from our home to yours

Hearts and crafts affair

Some pics from this weekend’s fair. It was a blast and we had great traffic despite the rain.

Isn’t that sales guy dreamy?

Still have a few things left, including soaps, art, sushi magnets, and bead kits (which you can add acorn tops to to make the sold out acorns). Holler at me if you are interested in anything.

monkey bread

I had forgotten about the existence of Monkey Bread until I saw it on a blog earlier this week and decided to make it for Bill’s birthday breakfast yesterday. It was buttery melt-in-your-mouth supreme. How did I forget about the best thing I have ever tasted? Welcome back into my life, Monkey Bread.

(Photo from the Edgemon family on Wikipedia)

lentil redemption

In what we will call “The Great Lentil Disasters of 2009,” I made a few less than tasty lentil dishes this past year. Healthy eaters sing lentils’ praises, and they taste amazing at Indian restaurants, but for some reason the versions I made ended up looking and tasting more like poo.

Until now. Kielbasa to the rescue! The secret is to add something UNhealthy to something healthy. I made this great soup last night and we’re going to enjoy the leftovers for lunch. But I altered it, so here’s my version of  lentil goodness (and it’s perfect for this rainy day).

Kielbasa Spinach Lentil Rice Soup

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup uncooked brown (or white if you prefer) rice
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 8 ounces polska kielbasa, chopped
• 1 onion, minced
• 3 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 carrot, chopped
• dash pepper
• 8 cups water
• 6 chicken bullion cubes
• 1 cup dry lentils
• 5 oz. of spinach (half a frozen package)

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat, and cook the kielbasa until lightly browned. Mix in onion, garlic and carrot, and season with pepper and salt. Cook and stir until tender. Pour in the water, bullion cubes, lentils, and rice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes.
2. Stir the spinach into the soup, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.

elevators

I wondered this morning if the macho looking gentleman in our packed elevator knew that we could hear what was playing on his ipod…female-vocal love ballads.