pickles and the art of productive procrastination

beginning in january, i started an online course in the basics of solar water heating for both domestic hot water and pool heating.  not that thrilling i know.  since then, my penchant for procrastination [and procrastibaking] has come back with a vengeance.  like john mcclain.  die hard 17 - get me out of this fucking nursing home.  i digress.

on to napa cabbage kimchi!

chicken two ways

modified alfredo with artichokes and roasted tomatoes

biryani.

big ass cookies

i've never claimed reading comprehension is a strong suit of mine.  most recently my mom, sister, and i were trying to find a restaurant in augusta for lunch.  that is augusta, maine, mind you.  not augusta, georgia.  i googled "restaurants in augusta" and chose the midprice range.  what?  indian?  tapas?  burritos?  more burritos?  a sweetery?  i sent several links and some menus to the fam and the reply was "well those are all very nice looking but were not driving to augusta georgia.."

shit. 

in which i make subpar pretzels

sunday i had [very] tentative brunch plans so i set my alarm for a reasonable 8:30am and decided to finally try out a prezel recipe id been holding onto for years. 

pad see ew ...the right way!

mmm look at that fried-y goodness.  so brightly colored and slightly over exposed, good enough to eat!  ...i did.  and its long gone. 

feel the beet [part deux]

just over a year ago i roasted my first beets.  this summer i grew some pitiful excuses for beet greens with liiiitle stringy roots attached.  no pics.  they went straight into the composter out of spite.  but the grocery store had giant beets on sale for about $4 a bag. 

pasta time!

homemade fettuccine!

zucchini pasta bake

noodleycheesycustardy goodness

curry fish with crispy greens

much less fancy than it sounds.

zucchini curly fries

because i ask for weird things on my amazon wish list, i got a vege spiralizer from my sis for my birthday.  also due to the very small storage ability of my kitchen...things tend to get placed in my living room/coat closet and lie dormant for some time.  but behold.  zucchini!  spiralized! 

ribbon cut and roasted with parm and oregano

subpar soup

chicken laksa, tom ka gai, or any other asian chicken coconut soup from a restaurant is pretty much  heavenly.  make it at home... and its like a sandwich or salad.  same ingredients, same process, not-quite-terrible but disappointing result.. 

poached chicken, rice noodles, egg noodles, curry paste, coconut milk, chicken broth, bean sprouts, snow peas, and even minced lemongrass

i followed the recipe to a t.  and the resulting steamy bowl of soup?  meeh.

fail.

more pickles!

dilly beans!!!!!  so excited.  but now i have to wait 2 weeks for them to "cure".  waah.

roasty toasty veges

i was feeling hungry and lazy.  which is different than hungry and angry = hangry.

i halved some baby potatoes, trimmed some beans, and halved and cored red peppers; dumped them on a pan under the broiler for 10 minutes, turned off the oven, and watched an episode of my newest favorite cop show life.  previous favorite cop shows include the good guys and the unusuals.  theyre all on netflix but unfortunately in their entirety.  2 seasons of life but 1 season of the other two.  pretty sure netflix categorization will come up with "quirky cancelled cop shows" for me to accompany my "violent supernatural action & adventure" "campy sci-fi & fantasy" and "critically acclaimed foreign gangster movies"

but i digress.

 perfectly roasted and just slightly steamed

apple butter!

what to do with an overabundance of apples? 

roasted beets!

some beets.  waiting for their big debut.  recipe found on the shiska in the kitchen!

chicken kale blueberries

but not together.  that would be the craziest salad ever.  top row: buttermilk marinated chicken aka chicken parm minus the marinara and mozz.  middle: kaaaaale chips!  with parm.  bottom: blueberry cornmeal muffins.  subpar right out of the oven.  hopefully theyve improved after sitting for a day.  cos im feeding them to the seester and taking the rest to work...

linking up to the eat make grow bloghop!

jams and jellies

well really just one kind of mishmash of fruit, sugar, pectin, and some tiny jars.

blackberry rhubarb fridge/freezer jam!  along with some other things ive made/accumulated over the summer - blueberry rhubarb jam, strawberry rhubarb sauce, and some strawberry raspberry jam from my mums. 

rhubarb season is almost over. 

START HORDING THAT SHIT.

this has been a public service announcement.  carry on.

the hash fiasco, or weird stuff ive cooked lately

breakfast hash.  mostly just random globs of stuff in a pan. 

basil arugula pesto

basil arugula pesto

• several bunches basil
• most of a 5oz tub of baby arugula
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup parm
• salt to taste

blend stuff.  dump on pasta.  eat.

linking up to 33 shades of green: tasty tuesdays

tacos!

bulgogi ground beef and chicken with homemade taco seasoning