Catch up . . .

Ok. . . It's been a while. Life has finally calmed down - I'm not splitting time between two homes anymore. Bad thing is, I've taken up smoking again. But . . . for the past three weeks, since I've been back at my place full-time, I've been able to chill. And go out, spending money I shouldn't spend, but having a blast!

You see, my friend, G., has been having a hard time. Things are done in her marraige, but he's making things difficult nonetheless until she is able to move out in August. So, she's been going out to a local Tavern, and I've been joining her. And, much to her (very happy) surprise, a guy named B. has been talking to her, and he's been treating her like a princess. It's awesome! She deserves it!

Now, about three weeks ago, I had been picked up (literally) by a guy, D., twice! And, he put me on the back of his bike and took me to his place. And all of this was after he INSISTED I put his number in my phone! There was some kissing, then back to pick up my car and back to my place. D. spent the night, and other than kissing and touching, nothing happened. He held me so tight all night long - it was very nice. But I'm still trying to get him to actually call me! Frustrating!

And then, about a week ago, G. and I were out - kareoke at the Tavern and the DJ is just smitten by me. Have to admit, I enjoyed the attention. He bought me a shot so that I would sing. His name is T. He's got my contacts, and he's closer to my type - 49yrs, grown kids. D. is a year younger than me - he graduated a year behind me at my HS, but I didn't know him.

But, on one of those night, I had leaned over to J. and told him that sooner or later, I was going to get his number. So, lets skip forward to last saturday, July 3rd.

I had been home all day - weekend off - started imbibing around 3ish. Made gazspacho, a pasta dish, and fried up some bacon for my baby boy. (I might be vegan, but he's not!) I was feeling pretty good and G. texted me to meet at the Tavern. So, I threw on some proper clothes and head out. This guy M. kept hitting on me - he'd been hitting on me a few nights before, but he wasn't getting the message. He even asked G. and B. if they would double just so I would go out with him!

The Tavern closed, and J. wanted to go out to Bubba's. And I was up for it. So, I climbed on the back of his bike - a Harley soft-tail (I really need to learned more about the different types; I can't tell them a part to save my life!) M. shouted out for me to come back, and talk, and I shouted out, "Sorry. Taking off with J." and we pulled out. M & M rolled with us, because she wanted to go out to Bubba's, too. And when we got there, D. was working the door. J. bought us drinks, and we closed that bar, too! (The Tavern is a neighborhood bar, so it closes at 11:45 sharp. Bubba's has more regular hours, like staying open til 2am.) From there, we headed back to M & M's for a bit, and then J. took me back to get my car and followed me home.

Lots of kissing. Lots of touching. He spent the night. Daugherty loved him! He pounced around 6 am on J. to start playing, and J. played with him! Up at 9:30ish to go out to my folks, and head to the gym with my mom. And J. didn't get my number; I figured he knew where to find me if he wanted. (Plus, after getting my hopes up with D., I didn't want to do that again.)

So, then there was yesterday. July 5th. G.'s son turned 21, and back at the Tavern to celebrate. Her ex-brother-in-law Gl., showed up. Very intriguing. Lots of drinking. Lots of shots - handed my keys to J. (yes, he was also there, but not for the 21st celebration) after the 3rd shot. T. bought me 2 of them - he wanted me to sing. And I did. A few songs.

Gl. asked G. for my number (she gave it to him - yea!). And, he took care of my bar tab - a very pleasant surprise when the lights went up and I went to settle. D. was there for awhile - I teased him about not calling me. He responded, "she texted me to come back, and I did. Isn't that better than a phone call?" He has a point.

J. let me take my keys back - I wouldn't have asked if I didn't feel ok to drive the short distance home. And he said he wouldn't have given them back if he didn't feel that I was ok. So, he followed me home. We stayed up for a little bit, kissing. Watching Buffy. Went to the gas station for smokes. I was getting on the back of the bike when I realized I was barefoot - all he said was, "Keep your feet on the bars." Back home, more Buffy. He started falling asleep in my arms. Finally, around 2ish, I was like, lets go upstairs, to bed. So we did.

And it was nice, to sleep next to someone again. And that's what we did. Sleep. Around 10ish, Daugherty was really begging to go out, so I got up. I told J. he should stay in bed, that I would be back. But he ended up getting dressed and coming downstairs. So he could head to work.

I walked him out to his bike. Another kiss. And then said, "You still haven't gotten my number."

He responded, "It's ok. I know where you live."

So . . . it looks like the single life is looking up! And I'll post the gazspacho recipe a later.

in any case . . .

slainte. . . .

Mulu :>)

? Interim ?

Ok. It's been a few weeks since I last posted. I've been spending most of my nights/time at my folks house. My gramma is much better - almost back to the gramma that I know and love. It's amazing what today's fancy little pills can do!

Basically, I've been getting up two hours earlier than I am used to, and then taking my gramma to an adult day care. Then either to work, or to my apartment to 'veg' for a few hours before I go to work. Then, after work, heading back out to my folk's to spend the night so I can do it all over again. : I miss my bed. And my apartment.

And not that I've been able to go out to meet anyone - because I don't have the funds- but now I can't because of time. And my doggie is enjoying himself with his cousins, but he's completely crashing when he gets the chance to spend a few moments at home. So I know he's utterly exhausted.

I've cooked the past two tuesdays: the first was my tofu lasagna. The second, portabellos, baby corn and toms, rice and pork medallions. But doing the medallions gave me an idea to try on tofu. Or seitan.

Since the tofu lasagna is a stock recipe for me, I'll post it was some point in time later.

I'm thinking I might try a mushroom soup this tuesday ~ I'll let ya know ~ in between dropping off and picking up my grand mother.

In any case . . .

I keep thinking that it's not a man per se I want - it's some one to share things with. To be able to lean on - especially during something like this, because everybody else is leaning on me. My doggie's great, but he doesn't usually say the right thing. He doesn't usually say the wrong thing, either.

In any case . .

Slainte'

Mulu :>)

hiatus

It's been a little while since I posted, and the turns that life has taken, it'll be a little while longer.

No boys in the picture. I've been hanging out out mostly at home with my doggie, but a little bit with friends.

A couple of weekends ago, A and I went to the April Fools Fest at James River Cellars winery. Three other local vineyards were there, too. We had a blast! sampling the wines from the various vitners. A picked up a couple of bottles, and, not wanting the day to end, we went to a wine and cheese shop that I know to pick up a Barboursville Cab France, because I wanted to show here what a real Cab Franc tasted like. And then some food to grill, back to my place to pick up the dog, and finally to her new place - huge back yard! Her husband grilled. Her daughter and my dog tired themselves out but running all over the place! and finally,a huge fire in the fire pit for over 5 hours! And we finished all the wine. It was great. And very relaxing.

Then, the other day, I had lunch and a movie with my grandmother, and met a friend, G, for happy hour. She's been having a time of it. She's probably going to leave her husband; he hasn't made any of the changes he said he would, and he's still cheating on her. So . ..

And then this weekend, hopefully I'll be seeing the new Freddy movie with some other friends, but that is iffy. Because last thursday, my Dad had to rush to upstate New York and hastily make arrangements to bring his mother down here to live in my folk's house.

I took off early from work on saturday to come and help my Mom clean out and ready a room for Gramma. And Dad and Gramma arrived early that evening. She is very confused, exhibiting signs of dementia. I had arranged to go to work late on monday, but Dad said not to worry. However, at 6:24 am monday morning, I got a phone call to come and stay with her until Dad got home for lunch. However, she did not handle being alone for a few hours after lunch until Mom got home.

So, after confirming with Mom, I re-arranged my work schedule so that I can close at work for the rest of the week. That means that I can stay with her in the mornings. And currently, me and my doggie are spending the nights in my old bedroom at my parents house. And my poor cat is left all alone at my apartment.

Last night, after work and the gym, I went home, made a mac and cheese (actually it was rigatoni and soy cheese). I gathered a few things, including my doggie, and headed over to my folks. I stopped by a friend's place, chilled for a little and had a Mike's Hard Lemonade, and the finally arrived at my folks.

Gramma would not settle down. I had to finally sit with her from about 10pm till about 12:15, 12:30. (I had gotten to my folk's house about 9p last night) Needless to say, I'm tired. My doggie is loving it over here, with the other dogs and cats, but he also won't settle down. And I have an interview with the DM of Barnes & Noble today that I need to do well on.

So, as you can see, my life just got busy. But not necessarily in a good way. It'd be nice to find a boy, but . . . I'm hoping I can cook something soon, but we'll see. . .

in any case. . .

slainte . . .

Mulu :>)

Roasted Potato salad . . .

Ok. I'm just posting the recipe, because I blew myself away!

6 to 7 medium potatoes, diced into 1/2 cubes
1 onion, diced and divided in half
the usual spices : Oregano, basil, dill, parsley, red pepper, black pepper, paprika
4 to 6 cloves of garlic, minced
extra virgin Olive Oil
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 large can of pitted black olives, minced


Pre-heat oven to 325 F.

In a 9x13 pan (a baking pan that you would make lasagna in), coat the bottom with oil and add the potatoes, garlic, the usual spices, and half of the diced onions. Mix well, adding more oil if necessary to coat the potatoes.

Cover pan with aluminum foil and place in the oven for about 45 minutes.
Uncover, stir, and back into the oven for about 15 minutes.

Let cool on the stove top while making the dressing.

2 6oz containers (soy) yogurt
~ 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
the juice from 1 large can pitted black olives

In a bowl, whisk together all of the above. Add a hint of black pepper and paprika (about 1/4 tsp)

Pour roasted potato mixture into a large bowl. Add the other half of diced onions, peppers, and olives. Mix well. Pour balsamic yogurt dressing over top and mix well.

One thing to note with the dressing, using yogurt (instead of Nayonaise, the vegan version of mayonnaise)there is about half of the calories, 5% of the fat grams, and 2% of the sodium! Imagine how bad using real mayonnaise is, then?!?!? WOW!

in any case . . .

slainte . . .

Mulu :>))

Baklava . . .

Ok. I made this baklava on tuesday, and it has been a huge hit! Right now, I'm making a potato salad, with lots of twists, while watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, and staying at home on yet another friday night. After work, I went to the gym and had a pretty good workout. But now, it's quality time with my doggie.

It is so hard to meet anyone if you're not going out to bars et alia. Single men don't shop, so I can't meet them at work. My friends don't have a lot of potentials ~ either married or robbing the cradle. It's just very frustrating, especially because I can't afford to go out. And if I could afford to go out, I would. And I'd have the chance of meeting someone. But hey . . . eventually things will work out.

And, since there is really nothing to talk about on the dating scene, here's the cherry chocolate baklava. With pistachios (instead of walnuts).

Baklava is a Greek desert, and the authentic Greek recipe I have uses walnuts and honey. Since honey isn't Vegan, and walnuts aren't my favorite, I decided to tinker with things a little bit. I had seen a recipe using pistachios, and I had seen a recipe using chocolate. So, I thought I'd try a few different things. I think cashews might actually be a good nut to use as well - it's meaty yet open to flavor.

16oz bag pistachios, coarsely chopped
8 oz phyllo dough
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves

4 to 5 tbsp margarine, melted
pastry brush
1 square, semi-sweet baking chocolate
cheese grater

syrup (recipe to follow)

Mix coarsely chopped nuts, sugar (brown sugar might taste bette than white sugar, but I didn't have brown sugar in my pantry), cinnamon, nutmeg & cloves in a bowl. Set aside.

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

In an 8x8 pan, use the pastry brush to brush the sides and bottom with the melted margarine. Then, start one pastry sheet at a time, placing them in the pan, making sure the dough goes up the sides. Most phyllo dough is rectangular, so I usually alternate long in one direction then the next direction, hence one sheet at a time. Every 2 sheets, brush with margarine. At the 4th sheet, sprinkle evenly the nut mixture. Using the cheese grater, grate the block of chocolate over the nut mixture. Two layers of phyllo dough. Brush with margarine. Grate chocolate. Two more layers of dough. Nut mixture. Grate chocolate. Dough. Etc. . .

Try to finish with four layers of dough on top. Chocolate grated atop that. Fold the over-hanging edges of dough, so a crust-edge forms. Cut into diagonal squares.

Bake until golden brown, at 350 degrees farenheit. About 50 to 55 minutes.

ok . . . the syrup . . .

1 16 oz jar Maraschino cherries
1 cup sugar

Drain the juice from the maraschino cherries. Top off with water to equal 1 full cup. (Shouldn't be more than 1/4 to 1/8th of a cup). In a saucepan, heat maraschino liquid and add the cup of sugar. Stir well, dissolving sugar.

When the baklava is ready out of the oven, pull out. Pour syrup over top. Let sit for a few minutes. You'll need to re-cut the diagonals (and when you see how hard it is now, you'll be happy you pre-cut them!)


Ok, long recipe, I know. But it's definately worth it. I shall talk to ya later. And if the potato salad comes out, you'll have that recipe next.

in any case . . .

slainte . . .

Mulu :>))

Roux

I just made an interesting roux. Very thick. I don't even want to think about the calorie count!

~ 1/2 cup margarine, melted
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 cup flour
Cayenne pepper
Salt
Black pepper

soy milk ~ 2 cups
~ 2 tbsp peanut butter

Saute the onions briefly in the margarine as it melts in an iron skillet. Add the flour and mix well. Add milk slowly, and not all at once. Stir well, so that you maintain an even consistancy. Add spices to taste while still stirring. Add the peanut butter and mix well. Add the rest of the milk, stir to maintain the consistancy.

I used it to go over gnocchi - store bought, not hand-made. The roux was very thick, but the peanut butter helped provide more structure.

in any case .. . .

Yesterday, a friend and I went to this April Fool's Fest winery festival - four local wineries. We had a blast! After, we hit the grocery store, back to my place to pick up my dog, and then back to her place where her husband grilled and her daughter tired out my dog - and herself! Later, I starteed a bonfire and we spent the next 5 or so hours fedding the fire and drinking wine and chilling out and talking. It was such a relaxing and enjoyable day! I spent the night because it was much safer than driving home after all that wine!

in any case. . .

slainte . . .

Mulu :>))

Fruit Salad

I had a stressful day at work, and couldn't wait to go to the gym afterwards. But then, I started to get a hankering for something sweet for dinner. Since the grocery store is right next to the gym, I stopped in and bought fresh fruit to make a salad.

1 cantelope, cut into 1/2 chunks
2 20oz cans of chunked pineapple
4 medium bananas
2 oranges, peeled and cut into chunks
1 lb strawberries, chunked
1 lb grapes (I got green seedless)

Save the juice from one of the cans of pineapple, but mix everything else in one large bowl.

Now, I took a bowl of this mix out so that I would have something to dip into a chocolate fondue. For the rest, I made a dressing using the pineapple juice.

pineapple juice from can of chunked pineapples
2 containers [soy] yogurt (one was peach. the other raspberry, but peach seems best)
1 tsp vanilla extract
sprinkle of cinnamon
sprinkle of nutmeg

Mix all of these ingredients together then pour this over the bowl of fruit. Stir well.

Should satisfy any sweet tooth!

And now back to my boring friday night watching Smallville with my doggie.

in any case . . .

slainte . . .

Mulu :>))