Last night, we had our annual band cookout. What band, you might ask? Well, representatives from Garden of Ashes, Rottenstone, East of Eve and Temple to Blackness were in attendance (and that only accounted for three of us!). I made way too much food (due to the fact that some people can’t commit–don’t worry, I’ve made note of it), so it looks like we’ll be eating BBQ for the next few days. Fortunately, no one’s complaining about that.
feeling saucy
Steve gave me a bunch of tomatoes this week so I whipped up a batch of marinara this evening. This marinara was totally organic–it consisted of tomatoes, from both my garden and Steve’s, along with onions, garlic, basil, and oregano that I grew. It came out quite tasty. Brian helped me skin the tomatoes. It is never a fun task. I used to do the boiling water/ice water bath method but this year I wanted to try something different. I was looking for one of those tomato crusher contraptions, but couldn’t find one on short notice. So, I ended up settling for a food mill instead. Granted, it was a cheap one, but it was not up to the job. Brian and I ended up skinning the tomatoes by hand which was not a fun task. I make tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes virtually every year so I really need to find a good (that is, easy) way to skin my tomatoes. Ideas, anyone?
new religion
Last night, Brian asked me if I wanted to get up early and go for a motorcycle ride with him before church. Let’s put it this way–the only day I’ve ever voluntarily gotten up early was the morning we bought Ripley (my Doberman). So, my answer was ‘No’. Then he was like, “What if we skipped church and went for a ride instead?” I was agreeable to that because Brian never lets me skip church. I’d hate to miss out on that opportunity. Plus, riding motorcycles is fun–just not at 8am. (The only thing that is fun to do at 8am is buy a puppy.) He then went on to say that he’d get up and go to early service and then we’d go for a ride after that. Right. Needless to say, he didn’t get up early, but we did go for a ride this morning. I guess you could say he’s now worshipping at the altar of Harley-Davidson. In the name of Harley, Davidson, and Ghost Flames. Amen.
for the seafood lover in you
Brian and I got a Red Lobster gift certificate for Christmas last year, so we decided to use it this evening. Jake was at my parents for the Portage Summerfest, so it was a good night for us to go out to eat (alone, for a change).
After dinner, which was pretty good, we went to Home Depot and bought the tub and sink faucets for our upcoming bathroom remodeling project. I also wanted to check out the other stuff we need to buy (e.g. tile, toilet, tub, etc.) so we can compare it to what Lowe’s has to offer. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to Lowe’s this evening, but I’m sure we will get there shortly.
I guess Jake should count himself lucky. While he likes to eat out, he certainly doesn’t like to go to home improvement stores with us. This probably has to do with the frequency of our trips and the length of our shopping lists. I can’t imagine the bathroom project is going to do anything to assuage his feelings, but at least today was one less trip he has to make.
wine & cheese
Last night, we went to a wine & cheese party at a coworker’s house. What a great idea. Everyone brought a bottle of wine and we all got to sample them. Getting to try a bunch of new wines was really cool. There was one in particular that I definitely want to try again, Fleur Ducap’s Pinotage. It was quite delicious.
The host kept good notes regarding everyone’s impressions of the wines. I think I’m going to have to hang onto this information. Since we make so much wine, we don’t buy much for ourselves. It’ll be good to have a list of stuff I’ve tried and liked (or disliked). Perhaps this will motivate me to start my own wine list.