Aisling's Profile

The asparagus ideas so far all sound fabulous. I also second the idea for grilled pineapple.

Honey-glazed baby carrots might be nice? Or green beans with toasted almonds. (Or both!) Roasted broccoli might also work well, with a little garlic butter?

Instead of corn, maybe cornbread?

I had my wisdom teeth out last month (all four at once, ouch!). Have LOTS of good chocolate pudding at the ready. Yogurt, too, in a variety of flavors--make sure it's nothing with seeds in, so no raspberry/blackberry!

I also ate a lot of mashed potatoes with tuna or flaked chicken mixed in.

Bread that's really soft inside is good too. Crusts can, in this case, be discarded or cut off for croûtons. ;) Honestly, I just took a hunk of Italian bread and hollowed it out with a spoon.

Yum! I'm going to have to try this this weekend.

I'd put them in bread pudding, or sub them for the chocolate in chocolate chip cookies. They'd probably be really good in trail mix or granola, too.

I don't really like cauliflower, but I think I might have to make that purple soup anyway...

I try to make sure my sweetie always has something special in his lunch at work. One lunch he loves is hummus and pretzels. I usually pair that with fresh grapes or an apple. If he wants more protein, I make a hummus and turkey sandwich with alfalfa sprouts and a nice smoked cheese, with baked pita chips and the fruit.

Another favorite of his is chili over rice. A good-sized hunk of bread and some pineapple go well with it, and usually the fruit is enough to satisfy his sweet tooth.

When I've made it, French beef stew with sugar snap peas, half a small baguette, and a pear fill him up nicely.

In the summer, I make tuna-mac salad with a balsamic and olive oil dressing (I leave out half the mayo and replace it with a few tablespoons of olive oil tossed over the pasta while it's still hot). He loves this with black olives and trail mix (2 parts peanuts, 1 part raisins, 1 part M&Ms) on the side.

And he never objects to a little chocolate at the end. ;)

I'm planning to make some mu-shu apple chicken with potatoes and carrots, and maybe some cornmeal crusted pork chops with caramelized onions--but what to have with them? Maybe some roasted broccoli (as easily made in big batches, which leaves plenty for delicious salads afterward).

Then I have to start planning lunches for my sweetie for work next week, and given he's a rather picky eater, it's not an easy task. He says he'd be happy having sandwiches all the time, but I like to have something special for him since he works so hard. This past week was sandwiches and hummus; the week before was tuna-mac salad and hummus. Time to move away from the hummus I think!

I don't actually have cable right now, but even if I did, I doubt I'd watch much. Unless it was 24/7 Alton Brown. I could watch that man explain things until the end of time.

No lavender, no rose hip, no summer savory? Wow, are you all ever missing out.

For me, going out to pick apples (or other fruits) is about more than saving money. It's about spending time with my dad, my sister, my fiance, whoever's there that day. It's about knowing exactly where my food is coming from. It's about getting just what I need to make a batch of apple butter or peach-blueberry jam. It's about getting to be outdoors.

It's what I'm going to be doing in about 3 hours. :)