What's for Dinner? Vday Edition

A few days ago I hosted a belated Valentine's Day party for Hump Day. Something about not working right now has my mind racing for party ideas...all the time. So many ideas meant that there were a lot of themes going on. But that's ok. Right?

Beverage: Love Potion #9 aka strawberry soda

Appetizer: Asparagus and White Bean Pesto Tart

Salad: Spinach, red onions, cherry tomatoes, walnuts

Soup: Broccoli Seed Soup

Dessert: Vanilla cupcakes with frosting

All of the foods (except drinks and dessert) are considered "heart-healthy" and I typed up little cards to explain their health benefits. It's always good to know what your food does for you!

The cupcakes we had for dessert were actually offered as a bake sale. I put the money raised towards a donation to V-Day. V-Day is a global movement to end violence against women and girls worldwide.

Hopefully, the cupcakes were judged worthy of money. I worked extra hard to put a little surprise inside!

Yep, that's a cute little heart in there. It took a lot of extra time, but it was pretty fun to put together and very exciting to slice each cupcake.

The entertainment of the evening was making mailboxes and exchanging valentines. I didn't get a photo of all of them but everyone did a great job. There were doilies, cookies, and even a mix cd. I made scratch off valentines that corresponded to numbered boxes. Inside the boxes were draw string bags in different colors and patterns. (That's a mix between being a keener and having a lot of fabric to use up and extra time on my hands.)

It worked out well that each bag suited its recipient.

Not pictured: Sarah and Box #3

Unfortunately, Sarah couldn't make it so I pulled together a little "V-Day in a box" and dropped it on her doorstep.

I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day!

Wild Rice Salad with Miso Dressing

This is my new favorite salad and I need to sing its praises!

Last week Molly and I teamed up to tackle this recipe. She provided most of the ingredients and the kitchen, I brought over some wild rice and did the cooking.

It was so good.

We both liked it so much that we made plans to make it again this week. A double batch.

Homemade Do-si-dos

I made some awesome cookies.

Over the weekend I saw this recipe on Pinterest and immediately put making them on my to-do list for the next day.

When I was halfway through the (very simple) process I realized that they were essentially do-si-dos! Actually, these are even better because they are much softer than Girl Scouts' version. I like my cookies soft.

These cookies passed the taste test with Mike, Molly, and me... so you know they're good.

Tempeh Kabobs

A few months ago I was really excited to see nearly an entire refrigerator case dedicated to vegetarian "meat" at the supermarket. I rarely eat fake meat other than veggie dogs while camping. It's often kind of gross and full of sodium. But this time in addition to the "meat" there were several types of tempeh on offer.

Have you had tempeh? It's an Indonesian staple made from whole soybeans. It has more protein than tofu and a much firmer texture.

When I saw the tempeh, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. Kabobs! A cookout at the park was the perfect chance to get them on the grill. (And Hallelujah Lulu's still had it in stock. Things tend to appear and then vanish here).

photo by Molly

For the kabobs I used tempeh, pineapple, yellow and green pepper, onion, and marrow (like zucchini). I marinated them in teriyaki sauce (from a bottle mixed with more garlic, honey, salt, and lemon pepper) for a few hours before heading to the park.

photo by Molly

Mike and I had the leftovers over rice the next evening. Still good, but much better straight off the grill.

New Songs for the New Year: Last Year

I also posted our New Songs for the New Year 2011 mix online.

Photo from the Library of Congress

You can listen to it here.

I selected songs 1-6, Molly 7-12.

We hope you like it!

New Songs for the New Year

A few months ago I was forced to admit that I don't really listen to much music these days. I've been won over by podcasts and I'm kind of obsessed. I even have specific podcasts I listen to when doing certain activities.

Driving to work = Stuff You Should Know, Stuff You Missed in History Class
Cooking = This American Life
Dishes = NPR Pop Culture
Sewing = To The Best of Our Knowledge

It's not all set in stone but I would never waste TAL on doing the dishes. The water is much too noisy to hear my Ira.

So when it came time to assemble the annual mix cd that Molly and I make, I had a little digging to do. Luckily, it wasn't too hard to pick out 6 amazing tracks.

Every year Molly and I make a mix of new songs for the new year. It started four years ago with just me choosing the tracks. Last year we settled into a new routine where we each choose 6 songs and put them together to make a 12 track mix.

What first began as "New Songs for the New Year" has now become "New Songs for the New New New New Year." To make it a bit easier, I'll just call it "New Songs for the New Year 2012."

Photo from the Library of Congress

This year we've decided to share our mix so you can listen along with us. I selected songs 1-6, Molly 7-12. You can listen online here.

We hope you enjoy it!

(And even though I just admitted my podcast addiction, anyone have any new recommendations?)

Sleeping Masks

I had been thinking about making sleep masks for about three years now. Last week the day finally came.

It was really just a matter of tracing a sleep mask I already had (from a long haul flight). I looked over a tutorial (that I can't seem to find) to make sure there weren't any little tricks I was missing. But nope, it was really that easy. The masks are reversible and I made sure to use especially soft material.

I wrapped the masks up and gave them to Hannah for her birthday. Everyone likes a good night's sleep.