I feel like I should apologize for my sporadic posting as of late. Maine's been caught up in a stretch of what local meteorologists like to call the "icky stickies." It's been in the low 80s with very high humidity since about last Saturday. I know, some of you around the country would love to get some of this weather, but frankly, it just brings me down. And yes, it does get hotter here sometimes. I HATE the 90s. 80s are bad enough. This weather completely saps me of any trace of energy, and it messes with my allergies and asthma. It's too hot to cook, and almost too hot to even eat. I'm eating a lot of convenience-type foods -- healthy ones, of course! =) Organic cheese and crackers, lots of fruit, pb&j sandwiches, smoothies, and I even tried a Linda McCartney frozen pizza the other night -- "spicy thai-style vegetable." It was pretty good, but the crust left something to be desired. Instead of tomato sauce it has peanut sauce, and is topped with lots of colored bell peppers, mushooms, onions, and something that closely resembled cilantro, but didn't tase much of it (thank God!). I also have a package of her butternut-squash ravioli in the freezer.
Yesterday was smoothie day. I had a container full of pineapple in the freezer -- the leftovers from Sunday's grilled fruit kabobs. Into the blender it went, along with soy milk, a frozen banana, and a golden kiwi that desperately needed to be used. It was an excellent smoothie, I have to say -- icy from the frozen pineapple, and very refreshing. I'd post a picture, but it really doesn't look any different from the smoothie I wrote about here. On a bit of a side note -- did you know that insulated travel mugs make great smoothie containers for hot summer days? Put a straw in the hole you're supposed to drink from and you're on your way. The smoothie stays nice and cold for at least as long as necessary!
Yesterday was also pool day. My aunt and uncle, who live about a mile away from me, have a gorgeous pool in their gorgeous backyard, and my aunt is about the only one who ever uses it, now that my cousins have moved away. She practically begs us to come over, and we feel we must oblige. =) Yesterday she and I got into a long discussion about food and recipes and such, which reminded me I wanted to get her recipe for strawberry bread. I usually don't like my fresh strawberries to be messed with -- I especially don't want them to be cooked -- but this bread is fantastic. Moist and spicy and fruity. It's supposed to cool down a bit this weekend, so I'll probably bake a batch and post about it soon. I still have a refrigerator full of berries from Saturday's excursion.
Anne (my aunt) also told me about a book she's reading: "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger. Anne is a smart, smart woman, but described this book as "strange" and "hard to get your head around." I love, LOVE, LOVE Jack Finney's "Time and Again," and this sounds kind of similar. It could be pretty good... unless it's trying too hard to rip off Finney, in which case it could suck ass (pardon my French!). By the way -- the sequel to "Time and Again," called "From Time to Time," is not nearly as good as its predecessor, but is still worth reading for the "I read the whole series" factor...
How does life get so hectic? My nephew has been in town almost a week now, and I've barely seen him. It's not like I'm right out straight with work and such, but somehow time just gets away from me. I work from 4 am to noon, go home, go grocery shopping or something, and suddenly it's bed time (which comes way too early). Kyle will be here another two weeks, though. I may have to steal him away from my parents some afternoon to get some quality time with him!
Kevin's been home since last Friday, which has been great. He's been filling in so much at the radio station that he's only been home for three or four days at a time over the past few weeks. Unfortunately, he's leaving this weekend and will probably be gone for a week and a half. =( This will be a rough stretch for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that the DNC will be in full swing next week. Have you seen the reports on the national news about the huge security measures being implemented? Should I really be afraid of a terrorist attack happening in Boston next week? I work in TV news and I don't even know what they're trying to tell us! There are just a few too many mentions of the Madrid train bombing for my liking.
This has turned into more of a "general musings" kind of post than a food kind of post... but I think I mentioned in myfirst entrythat this might happen from time to time. Writing is great therapy for me. Who needs a shrink? =) Thanks for your patience. I really will get back into a food mood soon. I've also been reading a few new (to me, anyway) blogs lately, and will post links to them very soon. Look for them on the left-hand column of this page!
