Halloween hullaballoo

Isn't that a funny word? Hullaballoo?

Anyway, it's already begun. The crazies have arrived and are flooding our streets. Last night after going to the movies to see Ben Affleck's latest flick, "The Town," my husband and I drove over to the new taco/burrito place nearby called Comida. Now, mind you, it's a horrid night - cold, with driving rains, and terribly windy. What did we see as we were leaving in our car? People, in full costume, walking around. Adult-type people, mind you. Not little kiddles, which is something that would be more acceptable in my book! It was all of October FIRST and these people felt the need to dress in full regalia and walk the wet streets of Salem.

Huh.

I don't get it. Now, ON Halloween, I TOTALLY get it. Or if you're going to a costume party. Yes. Get that. But otherwise? Don't get. I find it strange is all I'm saying!

Also, too? There are zillions of tourists here already. The traffic in town is generally pretty awful, but right now? MAN. It took me forEVER to get across town. I finally ended up taking several back streets to avoid the worst of it down there!

In other news, I went to the Farmer's Market on Thursday evening. It was nice, but considerably smaller than it has been - probably because it was wind wind windy out there and looked like it might rain. I got several goodies - yellow beans, pickling cucumbers, fresh eggs, strawberries and tomatoes:

So pretty and SO tasty!

I took a gander out in the backyard today for some inspiring subject matter, and what did I find on my way? Sadie napping in the bar! Of course, she awoke when she heard me:She generally always looks a little confused! As I was petting her, I noticed that the tip of her tongue had exited the front of her mouf:
Whenever she relaxes or sleeps, her tongue plops out the front of her mouf because she's got no teefies in the front (due to her former life - she's healthy now!). It's so darn cute how it looks when she does this! I never tire of saying "Awwwwww!" when I see it happen!

So, after being sidetracked by Sadie, I made my way to the back yard and noticed that the hydrangeas are getting SO big! Taller this year than ever before:
The one there in front is a bit taller than I am now.

Found a fairly fresh bloom:


And then one of the hydrangeas near the one with the new bloom is all beautiful maroon and green colors:
Aren't they so pretty?

Found another frozen bumblebee: Poor guy. After the sun dies away in the back yard, it's just too cold for them to move. I touched him to make sure he wasn't dead, and he just waved his back leg at me! Wish I could help him!

Looks like I might get some more eggplants before the end of the year - here are tiny tiny ones coming:So cute and so tiny!

Ok. I'm off. (No secret there!) No, I mean I'm going to leave this here computer. I am going to go change clothes and don my walking shoes and then am going for a walk with my friend and her two adorable golden retrievers Bear and Hunter. First time I met Bear, my friend had him hidden in her winter coat. He was tiny and a big puff of a baby. His hair stuck straight out! Adorable doesn't even cover what he looked like as a puppy! Cutest little ball EVER!!

I digress. Ok. Bye!

Garden goodies

I did it. I harvested the eggplant that has been grow grow growing for almost a month in the back yard!
Isn't he cute? I apologized when I was cutting him off the vine. I felt so guilty!

Now, since hubby was out with the boys, I decided to make one of my favorite dishes - it's an eggplant and spinach dish layered with three cheeses and homemade marinara. Yummm!

Would you like to see it? I thought you would!

First, you slice up the eggplant and saute until lightly browned.
I used my lovely new pan, with olive oil and a bit of salt on the eggplant:

Drain the eggplant on paper towels:

Pick your fresh basil for the sauce:


Put together your sauce by mixing tomato paste, sauteed onion, garlic, basil, parsley, a bit of water and a bit of wine:


Then in a baking dish, put some sauce on the bottom, a layer of eggplant, a layer of cooked spinach and then a cheese mixture of ricotta, mozzarella and parmesean:


Add a layer of sauce on that, another layer of eggplant, a layer of spinach, some more sauce, then top with mozzarella and parmesean:

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes (I used the convection oven so it only took about 30) until it's got a nice brown on top:

Healthy, delightful and yumm! So satisfying to eat from your own garden! Love it!

I realize this was not the most flowery post, but I have not been able to play much in my garden with the issues in my back. It is getting better, though (knock wood), as I was able to sleep on my side last night without excruciating pain. Bonus!

Well, I'm off to do some errands and then have a chiropractor appointment again!

Happy Friday, friends! : )

Wednesdays with Spasmodia

I'm considering changing my name to Spasmodia. "Hi, I'm Spasmodia. I have back spasms. ALL. THE. TIME. What do you do?"

Man alive this dang spasm on the left side over there will NOT give up. I had my first adjustment at the chiropractor yesterday AND I had an hour massage. You'd think this stupid thing would get the hint that it is NOT welcome in my back. Geez! GEEZ!!

So, anywho, I was totally nervous about the, you know, CRACKAGE that would ensue upon the adjusting at the chiro. SO nervous, as this was my first time! Well, my friends, it feels AWESOME! I can't wait for more! Going back on Friday, so this is all just very exciting, indeed! I'm looking forward to the time when I am spasm-free and when my lower back has calmed down. Turns out I have some degenerative discs in my back. Sexy, right? Nothing like 45 years of age! Woo hooo! Nothing is quite as alluring as someone with degenerative anythings right? GEEZ, again! WTF?

Anyway, the chiropractor guy (thank you for the recommendation, female ISYN who reads this bloggy and also thank you to my friend over there at Four Paws Acupuncture who happened to recommend the SAME person!), who is fabulous and nice and has the nicest bedside manner believes that with the proper adjustments and then exercise to strengthen my backal regions I will be able to minimize the damage to those discs. So, as far as bad news goes, it's not THAT bad. The promise of feeling better is really hopeful.

In other world news, I just had lunch with the loveliest woman. I just adore her! She has that sparkle - you know how some people have that thing? She's smart, funny and just so enjoyable to talk with - I have known her from a distance for some time, but in the last couple of years have gotten to know her much better and I just have the best time around her! Anyway, she suggested a place to eat that I have never been, a fairly new-ish restaurant in town called "Tavern In the Square." (Don't do the acronym!) Despite their suggestive acronym, the food was quite good! I had a yummy taco salad and she had a buffalo chicken salad that looked fantastic! So, if you're into salads for lunch, give it a whirl!

Now, let's get back to the real reason for this blog: FLEURS!!! Things are happening out there!

My Montauk daisy has started blooming:

I love their faces! They just look happy!

My mini-licorice plant has bloomed, as well! This is a terrible picture of it:I'm sure you are enjoying the close-up of my fingers and lookit how clearly you can see my fingerprint there on my index finger! Wow!

My mum is still a-blooming it's head off:


And my planter by the back door? Has been bugging the crap out of me. There was a dire need for something of medium height in the back. The curly juncus grass was not cutting its mustard, you know? So I plunked in some birch branches I had:
I feel much better now. You?

And last for today is my newest addition to the kitchen:
I'm so excited I could spit! It's a beautiful Calphalon 10-inch, non-stick pan. I LOVE new cookware! LOVE it! ANNNND, the best part? I got it on SALE! WOO HOOOO! Go Crate and Barrel!

Could I possibly be any more of a yuppie?

Ok...Gotta run. Time to meet with Muffy and Biff and wash the Beamer while I drink my organic, fair-trade coffee and then go to the Farmer's Market! Hee hee hee! (Did those sound yuppy?)

Later, alligator!

Dreary Dopey Dumpy and Damp

The four new dwarfs for today: Dreary Dopey Dumpy and Damp. Wait, Dopey was a dwarf already, right? Oh, well...Just goes to show you how well my brain is working! It's totally blech here today. Rainy, misty, overcast and VERY uninspiring!

So, you know what's really good? Thai food. My husband has a half-brother, or as they say it, he is my husband's "brotha froma notha motha!" Anyway, he is a fabulous kid, 16 years old and is basically my husband's "mini-me!" He's totally smart, funny, clever and just all-around great! I adore him (the brother and the husband!)! Let''s call him S for the sake of this here post!

A few weeks ago we were over at their house having Sunday dinner - this is a tradition now. Almost every Sunday we have dinner with them. S and I were cooking dinner together - S had a school project for his Spanish class and was tasked to cook a Spanish-inspired dinner. So he made a curry shrimp appetizer (not very Spanish, but oh, well!) and a chicken dish with lots of citrus and garlic and such. It was good!

That night we decided the two of us would cook Sunday dinners for everyone! So last night we did! We made a Thai feast! And you know what I discovered? I really really REALLY like rice noodles. Or rice stick as they call it on the package. We made the recipe on the back of the rice noodle package - including veggies like water chestnut and peapods with a tomato-paste-based sauce which didn't sound very good, but it was! I also added garlic and more soy and teriyaki sauce and shrimp to the dish. That was our side dish (which I am eating for lunch today!). The main dinner was a dish called Chicken Satay. But it's not what you think...It's chicken marinated in garlic, lemon zest, ginger, fish sauce and white wine. Sounds revolting, right? MAN! It's sooooo good!

Anyway, you saute the chicken after it's marinated for at least 3 or 4 hours. Cut it into chunks and then it is served in a lettuce wrap with coconut-jasmine rice, shredded carrots and then topped with cilantro and a homemade peanut sauce. I also serve it with Thai sweet red chili sauce for some kick. It is heaven. It's delicious, filling and VERY healthy. You don't feel yucky after eating this type of food!

Here's one all made up:
Why does food always look so gross in photographs? That looks all slimy and gross! Sure tasted good, though!

In other world news, my back is still spasming (OY VAY!) and I believe I have found out a huge thing about myself. I am 99 and 9/10ths sure that I am allergic to wheat. WHEAT. As in pasta, pizza and bread. My favorite three food groups! hee hee!

I will spare you the gory details as to how I came to believe that I had IBS and what are the two most common causes of IBS, you ask? They are wheat and dairy. Now, if you told me I could not have cheese for the rest of my life, I'd just curl up in a corner and whimper a lot. Wheat? Well, there is rice, rice flour and rice noodles and potatoes and oats and those sorts of starchy things to give me my much-needed carbo fix, but there is no good fake cheese!

So, I decided I'd try cutting wheat out from my diet for a few days to see what happened. The change was nothing less than miraculous! It was literally overnight that I felt SO much better and didn't have to visit the loo a million times a day. The first night we had miso soup and loads of sushi for dinner. Yumm! The second night we had dinner with friends and I had 4 french fries, a few mussels, gazpacho, carrots & celery with hummus, and then salmon over coconut rice for dinner. Yummmm! Last night was the third day of my no-wheat diet and I'm feeling great (aside from being tired from lack of sleep due to my stupid back!)

Anyway, if you feel you may have IBS, I can't stress to you enough how much better you might feel if you can find out what's causing it! Click HERE to learn more.

That is my service announcement for today!

Lastly, I'm obSESSED with THIS SONG It SO reminds me of the songs I used to dance to in college - the video is even all 80s! Get a load of her makeup and outfits - totally David Bowie, right? Anyway, this song is so catchy and I find myself humming it ALL THE TIME! I dare you not to tap your foot or bob your head in time with this music. I DARE YOU! It's catchy as all get out isn't it?

You're welcome.