase were two pairs of pants that fit me nicely. Yay stuff.

9-8-09 Totally Tomatoes

Attended another class offered by the great folks of The Root Cafe. This one was on canning tomatoes. As I've never canned anything before, I learned a lot. Also met some really neat people and ate some delicious "crisis" salsa, as Jack termed it. He said it was "crisis" salsa because he had roughly 20 minutes to throw it together before class began.

Haven't tasted our product yet, as it's locked away safely in cans, but maybe one day soon...

9-7-09 Free Food!

The promotion of "FREE FOOD" is well-ingrained in me. It probably started in middle or high school and definitely permeated college and graduate school activities. It was further cemented in my graduate education which taught me that one strategy of getting students to show up for programming is to provide food, or at the very least, candy. For those of you who were unaware, Chick-Fil-A offered a free original chick-fil-a sandwich if patrons donned the logo of their athletic team of choice. We bought the sweet teas, so our investment in the meal was something like $3.26 (plus gasoline to drive there and our time commitment). Totally worth it.

9-6-09 Girls' Night

This portion of my counter top seems to be the spot that collects a bunch of stuff to indicate the day's activity. Today it collected some washed dishes, chip bags, empty cans and bottles. Remains of a party with some of my girlfriends. We had a nice time sitting around the table, snacking and talking as we flipped through a few cook books, admiring the pretty pictures and discussing the goings-on of our lives.

I am thankful for relaxed time and conversation with good friends.

9-5-09 Weekend Project II

A Very In-Progress Picture

9-4-09 Weekend Project

My weekend project this weekend is to remove the wall paper in our downstairs bathroom. This is a before picture.

9-3-09 Paint Project

The plan for the up-coming long weekend is removal of wall paper in the downstairs bathroom. A secondary component of that will be to paint the room. We went to the store yesterday to bring home some swatches. The green at the very center of the photo is the color of our living room. We were thinking to keep the downstairs rooms in complimentary colors so are looking for a "mango" or "orange" color for the bathroom and one of the browns will be used in the kitchen.

9-2-09 Corvettes Continued

Saw some Corvettes, left over from Tuesday night, on my way to work. They were all lined up and traveled down the road in an orchestrated and coordinated approach. Quite mechanically beautiful, truth be told. They almost feel like some type of bird to me.

9-1-09 Calling Cool Corvettes

The Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY is celebrating its 15th Anniversary. Many Corvettes stopped in Little Rock on their way to converging upon the Museum this week. We benefited by a visit from family.