Time keeps moving on

....going out in Geneva, The Allman Brothers concert, tarot cards, so many nights just hanging out at the house, election night cupcakes, decorating the Christmas tree together, people thinking we're dating, trip to Philly for New Years, trip to DC in March, more nights hanging out at the house,blue light and cards, failed cooking attempts, her baptism, a fail of a 4th, her 21st birthday, another awesome trip to Philly, out at lux the other night....

These are the things that made the past year, the things that I'm going to miss when one of my best friends moves to DC this weekend.  I'm so excited for Liz (and jealous)-she's going off to start an awesome new life in an amazing city.  

It's interesting, because the past year has basically been the same for the two of us-we both kind of slowed down and took the year off to re-evaluate.  And, similarly, we both find ourselves about to embark in new directions.  Hers is obviously more drastic; she's moving to a completely new city, starting at a new school.  I'm staying here in Rochester in my cozy little apartment with Drew, but I am starting grad school for my MBA, and also throwing myself into my fledgling career (hey, I worked 9 hrs and 45 minutes today).

This weekend in DC will be perfect, my other best friend (and Liz's sister) will be there too...we'll have some J. Roget and celebrate new beginnings.  Can't think of better people to do it with.

Cooking with Katie

Last night I decided to find a recipe that would use the second zucchini (technically a heirloom variety called Barq squash) that we harvested from our little garden.  I was so excited to find this recipe because I actually had all of the ingredients on hand, including the fresh herbs from our Aerogarden.  I also used one of the grape (Reisenstraub heirloom variety) tomatoes that was ripe from the garden...just to say that I had.

6 to 8 zucchini [I had one, but that was enough for Drew and I]
3 large garlic cloves minced

6 washed and finely chopped bella mushrooms

1 finely chopped roma tomato

1 Tbsp fresh chopped basil

1 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley

1 Tbsp thyme

1 1/2 tsp dill weed

1 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated asiago cheese

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil for drizzling

Preheat oven to 425. Wash and cut the zucchini in half, lengthwise. Carefully, scrape out the middle of each half with either a grapefruit spoon, or cut middle out with a knife. Set the hollow zucchini aside and chop the middle up into small pieces, then transfer to a large bowl. Add all the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix well with a large spoon. After mixing everything together, stuff each half with the mixture, then place the already stuffed half in a lightly greased baking dish. When all the zucchini is stuffed, drizzle a little bit of olive oil on each half and if desired you can sprinkle lightly with more salt and pepper. Cover the baking dish and place it in the oven for 25 minutes. When the 25 minutes are up, remove the cover and continue to bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes uncovered before serving. This fresh summer side dish would pair nicely with grilled salmon and your favorite bottle of pinot noir or a chilled pino grigio.

http://www.helium.com/items/446028-recipes-vegetarian-stuffed-zucchini

It really came out great, I would post some pictures of the finished product but my camera isn't working, due to a beer-in-purse incident Saturday night that I'd rather not talk about (sigh).

However, you know the part about the mushrooms?  Well somehow I didn't read that part...so no mushrooms.  This is why I'm not a great cook.  It didn't really matter, I'll use them next time, but this is just evidence of why it's good I don't have to rely soley on myself to cook.

Trip to Letchworth State Park

Sometimes, spontaneous is best.

Yesterday, I woke up at 7:15 am. This was due to a combination of my cat Maggie meowing in my face, and the sudden panic that comes when you can't remember if it's a weekday or a weekend morning, and if you're going to be late to work.

Luckily, it was Saturday. To my surprise, Drew wasn't in bed, so I groggily stumbled into our guest bedroom/computer room. He was on the computer, having also woken up unusually early for no apparent reason. The first thing that popped into my mind was, "let's head to Letchworth."
We've been meaning to all summer, but Drew works weekends, and those weekends that he has been able to get off this weekend have been stuffed with lovely social events that didn't leave a whole lot of time for spontaneous hiking trips.

So, off we went! It was wonderful, cool in the early morning, with very few people around.

I took some pictures, but unfortunately I hadn't charged my camera's batteries, so I had to use my phone. So, they're pretty low quality, but worth including anyway.

Beginnings

Here I go...

I'm entering the world of blogging for the first time in quite a long time. I'm not sure that anyone out there really wants to hear what's going on in my head, but here I am, about to share it.

I'd like to have a an outlet to chronicle the wonderful things in my life-a treasurebox of sorts. So stay tuned.