people say she’s crazy…

I am pleased to find that this is my 200th blog post! It only took me four years, four months and ten days. Which is about 1,590 days, which is about 38,160 hours. I am 23 years and 9 months old. So I’ve been blogging for over 18 percent of my life. Except not really, because I didn’t use all of those 38,160 hours to blog (aren’t you glad?). Instead I like, did three years of college and got a job and did 17 months of that. I got some cats and some furniture and a new apartment. I read a lot of books. I did hundreds of crossword puzzles! I knitted a scarf and most of a bag (still working on that). I took the LSAT and rescheduled the GRE four times. I went to Switzerland and Ireland and Germany and the Czech Republic and Austria and Scotland and Colorado and New York a zillion times and Atlanta a zillion more times (not in that order). I did silly college things and boring old people things. I bought a lot of shoes. I bought a mac. I bought some lumber and steel, but not with my own money.

And now! Adventures in culinary hilarity:

On Monday, it started to get chilly here. Fall, which has kind of been dancing around the issue and just sticking itself up Chicago’s nose a few times a day without really committing to a takeover, was wrapping up its teasefest and rolling in at full force. There were rumors (confirmed at about 9 AM today), that it would snow. Lt. Swinford and Mlle. Davis were in town on long “Columbus Day” (what is that?), so I thought I would host a little dinner + tv after work, and an easy, fall-focused dinner at that: Veggie Chili!

Ingredients were black beans, kidney beans, onion, garlic, carrots, broccoli, zucchini, parsnips, tomato sauce and tomato paste. They were added in a very deliberate, Mom-dictated order. I let it simmer for a long, long, long time (because parsnips? hard like rock!). When it was all over, Miss J. brought cheese and sour cream, and my Vat-o-Veggies fed:

1. Self
2. Miss J
3. Mlle. Davis
4. Lt. Swinford
5. Sherrila (pronounced SHARE-uh-lah, not shurRILLa godzilla)
6. Ian tasted it
7. Self again (Tuesday Lunch)
8. Dan (Tuesday Lunch)

At which point I had one large sized yogurt container left of the stuff. You know, like those superlarge tubs. Which I use as tupperware. Anyway, Tuesday night, as you might imagine, I was pretty much not interested in a 3rd meal in a row of the same, ever-the-more-globby-and-mushed-together Vat-o-Veg. So I went to the Treasure Island (yarrr!) and bought some ground turkey. I also bought some mac’n'cheese, which is a pretty rare occurence for yours truly. I did up the turkey in some onions and garlic (surprise!) and added it to the veggies, with a little extra tomato sauce, since things were a little… solid. As I stirred up my sauce for the mac’n'cheese, I realized I was adding too much milk and was looking at an unpleasant side dish of: Noodles in Loose Watery Cheese Milk.

Now. Turkey and Veggie Chili? Appealing. Turkey and Veggie Chili with Noodles in Loose Watery Cheese Milk on the side? Less appealing. But! What happens when you put said Noodles INTO said Turkey Veggie Chili?

TURKEY VEGGIE NACHO NOODLE DELIGHT!

That’s what.

That’s what I had on Tuesday for dinner, with my test subject Miss J. It is also what I had for dinner on Wednesday. And lunch today. It looked not unlike this, but I forgot to take a picture. Anyway, I recommend it. Pretty delicious. A good crusty baguette tops things off. Also having Mlle. Davis around to do your dishes. :)

Never underestimate the importance of leftovers!