This eve

This eve, I sit in the basement. This, sitting (comfortably, I might add) in the basement is, in and of itself a feat. The basement has been reformed. Before I moved in, the basement was two years of storage (I use the word storage here to mean, a GODDAMN MESS) with a path to the computer (circa 1993) and the laundry room (room, here, meaning pile of dirty and clean clothes).

This eve, I sit comfortably on the futon, computer in lap, beer resting precariously near my knee, and write to tell you of the feeling of home. The fact that there is a basement to sit and relax in is due largely in part to my refusal to allow a space I lived in to go unused. It's taken about four months of sporadic cleaning. It's been annoying, refreshing, maddening, cathartic. Home, my friends, is becoming a nice little nest.

This eve, the din of the Tigers game, laughter and shit-talking coming from the foosball table before me, settle comfortably into my awareness. Even the dogs are comfortable. Miss South Carolina (See note) is laying in her typical chalk-outline/presenting fashion, in the middle of the floor, and Old Man River is on the back of the couch, looking at me like, "Mom, I'm really tired, can we go to bed yet?"

I'm not ready for bed quite yet, but I am comfortable (lazy) enough to cheekily request that someone else go pee for me, and while they're in there, will they please take my contacts out?

If you're volunteering to take my contacts out, thank you, and if you're not, well, I say Good Day to you.

n.





Miss South Carolina is a reference to a rather unfortunate video of a pageant contestant stumbling through an incoherent answer to the all-important Pageant Question. This video describes the personality of one of our dogs. She really pretty and she's REALLY dumb. I mean no disrespect to the actual Miss South Carolina that this video refers to, but she did go on a comedy show making exactly that point, so I guess you could say I'm plagarizing. (credits to youtube and tosh.0) (I can't afford to get sued over the nickname of my dog.)

Dinner for 30!

Boyfriend turned 30 today. HOORAY!

Homemade dinner was a must. His favorite is Chicken Tikka Masala with rice, so that's what I made. As a vegetarian, dicing the chicken was probably the hardest part of the eve. 

I drove myself to the local Meijer, purchased some basmati rice, chicken tenderloins, and tikka masala sauce. To go with that, I went to the World Market and bought some Ommegang (Belgian beer) and of course, our favorite, Jameson and gingerale. Pre-dinner cocktails, you know.

I prepared the chicken (diced) and sauteed it to slightly brown. Then it went into a pan to simmer with tikka masala sauce for 35 minutes, for the sauce to seep into the chicken.

I also prepared tomato/tofu curry for myself because I'll be damned if I'm gonna eat an animal.

I chose Naya super firm pre-diced tofu, drying it out before tossing it in a pan of simmering diced tomatoes and Patak's curry paste, with a touch of organic olive oil. 

I cooked the basmati in organic vegetable broth, for a little added flavor.

Dinner turned out well. Dessert was next. Blueberry pie.

I've never made a pie before and allrecipes.com is my go-to for questionable foods to prepare. I picked an easy 3-2-1 recipe, and so far so good. I sprinkled some cinnamon in with fresh blueberries, along with cornstarch so the pie with hold when it's done. We have a pizza stone which was recommended (for thorough cooking) so we are waiting on that in the oven. With fingers crossed, this pie will turn out. If not, well...we've got a few blueberries to snack on. 

My camera is in need of a new flash battery so I don't have pics to share, but I did get Boyfriend some Primal tattoos to wear as a memento of his 30th. Next weekend we'll be having friends over for a barbeque to celebrate in grandeur. By then I'll have my camera fixed and food pics will be available for your drooling pleasure. 

Until then,

n.