Pizzoccheri

I spend probably more time than I should looking up new and fun things to cook. So when our friend living in Italy posted an instructional video for pizzoccheri I was planning on adapting it for my kitchen within the first two minutes.

Essentially, it's noodles, cabbage, potatoes, and cheese; like macaroni and cheese made from scratch and not the electric orange box kind.

I used:

• 16 ounces whole wheat pasta
• 1/2 "green cabbage" (yes, this is what our local store called it)
• 2 giant russet potatoes
• 8 ounces parmesan cheese
• 8 ounces butter (or margarine, or vegetable spread, or whatever I bought last)
• some garlic
• some bay leaves

Obviously I didn't have a lot of the same ingredients. But it seemed like things came out alright.

Mmmm... yummy looking, right? If I were to make this again (and I will), I would leave the cabbage in bigger chunks and not cook the potatoes as long. They sort of ... disintegrated.

Making the whole box of pasta really makes a lot, especially if there's only two of you. So we had it the next night as a side dish to tuna steaks and a white wine.


And there is still some left over. But it reheats like magic. Next time I would (will) add some bacon, but you could really add anything you'd like. Significantly improvised, but successful!

Thursday my friend sent me a link to the Belmont Shore Stroll & Savor and, seeing as how we're an unencumbered couple now, it sounded like a super idea.

There's not a lot of info about it online, but it was popular enough to prompt some Yelp reviews. Which were pretty helpful. You don't know if each place charges 12 tickets, or 2.

We parked pretty far back in the neighborhood, but it really wasn't necessary. I would say it wasn't too crowded at all! We scoped out a couple of places on the way to buy tickets. Most of the restaurants seemed to be participating but didn't make it too clear what they were offering and for how many tickets.

So, we bought one book of 12 for $10 between the two of us. Here's what we got:

Natraj Cuisine of India: 7 item sample plate, 6 tickets. Of all the places we tried this one was my favorite. So much so that I bought curry today even though it usually upsets my stomach. Great deal. And I'd totally go back for dinner.

Magic Lamp: sample plate, 4 tickets. We skipped our standards (La Creperie, Lucille's, Open Sesame), since the whole point is to try new things. I love trying local food whenever I'm away from home, so why not be brave in my own neighborhood? The chicken was good, but the hummus was too watery and the sauces weren't anything special. So it's Open Sesame for me all the way.

Olives Gourmet Grocer: chicken leg, 2 tickets. Sure they had olive ... stuff. I think I'm just not in to fried chicken. Plus these are the kind of groceries I hate (like Trader Joe's, although unfortunately I may have to go soon).

Two ice cream cones from Rite Aid. OK, they weren't actually participating. I paid $2.88 in USD. But man, that Thrifty ice cream.

The best part is, it happens once a month all summer long! The next event is June 24-25 (happy birthday to me!). There are a lot of places I still want to try!

So I bought a nice, shiny new car. It has new car smell. No paint peeling off. No worries about mechanical failures. I am pleased with it.

A couple of months after I bought it, I got a survey in the mail. Complete this survey, and enter to win $6,000 worth of car payments! I know the odds of winning are small. But I would be so super happy to win, so I fill out the 100+ question survey. I could do it online, anyway.

Another one comes. This one is JD Powers and they send me $1. They also send me a reminder postcard and I remember a guy from JD Powers speaking in one of my classes once. I don't have a whole heck of a lot going on; I fill it out. It's in the name of research!

Another one comes. No bribe. Didn't really enjoy the first two. If you can print the exact type of car I bought on the survey, why do I need to fill out little bubbles asserting that yes, this is a newly purchased car of certain make and model? Trashed.

Another one comes. $1 bribe. Trash.

Another one comes from Maritz. Trash.

Survey companies: you are wasting your time. Stop sending me useless identical surveys!!!

Speaking of the Office ...

Anyone else kind of meh about the season finale? Pam is so obviously pregnant. When did getting married and being stable before kids get to be sooo uncool??

And why is the cosmos forcing all this baby stuff on me?? I want a house. The only baby I want is the kind covered in fur.

By the way ....

There was another earthquake, just as large as the last one. This time, though, I was at work, and didn't feel a thing. Of course, the way my windowless building shakes and rattles, we could be having earthquakes all the time. I'd never know.

And this article made me laugh. And want to make peanut butter and jelly cupcakes.

The big news today is the earthquake last night. Which means I still have that general feeling of unease that comes from having the earth move unnaturally underneath you and nowhere to go to escape it.

We'd just gotten home from dinner and were going to settle in and watch the last of this season's The Office. It started off feeling like the way the building always shakes when a truck goes by, except it got much worse very quickly. Five to ten seconds tends to feel like 15-20 minutes, at least to me.

We went outside and downstairs and I sat down on the ground. I think I must have felt one of the aftershocks, but they were small in comparison.

Oddly enough, the center was right near the airport where my parents were staying. They'd left hours earlier. Even stranger is to tell people at work that, actually, my parents have felt earthquakes in Missouri before.

If that's a "light" earthquake ... whoa.

Last night we went to a free movie preview for a movie called 9. How exciting to see a movie that doesn't come out for months!!

I didn't know anything about it, really. Other than it was directed by Tim Burton (and some other people that are apparently big names). There's a trailer available, but I didn't bother watching it. When was the last time you went to see a movie like that? In my experience, seeing a movie with no prior knowledge makes it really good.

We had to wait in line a little while, and the line got really long. But we got in and had seats together - some of the last people let in had to split up. The theater hasn't been refurbished and smelled like a dirty diaper.

I don't want to tell too much about it because not knowing what was happening, I think, made it better. Although I will say it's quite scary, and really not good for smaller children. Take them to the Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D instead (and take me while you're at it!).

When I was filling out the survey, my first impression was, "I didn't like it!" I don't like scary movies. But the more questions I answered, the more I realized it was actually quite good. Even the non-scary parts had that sort of creepy crawly feeling, as to be expected. Some of the acting was great! And the story was creative, even though it had elements that you would think to be over done.

If I were recommending it to myself, I'd say, wait for it to come out on DVD. And don't see it in 3D.

This weekend was the kind of weekend I thought we’d have after the wedding – lots of things to do but not all toward a major goal.

Saturday we spent running errands and watching Iron Man. Cheesy, but fun to watch. Got a lot done with respect to getting the apartment cleaned up and organized.

Sunday we planned a full day of activities with friends. We started with breakfast at La Creperie, ‘cause breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It’s also a favorite amongst our crowd and should be amongst your crowd, too.

Then to the Natural History Museum. It’s right across from USC, and was free because it was corporate sponsor day. That is a good way to get people to come! Especially when you can charge a lot for parking. After a few hours, though, we’d seen all the exhibits, and I certainly had my fill of taxidermy.

So, back down to our apartment for Wii and drinks before a showing of Monsters vs Aliens in 3D. It was by far the best 3D movie I’ve ever seen, since the glasses never seem to work very realistically to me. The movie was pretty funny, and not all of the funny parts were in the trailer.

We also got approached by the free movie preview guy. Before, he was always hawking a movie that a) didn't sound too good and b) was on a school night. This time, though, he was promoting a new Tim Burton movie! We signed up on a quick stop home before dinner.

For dinner we got hooked up at the Boiling Crab. We’ve talked about going, but never really made the time. It was a really fun new experience, and the crab legs really were good! Next time I’d probably go on a less crowded night, but it’s worth it at least once for the experience. I'll have to watch the calories this week!

And that was the day! Unless you consider my puttering around getting ready for the week. Always time well spent.