Little round edible things.
Let me tell you - having insomnia is AWESOME! FABULOUS! FANTASTIC! Having never suffered from true insomnia before - well, it is just an EXPERIENCE. This week, I've not been able to fall asleep before 4am (this coming from one who looooves sleeping, and used to be able to sleep anytime, anywhere, and sleep through phones ringing by her head. Also, I am too stubborn to take sleeping pills because the couple of times I have taken them they do not work and just leave me groggy the next day). Obviously I don't pack, because I'd rather stare at the ceiling not thinking than pack. I am not drinking any more (or any less) than normal, so I don't know what suddenly spurred on this lack of sleeping. But then I wake up at 8:30am! And I have TONS of energy! TONS! 4.5 hours of sleep, and I wake up bouncing! No caffeine needed! No - gasp!!! - naps needed! I'm just bounding all over the place all perky like a hyper cheerleader!
I want to know who spiked my water bottle with speed, and where I can get some more for when I actually need it.
(I do not know why this is cursing me now, as anyone who knows me knows that I like to sleep most of all. And do not suggest warm milk - milk makes me want to puke. The one night I did manage to fall asleep [probably because I wore myself out, going to the gym, actually shipping boxes, and playing tennis all in the same day] at a decent hour this week [read: 1:30am], I had this wretched dream where I failed this yearlong course I took this past year, and I had to retake the first semester - and only the first - in order to go to get my PhD. I don't know what's worse, not being able to sleep or having stressful dreams.)
Anyways. Enough of that.
I used to hate peas, associating them with being mushy overcooked baby food, and would meticulously pick them out of every single dish in which I found them, or at least scoot them off to the side so that I didn't have to eat them. But I was watching food porn girl, and one day she made this delightful-looking dish that featured peas and proscuitto. Maybe it was all that soft lighting, hazy close-ups, and porn music that made the peas actually look appealing, so I figured that I'd make it, and if I didn't like it, I could at least pick out all the proscuitto.
I didn't have proscuitto, but for some reason I had a fine chunk of Niman Ranch cured ham in my fridge. (I do not know why I had it. I go to the market, and I get overtaken by some higher force that compels me to buy utterly random and unnecessary yet wholly tempting food items.) So I figured that since the meat came from the same animal, it would work, right?
And work it did. I was in love. The peas were not mushy, but rather delicately tender and flavourful, being sauteed in olive oil with onions and garlic. The couple knobs of butter that I added at the end to finish off the dish (a step not in the recipe but rather a tasty improvisation, if I do say so myself) only made it that much better. The dog thought so too - I had snuck her a couple of chunks of ham, and she was hooked. While I was cooking, she sat in the kitchen just staring at the pan, willing little chunks of ham to fly out into her doggie bowl. You could see her thinking, "I know the ham is in there. I saw her put it in. I want it NOW but I am too well-mannered to jump, so I will just sit here and look." While we were eating, that later became, "If I sit really really close to the people eating, and stare at them, and move even closer, and stare some more, maybe they will feed me peas and ham." So we did. I mean, that face. How could you refuse? Turns out, she loves peas. And ham. Of course she loved the ham.
One cannot live on peas alone, however, so here's the rest of dinner. Given that I'm trying to clean out my pantry and freezer, it was a mishmosh of foodstuffs. Along with the peas, there's some more wonton, and little squash-stuffed ravioli with pesto. Look at how the greens fill up almost HALF of my plate (disregard the butter and ham).
Another delightfully easy recipe goes as follows: throw some mint, limes, blueberries, and sugar into a glass (put away the crystal for this one and use something a little heftier). Take out your muddler (or use an object with a dull blunt end, like a lemon reamer, which is what I'm using until I get around to buying a muddler). Mash it all together with no small amount of vigour - you want to release all the juices and have them combine with the sugar so that you have a liquidy paste. Fill the glass about half-way full with ice, then pour in your cachaça (rum, I suppose, will do, but it just won't be the same) - the amount varies, depending on your tolerance. Fill the rest of the glass with club soda, and stir just a touch. Look how pretty it is! It is also very refreshing as well!
Perhaps that'll serve as enough introduction to our newest little project. While the other one was fun and all, there are only so many Craigslists personals you can make fun of, and you wouldn't believe it, but it's really tiring trying to find the really funny ones. Given that I never emailed anyone, much less went out with them, it got boring and repetitive after awhile. Anyway, the other page is only in its infancy, we haven't written that much on it yet, and posting will probably be sporadic, but despite all that it should unfold nicely (or it won't. Who knows. I just love the background picture I used for it). This way, you see, all this drinking I do will actually have a purpose, and if you don't really want to hear about how I got drunk again and made fun of people at bars, well, don't read that page.
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