I Love Lettuce.

. . . Or, more accurately, I love salads. But declaring one's affection for "salads" does not lend itself to such quaint alliterations as for "lettuce" . . . Lettuce Love.

I also love lemons and oranges and brothers who bring them to me and sisters who gave them to brothers and especially mothers who supplied them . . . Lemon Love.

So, combine lettuce and fresh squeezed lemon dressing and not only do you get a lovely alliteration, but the resulting salad is quite nice as well. I also threw on some Swiss cheese and bread crumbs, just because I like them, even if they are not fortunate enough to start with Ls.

And, on an unrelated note, I also love my dishwasher.

Conversation Shamrocks!

Here's a little bit of St. Patrick's Day math for you:




We made Conversation Shamrock Cookies at my house today! It was pretty much amazing: TXT a Leprechaun, Pinch Me, Luck of the Irish, Let Your Sham Rock, etc. It really was a ton of fun, and Elisabeth and I decided we MUST make this a St. Patrick's tradition.
We made some orange ones because my roommate Melissa told us that in Ireland the people wear orange on St. Patrick's Day instead of green.

This is my roommate Dasily. Look-she has red hair!

Elisabeth decorating up a storm.

Happiness is a table-full of shamrocks.

Teamwork.


Yay for cookies!


After cookies, we had some French Onion Soup, which I neglected to photograph after we put it in mugs, since I was so excited to eat it. But here it is cooking:

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
(note the green apron - thank you Mother!)

p.s. If anyone wants recipes for anything, let me know, I totally have them.

Colorful Peppers

I know it's hard to get excited about Ramen Noodles, but I found out that it is possible if you have them with colorful bell peppers! My roommate Bridey showed me how to make a chicken-ramen-pepper dish, but chicken was not on sale this week, so I made it with just the peppers (oh, the joys of being poor, as Christina often reminds me).
It's really, really, easy to make:

1. cook Ramen noodles
2. cook chicken and bell peppers in a pan with some oil
3. drain the noodles, add the chicken and peppers, then add some soy sauce and some of the seasoning packet (if it's chicken)
4. eat


In other news, I made a tuna-cheese-frenchbread melt. Yay for French Bread!

French Bread Week and Pay it Forward

So, as I've been considering blogging, a couple things have come to mind, namely: this poster, these three blogs, and especially this post by Crystal. I have come to realize that, though not many people will actually ever read this (and, in fact, I'm quite okay with that) it's fun to make posts anyway, plus it's a good place to show the pictures I am now taking with my amazing camera (thanks, Daddy, by the way), and it's a safe place to play around with graphic design that will only be seen by loving relatives and friends who don't give out grades.
Plus, I like talking about food and I like making stuff, so its just a win-win kind of thing.

I proclaimed this week French Bread Week because I got a loaf of French Bread and I'm going to post about it (act excited!). If anyone has ideas, let me know (I think the finale will be French Onion Soup, so that one's taken) but I am open to suggestions and I have a lot of loaf left. I started out with butter and honey slices - you can't go wrong with butter and honey, honestly.

Finally, the real reason I am posting again: this lovely Pay it Forward! If you comment, I will probably make you a book, since I already have all the stuff to bind them and they are way cool--ask my roommates.

Pay It Forward Rules
1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows!
2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on their post about this giveaway!
3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!
4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate pictures and comments! If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along.
Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! SO, REMEMBER...Pay it forward!

And don't forget to email me your address so I can send it to you.
Happy Tuesday!

Apples Away!

My dear cousins Whitney and Laura Checketts (who have just moved up to a family of 3 - congratulations by the way) were so kind as to share some apples with me this last month. I simply refused to see one of them go to waste (or at least that was my excuse for finding time to bake with them as much as I could). Consequently, I had a party in the kitchen all month long. Behold Apple Recipe Number 1: Apple Crumble.







An Autumn Apple Blue Plate Special.

Long Time, No See

Absence makes the heart grow fonder (or more forgetful). Anyhow, here I am again with more food to report on. Here we see a simple bowl of cornflakes:

Cornflakes

cornflakes dry cereal
milk

Combine approximately equal amounts in a bowl.

Stunning, and yet so often passed over in the culinary world. Good food doesn't always require lots of effort. Cold cereal may be one of my personal favorite Blue Plate Specials.