7 Quick ones

Linking up again on this Friday.

- 1 -

The ninth day of Christmas was a particularly giving day. I got to my office and found a package of crack cookies (because they are so addicting they must have crack in them) that my cousin had lovingly sent to me.

- 2 -

And then I had an email from my landlord saying a package had arrived for me. It ended up being gifts from my dad and stepmom, a package which I was sure had gotten lost somewhere.

- 3 -

Photo shoot outtake!



Because you all were begging for it (and by all I actually mean no one).

- 4 -

Don't you sometimes think that it would be so nice if certain things you read on the internet were actually true? For example, if I could leave a bowl of cut onions in my home and it would absorb bacteria and prevent sickness, wouldn't that be so spectacular? Unfortunately that seems to be entirely mythical. But the good news is that I found several articles proclaiming the great health benefits of onions (and also garlic)! So I am going to incorporate more of those where I can. Anyone care to share a recipe that calls for a lot of onion?

- 5 -

I am a big fan of the Bowerbirds. Greg and I saw them this past summer at this little place in MA, and they were just hanging out and talking with people after they finished the concert. I don't typically go to shows/concerts and if I do, it is not with groupie-intent, but man, I just like those Bowerbirds.

Here is a cool video about the things they are up to. Also, they have a cabin with an indoor swing.

- 6 -

On Wednesday I made a most delicious batch of hummus. Partly because I love my immersion blender, partly because I recently discovered that I love my homemade hummus! This is what I put in it: one can of chickpeas, a couple scoops of tahini, juice from half a lemon (I like it really lemony), a few glugs of olive oil, salt, a shake of cayenne pepper, and two cloves of garlic (as per #4). And then I ate the entire batch for dinner with some bread and carrots.

- 7 -

Last night I remembered that a friend had sent me a really good mac & cheese recipe. (I think at some point I had whined about the lack of mac & cheese in this country.) Well, I didn't feel like spending a lot of time cooking, and I wasn't really sure if I was getting the ingredients right, plus I was just eye-balling measurements because I wanted a half batch instead of a batch to feed 8-10. So I was fully expecting the end result to be completely inedible (mainly because I never know what dairy products I am buying. I needed cream, but in Sweden they sell this fil stuff which is like the consistency of cream, but it has a sour aspect to it? So I bought something that didn't say 'fil' anywhere, but said a weird word somewhere. I mainly picked it because it had a picture of cooking on the front, so I figured it was cream for cooking, aka what I needed for mac & cheese. Long story short, I was feeling completely out of it, and couldn't focus on thinking about Swedish dairy products, so I just bought one and hoped for the best.). Luckily, it was completely delicious. I think the secret is that the sauce is made with broth. It really adds a lot of flavor (salt) and keeps the richness in check.