A Reminder

There's a chill in the air this morning. It reminds me that this isn't that far away.

Wow. That's all I can say. Just wow.

The Fast Spatula

Last night I pushed myself back into the kitchen. I can't live on frozen dinners and cold cereal forever, can I? That's how I convinced myself to dust off my spatula.

And, after a day of dusting, vacuuming, wood stacking and writing (see the last one?) I was hungry.

So, one of my favorite recipes. I adapted it a bit, leaving out the sour cream, parsley and applesauce. I just used ordinary jarred salsa. It was yummy and I've got leftovers! Yay!

That's good, because I could be hungry again tonight. Snow-clearing does that to a gal.

That's right. It's snowing here. I don't want to talk about it!

Hope you have a warm Thursday.

Bean Cakes with Apple Salsa

1 can black beans
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 T. taco flavoring
2 cups shredded apples
small bunch cilantro
vegetable oil
1 cup applesauce
½ cup prepared salsa
1/4 cup sour cream
2 T. chopped parsley

Chop onion into small pieces. Chop cilantro. Set aside.

Place beans, bread crumbs, eggs, onion, garlic and taco flavoring into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until mixture is nearly smooth. Pour bean mixture into a large bowl and add apples and cilantro and stir to mix.

In a small bowl, mix together applesauce, salsa, sour cream and parsley. Chill.

In a large skillet, heat a small quantity of vegetable oil. Using a ladle, scoop out bean mixture into skillet, flattening with back of ladle to form small cakes. Fry for 5-6 minutes on one side, then turn cakes over and fry for 4-5 minutes on the other side, until both sides are golden brown. Serve with chilled apple salsa.

Snow Day

Yes, you read right. It's snowing here. And guess what? It's sticking.

Oh. Happy. Day.

I'm hoping the temperature rises a little, so this mess will melt. Fingers crossed! Until then, I'm averting my eyes when I pass the windows.

Did anyone watch Dancing With the Stars last night? Vito and I never watched scheduled television, opting instead to view movies so this is a new thing for me. I've got to admit, I'm hooked. I love dancing and it's great to see the weekly evolution of the players.

Of course, I felt awful for Kirstie Alley when she and her partner fell. But talk about grace under pressure. They got right up and danced beautifully! Way to go!

Today, some household chores. Then, a bit of sewing this afternoon.

Yesterday I fiddled with an idea, then made my first messenger-style bag. I cut and recut, stitched, tore out and restitched, but I'm finally happy with the proportions. This afternoon I'll make a second one, just to see how long it takes to construct when I'm not trying to get the measurements down. Now I'll just look at my notes, and hopefully this will go together fairly quickly.

What's on your agenda for today? Want some snow?

Foolishness!

Dear Mother Nature,

Not amused.

Seriously, cut the funny business...or someone just might get hurt.

Thank you.

Signed,
Refusing to Shovel in New York

Enough!

Dear Mother Nature,

Put down the martini. You're cut off.

Now, stop with the funny stuff or I'll take away the Twinkies, too.

Very sincerely,
Weary Shoveler

Snowy Saturday

Guess what we got yesterday. No surprise, is it?

We've been snowbound for weeks now, something I don't mind one bit. The snow clearing and wood stacking keeps me busy. An added bonus is that there's no need to hit the gym when you're working your tush off in the yard!

I love the way snow makes even the ordinary extraordinary, don't you?

Hope you enjoy your weekend. Me? I hear there's more of the white stuff in the forecast. I've got my shovel ready!