The Six O'Clock Scramble

I recently subscribed to a service offering menus for those of us who aren't quite so imaginative in coming up with meal ideas. It is called The Scramble and it is written by Aviva Goldfarb. Aviva writes a wonderful little newsletter and includes with it five dinner ideas. The dinners are fun, a little exotic because she reaches outside of traditional american cooking, and almost always easy to fix.

Each Wednesday, you receive a list of the recipes in a handy pdf. Page one contains the newsletter, an always warm home idea, letters from her fans, or home advice. The last page contains the list of ingredients, cross-referenced to the recipes. What I find myself doing is picking 2 recipes that really appeal to me, then scratching out all ingredients on the list that don't go into them, and then those items I already have. The shopping list is inclusive, such as including salt in the shopping list, because you might not have that in the pantry!

Pictured here (bigger pic) is my counter top as it has evolved recently, partly from The Scramble. The Gnochi is from a recipe I didn't get to. So it's on the counter until I figure out what to fix with it.

I came across The Scramble after a W$J article, and it turns out it was a real win for me to subscribe.

Long Weekend

I had a 3-day weekend this week and I was very busy. Thanks to Columbus Day, today was a day off ... one of the few holidays that banks take that nobody else observes. The other one being veterans day in November.

But it was a very busy weekend. On Saturday I more-or-less camped out in Raleigh for the day. I showed up in the morning for a picnic and decided to stay into the evening for some bowling. With several hours between the two, I joined in on some hiking in Umstead park, and then took advantage of the bridal/bike trails. So after the picnic, then hiking, followed by trail biking, it was off to GCF to get a change of clothes, eat dinner, and finishing up with a couple of games of bowling. I was whooped by the end of the day!

Sunday had a lot of activity, although not quite so physically active. I went into Raleigh to meet a new friend, a costume seamstress for NC State theater. He had invited me over to look through some costumes I might like to wear when I go to the Renaissance Festival in a couple of weeks. He had an absolutely perfect Prince outfit, and it fit so I am going as royalty this year!

We decided to go get a cup of coffee at the local coffee house, to get to know each other better. We also went downtown where I got to see the fallen fireman memorial, and then to Brothers & Sons antique store. This store was full of all the kitschy stuff I knew while growing up ... and it was amazing how much of that stuff was absolutely appallingly UGLY! That said, I still walked out with an analog telephone with rotary dial, plus a Tom Swift book. It's funny, I have an old phone that is at least 40 years old, and it's hooked up and works with my VOIP. When that phone was made, you saved for months to call Europe ... and now I can do it for free!

I finished off Sunday with David by going to an Ethopian restaurant. It was my first time eating Ethopian cuisine, but of course it was fun. There is a bread-like pancake served with the meal, and you tear off pieces of it to use to pinch up bits of the main dish to eat. Quite enjoyable when you share dishes. If you get a chance to try this ethnicity, don't forget to eat up the bread at the bottom of the dish....it is the best!

Oh, and while at the coffee house I picked up this oil. I love the whimsy of the butterfly wings.