Yum Yum Yum

I really want to make this (via The Cooking Photographer via Design Crush). Yum Yum!

Cold Tomato Zucchini Pasta Salad with Sherry Shallot Vinaigrette

Sherry Shallot Vinaigrette

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Sherry Vinegar
1 Shallot, chopped
1/ 2 clove Garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Lots of fresh ground black pepper to taste

Puree the ingredients together in a small processor or blender. Set aside.

Tomato Zucchini Pasta
1 pound riccioli shaped pasta, or any favorite shape
2 medium sized zucchini, or 1 large thinly sliced into half moons
1 cup chopped scallions
3-4 ripe Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 recipe Sherry Shallot Vinaigrette
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil the pasta according to the package directions in heavily salted water. Drain and rinse in cold water.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the Sherry Shallot Vinaigrette.

3. Toss the pasta together in a large bowl with the dressing and the rest of the ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or store covered in the refrigerator until chilled.

This is North Carolina.

Let me preface this by saying that this may sound ridiculously cliche, but I don’t really care.

Tonight I went to the Old Crow Medicine Show concert at Koka Booth Amphitheater, in Cary, NC. It was a unique tour in that each of the bands played their sets, but members of the other bands would periodically come out for a little jam session. At some points there were 10+ people on stage playing all my favorite instruments — fiddle, steel guitar, harmonica, banjo, guitar, upright bass, etc. It was fabulous. We were in the lawn seats, not in the pit, and were the ONLY ones standing. This made me mad, but I didn’t really care about the people around me. How could you NOT stand and dance to Old Crow and the Felice Brothers and David Rawlings?

I was with some of my favorite people. I took a bite of a delicious NC bbq sandwich with some sweet potato fries and some sweet tea.

I started becoming semi nostalgic about leaving NC in less than a month. So, when the entire crew of musicians started playing Wagon Wheel, I was epically connected. It was a STEAMING hot NC summer night — though it was 10pm it was still 100% humidity and 90 degrees. This should have bothered me, but I embraced it. The words, “if I die in Raleigh, at least I will die free” were that much more poignant in the heat. I felt connected to the band, connected to the sounds, and connected to my state. I love Old Crow, I love North Carolina. I will miss you NC. I will miss you Raleigh!

Seattle Fanatic

I’m flying out to Seattle on September 10. Ahh! I can’t believe it. My dad is flying out with me to help me settle in at my new place. Additionally, we’re planning a Seattle sports extravaganza:

September 12: UW vs. Idaho (football)
September 13: Seattle Seahawks vs. St. Louis Rams (Game 1 of the Season)
September 15: Seattle Mariners vs. Chicago White Sox

Getting my Seattle sports pride started off right! However, the Wolfpack, Panthers, Hurricanes, and Braves will always hold a special place in my heart.

Peachy!

My mom bought a bunch of delicious arugula from Whole Foods, which we didn’t end up eating the other night for dinner (because we had caprise salad and grilled sweet potatoes with maple syrup and green onions YUM). We also had some amazing carolina peaches laying around, and I love how arugula tastes with fruit. I whipped up a peach vinaigrette and topped the arugula with some delicious cheese (made in Chapel Hill, can’t remember what kind) and chunks of peach! Great dinner!

Archives

I finally got them to work!

New WP theme

I’m using a new wp theme. It’s clean, simple. I didn’t edit it a whole lot, just some minor tweaks (I added the stripes).

Giving my boot the BOOT

I went back to the foot doctor today. I got “weight bearing” x-rays, so I was standing with weight on my foot while they took the x-ray. The doctor said everything looked like it was all healed up and I could start weening myself off of the boot! I can start wearing two normal, “supportive” shoes (darnit, no flats or cute sandles yet) for a few hours a day. He said to expect my muscles to hurt from not being used heavily in so long, but I can go SWIMMING and do other activities as my foot gets stronger. Woohoo!

Look mom, no crutches!

I’ve been crutch free for a whole week now, and boy does it feel great! There’s no better feeling than to roam around on your own without everyone knowing you’re coming from a mile away (crutches are LOUD!). It’s great to not have to eat in the kitchen because you can’t take your food to the table. Jasmine will be glad I don’t smack her in the face when I get them out of the back seat. Being on crutches is probably one of the most annoying experiences I’ll ever have, but it certainly makes you appreciate walking.

However, I did realize that crutches have some very good uses:

- You can clean up your dirty clothes from bed. I picked up all my laundry and put it in my hamper with the crutches.
- Turn lights on/off without getting up.
- Keep the bathroom door that doesn’t lock shut at Sammy’s
- Blocking hungry cats from eating/attacking Jasmine
- Dumping water collected on top of the bonnaroo tent
- Killing roaches
- Oh yea, WALKING with a bum foot

The Aircast!

I forgot to mention in my earlier post that the sweet Aircast I have on my broken foot looks to me like a stormtrooper boot:

And yes, I also wear super cool high which socks and ballin’ white sneakers with my boot.

The ever important hair update

If you’re a frequent aimp’er you know that I’m attempting to grow my hair out after having short hair for a really really long time. I can say now that my hair is the longest it’s been since 2000. Nine years! Woah! Long for me equals maybe an inch below my shoulders, an inch and a half if I straighten it. I can also say that I really like this length!

Being crippled has admittedly made me severely neglect my appearance. Those who’ve been kind enough to visit me, especially during my four days of being stuck in a recliner, can attest to that. I’ve been throwing my hair up in a pony tail mostly, so I haven’t taken stock of its length since, well, May 23rd when I first broke my foot. And it’s pretty darn long! And so far I am not tempted to cut it off. We’ll see how I continue during the hot, hot NC summer months. But I am more determined then ever this time! When I do end up cutting my hair though (it’s definitely a when, not an if!) I think I will cut it back to this length. It’s a good balance between short and long.