Today’s secret ingredient was so secret I forgot it was in there. I was too memorized by this.

The apple gang got together and decided they wanted to unite their powers in one strong flower.

Their strength was only enhanced by the way-too-secret secret ingredient.

This orange juice gives them the power to do just about anything. This guy, for example, can fly.

I haven’t seen it firsthand, but that’s what his friends tell me.

They’re also digging their home for the morning. They think the new bowl is a keeper.

If you could have a supernatural power, what would be?

If you tend to look like this when thinking about baking a pie, then this is the recipe for you.

This pie is simple to make and should never give you that face again. Plus, check out what you’ll create from using this recipe:

Don’t you want to see that on your dining room table at Thanksgiving? 

Since I’m not cooking a meal for Thanksgiving, I thought the least I could do was make a pie to take up with me to Pennsylvania. So I grabbed one of the latest issues of Cooking Light and found this.

The crust was pretty simple to make, which I liked because making a crust normally intimidates me. If you have a food processor, this will take all about five minutes. Mix 1 3/4 cup oats, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 3 1/2 tablespoons of cold butter and one teaspoon of ice water. That mixture will turn into this, that you will press into a pie pan.

You pop that crust into the oven for 15 minutes @ 400 degrees than get started working on the filling.

I mixed together 3/4 cup brown sugar, 2/3 cup light corn syrup, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons molasses, one tablespoon melted butter, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 2 large eggs, 1 large egg white.

NOTE: While typing out that list, I just realized that I DID NOT include the melted butter. Ooops? I wonder what that will do to the pie come eating time… details to follow! 

Bill helped me by stirring.

Then you gently stir in 2/3 cup of halved pecans.

And you pull your crust out of the oven fifteen minutes later, reduce the heat to 35o degrees and let the crust cool for five minutes on a rack .

During that time, I got started on the cranberry sauce. Unfortunately it was sort of a flop, but I did get this great picture of myself. Facebook profile? I think so.

The most exciting part of my night o’ baking was putting the filling on top the crust.

Then you bake for 48 minutes @ 350 degrees, and this is what you’ll get:

I like to think mine looks better than the one in Cooking Light. But I might be biased.

Are any of you baking pies for Thanksgiving? What are you making?

I’m really pushing the blueberries this week because we’re leaving for Pennsylvania tomorrow.

So to make things a little more interesting, I put my blueberries in this. Who says you can’t have a sundae in the morning?

The blueberries have told me this is their favorite spot to be. All they do is relax on a fluffy bed.

They were a little worried about their friends stuck on the bottom.

But luckily these berries are all trained in scuba diving, so they can hold their breath under any condition.

What is your favorite kind of sundae?

Tonight I decided to try Hangry Pants’ BBQ Tofu and Apples Dish. But I didn’t have sweet potatoes on hand, so I substituted broccoli and peas for potatoes. Here’s the end result.

Not too shabby. In fact, it turned out much better than I expected, considering I’m impatient and couldn’t wait for the tofu to bake through the whole way. Here’s a step by step…

I pressed the tofu, realizing I will never be as good as Bill when it comes to cooking this stuff.

Then cubed it up, tossing it on a pan.

Then set it to bake @ 400 degrees for 20 minutes. I know this says 19. But trust me that it originally said 20. Like how can you see my reflection in this picture?

This is the part where I got impatient. Instead of baking it for another 20 minutes with BBQ as Heather says to do – I decided to grill it because that would go quicker (which it did not).

One of the coolest parts of the meal was that I got to use this.

How cool that it all ended up turning out like this.

And this.      

I finished the meal with two pieces of Dove chocolate. Mum!

Lunch earlier was nothing spectacular, but I did take pictures of my office. I was in that kind of mood, I guess.

What do you think of that ridiculous lamp? I don’t think it’s going to stay for much longer. I also have a tree:

My office is a hodge podge of items left behind by other people. I’ve been too lazy (and too cheap) to really decorate with my own style.   

I had a wrap from the deli at work.

And later a Chobani, which I love.

As I was eating this Chobani, I thought how great it was that I discovered this yogurt. And then guess what I found when I got home?

The Chobani Fairy Tiffany finally found me!

You don’t even know how excited I was for this package. I couldn’t believe that it came in a cooler and everything!  I will be sure to post reviews of my favorite flavors throughout the week – they will be traveling to Pennsylvania with me while I’m away.

Seriously… I still can’t believe the Chobani Fairy found me. I honestly never thought she would!

My eyes are heavy, and I am tired. Time to read more about Barbara Kingsolver’s adventures in gardening/farming. This book is so good!    Did you know Kingsolver was born in Annapolis, MD? Little fact for you!

Is it just me – or does this bowl of oatmeal look like a paintball war zone?

The banana barriers are hiding players, but everyone’s still covered in paint.

These two are hiding out side by side.

And this one’s a little bruised from the event and sweaty from a tough workout.

From a more aerial view, it looks even worse. Are these berries having fun? Or does this look much more like an intense battle?

And speaking of battles… I can’t help but have that song in my head…. "Love is a battlefield!"  

What extreme sports have you played? I consider paintball an extreme sport because it hurts. My ex-boyfriend was into it at one point during our relationship, so I played a couple games with him and his friends. Fun – but also terrifying. I basically sat behind a tree and waited for someone to find me. We played near some abandoned house though – which was cool.

Who says bookmaking can’t be exercise at the same time? I decided to enhance my time by doing pushups while watching the glue dry.

You have to press really hard when gluing paper to heavy cardboard. So why not do something valuable with your time, eh?

I have spent most of the day making books – of course – but I also had some pit stops along the way. Breakfast, for example.

I would say this is the first real bowl of oatmeal I’ve had since being sick. It was also the very best.

Blueberries were on sale for 2 for $3. I totally don’t understand this – but I bought some anyway. In the summer, they’re normally $3 for a container – which I think is ridiculous. I was shocked this was only $1.50.

Around 2 p.m. today I ran out of mod podge and had to run to Michael’s. The trip took me more than an hour – I’m still not sure why – but I did get my car washed and talked to best friend Cat on the phone. Afterward, I swung by the apartment, picked up Bill and we did some random shopping. Here’s what I came home with.

I needed two things: makeup and that book. Of course I came home with all of this – but it was much needed items.

• A pair of black dress pants
• A pair of jeans
• Two pairs of tights- red and gray
• Bare Minerals makeup + mascara + eye shadows
• Brown boots
• A beautiful sweater
• Mod Podge
• Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

You may have noticed that I’ve been buying a lot of clothes lately. I’m not normally this much of a shopper – which is why I’ve been buying so many clothes. Plus, all of my jeans from last year at this time are too big (which is a good thing), so I’ve been aiming to get more of those. My work clothes are a tragedy (in my opinion), so I’ve been trying to dress myself up a bit more too.

While out, we stopped for lunch/dinner at Panera. My eating schedule is always a little funny on the weekend – I only usually eat two meals on the weekend days.

This picture, courtesy of my cell phone, was taken right after we saw the DC CONTESTANT ON TOP CHEF! She was in Silver Spring, MD – of all places. I don’t remember her name off the top my head, but I would have said something – only she walked away too fast.

I had a "You Pick 2" with an Asian Sesame Chicken Salad and French Onion Soup without Cheese + a Whole Grain Baguette. Pretty tasty!

Well… it’s much too late. I’m off to drill a few more holes into my books and then call it a night.

G’night all!

When it comes to buying things you need, what do you always put off buying? For me, it’s things like make-up and shoes – I don’t know why, but I never feel like they’re worth the money (even though I later realize they are!)

Since I can’t blame my lack of blogging on the flu, I’m going to blame it on something else: my final project for my bookmaking class which entails writing content for and producing 15 books.

Of course I’ve decided upon something terribly hard because why would I make it easy? You’ve probably heard mention of an oatmeal themed book… Well, I did complete one copy today, but I’d like to save it as a surprise for when all fifteen are done. Until then, here’s a hint about the book…

In case you can’t read the fine print: A Micro-Fiction Oatmeal Cookbook. 

Care to see the havoc it’s caused in my bedroom art room? Take a gander.

Yes, that is a power drill.

Of course you know who Bill popped in while I was working to take some photos of me in action. 

But since I look a fright, I said my hands and arms were the only thing that could be in the picture.     

Although bookmaking is serious hard labor, there are pay-offs. Here are some more results and hints about the book.

And of course, I spilled oats all over the floor. This is after I cleaned up half the mess.

Back to Eats!  

This is a food blog, after all. I haven’t blogged about my eats in a serious way for a while mainly because 1) we haven’t been cooking much 2) we don’t want to buy groceries since we’re going out of town for nearly a week over the holiday. But here are a few random bites from yesterday and today.

Last night, we went to Shattered Wig Night in Baltimore so Bill could play with Red Sammy. There were some great musicians/poets there. This is the only picture I got the whole night.

We got home at 2 a.m. It was the latest we’ve been out in a WHILE. This morning, we got in the car and headed to Kirsten’s Cafe for some grub. I got my usual egg sammy on an onion bagel.

I have basically been bookmaking all day, and have only taken one small break for "dinner." Of course, we had our usual stand-by - chik’n patties and what a terrible photo!

Since I’ve basically been carb loading all day and not really eating anything substantial, I’m off to have a Chobani and a giant banana.

We’re watching Wall-E tonight – I’m so excited!

….. where did my Saturday-out-clubbing nights go? After this semester is over, I am totally there.   

How are your weekends going? Is there anyone out there on the blogosphere on Saturday night?

This is what a bowl of oatmeal looks like after you’ve been sick all week.

We’re out of all things fruit, all milk-related products and bananas. The only things left? Oats, water and nuts.

This morning was the first day I’ve actually felt real hunger. I can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve had a bowl of oatmeal. 

But enough complaining about being sick. How are you today?

What are your plans for the weekend?

Hello, blog friends!

Hi all,