*taps dust off of microphone*

apologies for the lack of content here as of late. i had every intention of writing something last night, but then i wound up having a nosebleed that, i swear, lasted for at least an hour and by the time i was able to get back online, all i wanted to do was watch penguin cam until i fell asleep.

anyway - i have at least three blog ideas on my to-do list and hopefully i'll get to at least one of them w/in the next week or so. for now, though, i'm going to continue battling whatever illness decided to invade my body this week. whee.

thank you easter bunny!

remember when i had all of the rage on valentine's day? not so much today, b/c i got a totally unexpected and wonderful easter basket! there's chocolate, which, as we well know, everyone loves. and a mini-pedicure set. and a pocket/travel sized hairbrush and mirror. and...a walgreens gift card! now i can go buy more chocolate toiletries w/o having to spend what little cash i have. oh, and a card reminding me not to throw in the proverbial towel. yay! thanks, easter bunny!

in case you're wondering - yes, i know who actually gave me this kick-ass basket and they've been thanked in-person already. i just wanted to share some of the happy with y'all, ok? i have snickers eggs and cadbury caramel eggs and it is taking all i have not to pull a cookie monster and nom the unholy fuck out of all of them right now. seriously. they're right next to my laptop and they're looking at me as if they're shocked to still be intact and in their packaging and oh god i'm totally gonna eat these before i go to bed tonight. no. i will eat some other chocolate that's in my stash and save these until tomorrow at least. yes. that is what i will do.

in other news...does anyone else remember the tom & jerry easter cartoon? i thought of it this morning, specifically the duck wishing any and everyone a happy easter, and then i found this on youtube and all is temporarily well with the world. :-)

1Q2012: a look back

ok, so i haven't been able to cross anything off of my list of things that will be back in my life this year as of yet. it's gonna happen, though.

if my numbers are correct, then i applied for 360 jobs during the first quarter of 2012. there's been some interviews in there, too, but i don't have those numbers readily accesible at the moment. i also read 23 books during 1Q2012, all from the library. i've been able to spend some weekends in the city, hanging out with some of y'all, and that's been great. i've tried out a few new recipes (go back through the old posts for those if you want), and please don't ask me how many new recipes i've saved, b/c i honestly don't know.

i feel like i'm missing some details here, but it could also be because i'm tired and my brain is starting to slow down a bit for the evening. you get the point, though. i hope. maybe.

recipe review: garlic string beans

my m.o. for trying side dish recipes these days goes something like this:

--figure out what vegetable(s) are on hand
--go through the recipe folder on my hard drive to see what looks interesting and wouldn't clash with the main dish i have planned
--figure out if i have all the ingredients for a recipe or, if i don't, if i'd be ok skipping or substituting it
--jot down directions so i don't have to bring my laptop into the kitchen

so when i realized we had green beans, i started looking for ideas that wouldn't clash with the baked chicken i had planned. enter this recipe (no, not the scallops; scroll down for the side dish directions). i used a tablespoon of minced garlic b/c that's what was on hand, and i let the beans cook for a little longer than directed b/c i was working with slightly more than a pound of them and figured they could use a couple more minutes. would i make them again? absolutely.

recipe review: slow-baked salmon with lemon and thyme

i picked up some salmon during this weekend's grocery store outing b/c i was in the mood for seafood and the salmon was only a dollar more per pound than the tilapia, so why not, right? but then i realized last night that i hadn't quite decided how i was going to prepare it for tonight's dinner. lucky for me that i have a good dozen or so salmon recipes saved on my hard drive, and this was one i hadn't tried out yet. i knew i wanted something simple, and i was intrigued by this slow-baking concept, so i went with it.

i used about a teaspoon of dried thyme instead of fresh, b/c buying fresh herbs that i know will go to waste just doesn't make sense to me when i have dried herbs on hand. i didn't serve it with lemon wedges b/c i only had one lemon and i needed that for the lemon zest. the salmon fillets i had were a bit on the thick side, so i cooked them for 18 minutes and then turned the pan around and let them cook for another 5 minutes. end result? nom. would make again. i thought about adding oregano but didn't go through with it - maybe next time.