It Was a Dark and Stormy Day....Part 2

Just to really get my point across, I decided to take a few pictures of the gloominess outside.

View from my office (Little Italy)

View pt. 2 (This is the San Diego Bay)

I just walked out to the main room, snapped a few pictures, and walked back to my office. My co-workers think I'm crazy.

I guess it's not soooo gloomy, but it is getting darker by the moment. And the sun is definitely nowhere to be seen. Sighhhhhh.

P.S. I am working, I'm on a conference call that I'm minimally involved in (just have to be present). Thank goodness for bluetooth!

It Was a Dark and Stormy Day....

Lest you think I'm joking when I say I like a lot of mustard in my vinaigrettes...

Mustardy

Yesterday's concoction was a variation on a theme. Instead of using regular dijon mustard, I opted for dijon with horseradish. I also added some sliced green onions. It was "kicky." I LOVED it.

All mixed up, it went perfectly with my mixed veggie salad. (Still not digging the dark green leafy stuff...so weird) I also had some spaghetti and garlic bread that Adam slaved away making. Yum.

Eat your veggies!

I know I'm not the first to notice this, but how much does cut cauliflower resemble a brain?

Cauliflower braaaaaain

Anyone? Anyone at all? Am I crazy? That's cool....

And lastly, because I'm trying to "pull myself together" (thanks Dianne), I've committed to wearing makeup and wearing semi-nice clothes to work from now on.

Awkward Bathroom Shot

Extreme Close Up!

It's raining today in San Diego. Not loving that. But I am enjoying the way the water looks so dark gray and choppy. It's very dramatic. And I love dramatic ;)

It's supposed to rain through Saturday. I had hoped to make it a beach weekend. We'll see. Keep your fingers crossed! In the meantime, I'm going to cozy up with my coffee and hunker down and get some work done. Although I really wish I was at home, bundled up on the couch watching girly movies. Oh well...

That was it?

All week long, we here in San Diego had been hearing about how we were going to be getting a horrible, storm-of-the-century, storm on Friday. Seriously, there were news specials about it. (And I thought Arizona was bad about rain). So Friday finally came around, and I was in full-comfort/hibernation mode for the weekend. Food-wise this meant pizza or CHOWDAH!

I've been wanting to try this recipe (via this blog) for a few weeks and tonight was the perfect excuse to give it a whirl. It was cheap, easy, filling and tasty. Perfect.

Unfortunately, I went to Henry's to get the supplies I didn't have and I was bummed to find out they didn't have creamed corn. Thank goodness for the iphone, in a second I was looking up creamed corn alternatives and I was good to go. (I really didn't want to go to another store for one stupid can of corn!)

After consulting a few different recipes, this is what I ended up doing:

Creamed Corn

Ingredients:

• 1 can corn
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 cup milk (I used skim)
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Sprinkle the flour in and mix so that the two are completely incorporated.
2. Start adding the milk slowly and stir so that the flour/butter mixture is fully mixed in. 
3. Add the corn. Cook until the mixture starts simmering. 
4. Add salt/pepper.  

 It was extremely easy, and only added about 10 minutes to my chowder cook time.

 

Creamed corn minus the can!

As for the chowder? Oh my gosh. Make this now. I ended up doubling the amount of crab they called for, used dried thyme, and added extra garlic (duh) and onions. Other than that, followed the recipe and was very happy with the results. Word to the wise-don't over do the parsley. A little goes a long way! Yes, learned that the hard way...

Red pepper flakes make everything taste better :)

Tino totally approved.

 

I'm smiling because it smells delicious!

Oh yah, and the rain? Meh. Totally overblown.