Thanks to Kita for hosting this month. I baked up 9 dozen cookies and will be mailing almost 9 dozen cookies today. Three dozen (give or take) of each of the following:
Peanut Butter with Reeses' Pieces adapted from Simply Recipes
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut from Whipped
Classic Toll House Chocolate Chip
Taste-tested and baker approved!
Click here to enlist for the next mission!
Hostesses Natalie from Gluten A Go Go, and Shelly, of Musings From the Fishbowl, chose Lavash Crackers (gluten free or not) and baker's choice of a vegan and gluten free dip or spread.
What's this? No butter, no chocolate, no Kitchen-Aid, no tears? Yep! It's a cheap and easy Daring Baker Challenge, unheard of, I know!
Well. There it is. They were crackers all right. Should have rolled them thinner though, they puffed up like a bad pompadour the minute they hit the oven. I sprinkled kosher salt on one half and sumac on the other. The "dip" is nothing more than some chopped up leftover ratatouille. Like I said, cheap AND easy! How'd it taste? Fine. But I miss buttercream. I've become accustomed to my monthly treat!
Check out the rest of the bunch at the Daring Baker Blogroll.
Did you "Haiku that Blog!"?
1. teriyaki pork
2. rice
3. tomatoes
4. broccoli
5. yogurt with pineapple
I sure do need a vacation. Good thing I've got one coming up! This time next week I'll be soakin' up the sun. And eating. And sitting. Though now that I've written it I realize that's pretty much what I do everyday and it really doesn't sound that exciting, but Dude! I'm going to Maui. And my children are not. And that is most assuredly exciting. I know, you hate me, I'd hate me too.
1. yellow grape tomatoes
2. steak
3. baked potato
4. green beans
5. red peppers
6. cucumber
7. vinaigrette in the red tomato
Bet you can't guess who had steak, baked potato, green beans and salad for dinner last night!
What's this? A package for me?
It's true. I succumbed to that sweet siren song.
Let's open it together!
Is now when I make that SQUEE sound?
Let's put everything out on the table! Wait - something is missing...
Ahhhhh, sneaky!
These are my favorite. I can't wait to have meatballs with bone picks! It's the little things people, the little things.
What the hell is this? 
These little bottles have stickers to make them look like penguins. If I had realized I had to put the stickers on I wouldn't have got them. 
Now we'll take everything out of the packaging and put it together so it looks like we only bought a small pile of junk rather than a large one!
Wasn't that fun?
I wasn't planning to take my lunch to work today. In fact, I planned to -not- take my lunch today. My co-worker had been dropping hints all day yesterday about a new soul food place that had opened up close by and I was jonesin' for some chicken and waffles. And sweet potato pie. And maybe some cornbread. And greens. Anyway, I thought if I didn't take lunch in it wouldn't take much arm twistin' and she and I would be hip deep in mac&cheese by noon and ready for a nap by two. It didn't work out that way.
My boy woke me up this morning - "Mom? I made you lunch. It's in the fridge. Love you - bye." Awwwwww, that's so sweet isn't it? Too bad I'm going to have to throw it away. I had plans you know. Get to work and within 10 minutes co-worker has mentioned smothered chicken and red velvet cake. I tell her I'm in. Decide to offer my lunch around, surely someone will want it.
Nearly lunch time and holy crap - US Marshals are here. What the hell? Am I in charge? Oh Lord I hope not. What do US Marshals even do exactly? And why isn't marshal spelled with two ls? Ended up not being nearly as bad as I thought. Race back to office. Co-worker who will now be known as Bitch says - "You know I think I changed my mind. I think I'll wait and go tonight with my family." I called her Bitch. She just laughed at me. Then I ate my lunch.
1. cream cheese rolled in ham
2. grapes
3. Babybel gouda
4. coconut Pocky
1. pickles rolled in cream cheese and sliced ham
2. brownie bites
3. mango and sliced strawberries with yogurt
Not only is this a delicious lunch it also has all the main food groups representin'.
Vegetable, dairy, meat, grain, fruit, dairy and chocolate. What more could you want? Oh, I know - you could want a cool Parasite Pals bento box to put it all it. Looks like it's your lucky day! You, yes YOU, have a chance to win one of your very own! Plus a carry bag! Click here to read more.
1. burger bites
2. tomatoes
3. grapes
4. mango
5. mocha mochi
6. brown rice onigiri
7. little bottle of tonkatsu sauce
If you've ever wondered what to do with a half-eaten hamburger ... well here ya go! Or you could be like normal people and just throw it away. Your choice.
1. strawberries
2. grapes
3. peppered turkey
4. almond butter & apricot jam sandwiches
5. almonds
I am shameless. I totally stole the strawberry mouse idea from a winning entry in a recent Vegan Lunchbox contest. Here's a link to Sherilla's original entry. And here's a closer look at my mouse. 
Note that Sherilla did a much nicer job AND her photograph is better. See kids? Crime never pays. But poetry does. Don't forget to Haiku that Blog!
1. ribs
2. macaroni salad
3. red pepper strips
4. strawberries
5. black grape
6. little bit of a cream horn
My friend Julie (The Sporadic Cook) made ribs for Labor Day. I wasn't invited. But that's totally fine. Really. Yeah, anyway, I wanted ribs too, since I wasn't invited and all so I decided to make my own, and not invite anyone named Julie. And I certainly was not going to make them the same way she did. I had to do something different. Out of spite, of course.
At first I wasn't even going to marinate them, but then I changed my mind. I mixed up equal parts of soy sauce, orange juice and vinegar then added half parts of vegetable oil, Worcestershire and pomegranate molasses. I -really- liked the flavor of the marinade. The ribs though? Not so much. See, I had planned to baste them while they cooked and maybe reduce down the rest as a finishing sauce. Sounds great, no? And He wanted to help. Sounds great, no? He put the ribs the on the grill, and then he dumped all that sweet saucy love right down the drain.
I have this really cool thing that I do sometimes to let my beloved know that he has disappointed me. Basically don't talk. Or smile. And I sigh. A lot. It's really terribly effective, you should try it sometime!
So the ribs ended up a little more bland than I hoped. And less saucy. And a more than a little over-cooked. Out of spite, or course. But that's a different story for a different day.
Don't forget to Haiku that Blog! And I am available most evenings if you need any relationship advice.
It's time for the third installment of Haiku that Blog!
This month we will be creating word art celebrating Lemon Basil. The clothes shunning Oakley lies naked in a field of moss in Portland, and was the winner of Haiku that Blog v1.03!
Here's what you have to do to have your own blog immortalized in verse -AND- win a cool prize.
1. write a haiku about Oakley and/or her blog
2. post it in the comments on this post
3. wait to see if you win
Easy huh?
What do you mean you don't know how to write a haiku? Haven't you people heard of Wikipedia?
The winner will receive their very own Parasite Pals bento box and matching vinyl carry bag! Wooohooo! The winner will also have the option of having their very. own. blog. featured in the the next edition of Haiku That Blog. If the winner does not have their very. own. blog. they will be strongly encouraged to start one. Failing that, the winner will be allowed to choose the next blog to be featured.
Entries will be accepted until midnight or so October 1, 2008. Winner will be chosen by a panel of people and or animals who live at or are visiting or walking past my house. Prize package worth less than $15. Anonymous entries have the proverbial snowball's chance in hell of winning, so please help me find you. Now get Haikuing!
1. thin sliced roast beef rolled with havarti and green beans
2. tiny pepper stuffed with pimento cheese
3. strawberries with a little sugar underneath 'cause they aren't very sweet
4. grapes
5. dates with peanut butter
I have coveted my neighbors lunchbox. And truth be told I've also coveted her food. And her mother. And her new baby. But those are different stories. Today I'm just happy to be the owner of a brand spankin' new Parasite Pals Lunch Kit! There's another tier that fits inside and holds a fork and spoon that I didn't use today.
I know, it's great, isn't it?
Oh, and Mom? I hope I didn't hurt your feelings with that comment up there. You know I'm just being a smart ass. But seriously, she describes her mom as a "machine in the kitchen". A machine Mom, a MACHINE. And she apparently speaks Lao. But that's irrelevant. Maybe someday though you can explain to me exactly what the difference is between jealousy and coveting, because that's never been really clear to me. Love you!
No pasta, no rice, no beans, no bread. No fruit, no vegetables, neither fresh nor frozen. But we do have frozen buttercream. And chocolate sauce. Damn Daring Bakers. Anyway...
Here's the last of it.
1. risotto
2. beans and tomatoes
3. garlic toasts with artichoke spread (from a jar)
On the up side - what a perfect time to clean up the fridge! And the freezer. And the pantry. Yay. Cleaning. Go me.
1. Freakin' Delicious Tomatoes
2. Parmesan couscous
3. scrambled eggs
4. pesto
Work is still being altogether too much work. I don't know if I've been this tired since I was a "stay at home" mom. I know it's just a season and pretty soon I'll be back to my normal loafing self, but now? Too much work, not enough loaf. Or grocery shopping. The cupboard is bare Mother, the cupboard is bare! Except for things like whipping cream. And leftover chocolate sauce. Tonight's dinner should be ... interesting.
Parmesan Couscous
Bring 3/4 cup of water to a boil and add a sliver of butter. Dump in 1/3 cup of couscous and stir until smooth. Slap on the lid and turn off the heat. Five minutes later stir in 1 tablespoon heavy cream and 2 big pinches of Parmesan cheese. Makes one fabulous serving.
The only thing better than having leftovers to pack for lunch is having leftovers that someone else packs for your lunch!
1. barbecue beef
2. barbecue sauce
3. coleslaw
4. love
I'll probably just dump the meat on top of the slaw and call it a salad. Thanks honey!
1. ratatouille
2. brown rice
3. peaches
4. yogurt
5. mushroom cookies - slightly melted
This was a huge freakin' lunch. I ate it like 8 hours ago and I'm still full - all that rice I guess. Speaking of rice, I used some of that precooked frozen brown basmati rice from Trader Joe's. A seriously fabulous product by the way. Comes in a box of 3 packages, each package is about 2 servings. All you have to do is clip the corner and microwave on high for 3 seconds. I always have some of this on hand and so should you.
If you're interested in how I make ratatouille, and I know both of you are, I posted earlier about it here. I used eggplant this time, and 5 big Romas that were getting ready to head around the bend, if you know what I mean. I probably should have mentioned on that previous post that I use more oil when I use eggplant - on account of it's awesome sponge-like ability to soak up fat.
Know what else? Plain Greek style yogurt (I think I have Athenos this week) on a perfectly ripe peach? Fan-freakin-tastic. Oh, and don't hate me for this -
My wealthy and beautiful friend Julie found this (and another one almost like it) at the Goodwill. And she bought them for me. I haven't really researched it but I'm almost certain those are vintage, naked, Little Twin Stars. And there really isn't much more to say about that.
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