leapkate's Profile

She didn't state that the boxes were open or expired.

Well and also the muesli one is a bit misleading. I mix up my own muesli and the proportion of dried fruit in it is WAY less than that one they showed....

I have no advice, but the stove in the picture is the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life.

I'm a big fan of staycations. Yes my sad budget forces me to be. But I do it up right. Every summer I take a full week off and spend the Saturday doing everything chore like from cleaning my apartment, running errands, doing laundry, so I won't have to do anything during the week. Then I have an agenda for every day. I like to do a ton of research and find new things to explore within an hour's drive, interspersed with more quiet activities like reading in the park or an at-home spa day. It's a great time to knock out those "I'd like to go there" ideas we all collect and often never get to! I also try several new places to eat, and usually a few new recipes too, from the cookbooks languishing on my shelf.

I do love to travel and wish I could do a lot more, but there is fun, novelty, and beauty in staying home, too. Plus no lost luggage.

I'm going to the farmer's market tomorrow morning and am winging it. The only thing I have in mind is that I'd like to buy at least one thing I've never cooked or eaten with before, just to be adventurous!

I was just talking about this issue with a dear friend last week. She is, by anyone's standards, extremely messy -- both cluttered and dirty. (I should know, I used to live with her. I'll just say this: sandwich on the carpet for 3 weeks.) Her partner and she have been fighting about it a lot lately which is why we started discussing it.

Her stance was that life is too full of great things to do to waste time cleaning and organizing, that she'd rather be cooking or playing with her kids or exercising.

I told her I understood what she meant but another way to look it is, when one is chronically messy, one wastes time looking for things. (I used the example of last time I was at her house, she was baking a birthday cake and we could NOT find a single surface to set the cooled cake on. Every single table, counter, desk, was piled high with stuff.)

I could tell that had never occurred to her and we ended up agreeing that the best middle ground is to have your space organized enough that you're not wasting valuable time looking for things or not having enough space for a project, but not so tidy that you're wasting all your free time organizing, sorting, and cleaning.

I have one tip. If you are heading out to the airport and have made yourself a healthy and yummy farro-tomato-broccolini-balsamic-feta salad for the plane trip, it doesn't do you any good if you forget it and have to text the cat-sitter to either throw it away or eat it.

My friend watched my cat while I was on vacation in New Orleans recently so I'm cooking her a NOLA-inspired thank-you dinner this weekend.

Pimm's Cups
Spicy okra pickles
Fried green tomatoes with shrimp remoulade
Red beans & rice
Sauteed mustard greens
Strawberry shortcake

No avocado for parakeets, I know that! Not sure if it applies to other parrot-family birds, but I know it can kill budgies/parakeets.

It's so true! Unfortunately one of my best friends has a medical condition that means she cannot eat acidic foods at all, in any form. No vinegar, no tomatoes (or sauces/pastes), no citrus fruit, including zest or juice. I feel bad, as it's incredibly hard to make a nice meal for her that doesn't taste just a little bit ... bland.

So yes those of us who can, be grateful for that zest, that squeeze, that gurgle of balsamic!