Monday, October 11, 2010

Mums and broiled tomatoes

Happy Monday! I hope that you all had a great weekend and are recharged for the new week. I had a pretty slow Sunday. My friends bailed on me yesterday so I didn't end up going to the Appleumpkin festival. I would have gone by myself but seems how gas jumped up to $3.00/gallon I decided to not spend the money to drive that far by myself. After church I decided to check out some of the local places that had seasonal attractions. At one such place I bought a potted mum. I love mums but I have never been very good at keeping potted flowers, or any plants for that matter, alive. Anyway, I've been reading up on how to care for mums online so hopefully I'll be able to keep it thriving. When I got home I transplanted it right away, along with another plant that needed to be repot. Other than making a big mess on my patio I rather enjoyed playing in the dirt!

After playing farmer Nicole I contemplated working out but I was actually pretty sore in the legs from my workout on Saturday so I gave myself the day off. So I settled myself down with a glass of water and watched some football. I caught the 2nd half of the Lions' slaughter of the Rams and the 1st half of the Cowboys vs. the Titans. I have been eating really well but I haven't done any serious cooking in the last week so last night I thought I would. I made garlic-herb pork chops, scalloped corn and broiled tomatoes. It was excellent. I've seen recipes for broiled tomatoes in cookbooks hundreds of times and I've never tried them before. OMG...they were great! Yes, I just OMG'd you! Not only was dinner last night yummy, I have leftovers!


I haven't read anything new in a while so I haven't had much to share. However, I have recently started working on Bram Stoker's Dracula, I figured it's a very appropriate read for the current season. I just hope I can finish it by Halloween. It's very interesting so far but it's been hard to get a good pace going. So far it's all been written as journal entries (I think the whole thing might by written in this fashion)and it's all been about Jonathan Harker's initial stay at the Count's castle in Transylvania. The dialect doesn't lend itself to quick reading. I sometimes have to read a sentence two or three times just to make sure I'm getting it right. It's funny how word reversal can change perception and comprehension so much. Anyway, I'm really enjoying it and I hope to be able to give you a real review before Halloween!

Alright, I think that's about it. Have a great day and week!

3 comments:

project.100.gone said...

The idea of broiled tomatoes somewhat appeals to me...I should give them a shot even though I'm the only one that would eat them. Jon is allergic to tomatoes and I know Gavin would probably decline from trying them.

I have never read Dracula so you'll need to give a full review when you finish. I'm going to blog about my recent reading adventures so I won't say much about them now.

Nicole said...

The tomatoes were super easy. All I did was cut them in half and core them. I put about 1/8 c. of mozzorella cheese but you could probably use feta or cheddar (you like feta, right)? Then I topped them with some breadcrumbs with some salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Dizzle a little olive oil and broil for about 4 minutes and they're done. I think if you used feta you could drizzle a little balsamic vinegar too...that would be tasty!

LeAnn said...

My weekend was indeed good, but it feels funny talking about last weekend when it's already Thursday. That sucks about your Appleumpkin festival. I have had plenty of people bail on me throughout the years; it just plain blows.

I think I'm missing the green thumb gene. I've tried to be a gardener, but it's just not worked out. I'll probably continue to attempt to be a gardener or plant-lover, but it's definitely not my passion. Jason's mom is quite the gardener and she likes to talk about it and work on it, which makes it hard for me to be part of the conversation.

Your broiled tomatoes sound interesting. I'm going to flag the recipe. Jason is not a lover of tomatoes, so it'd be just me.

I've never read Dracula. Your comment on accents reminds me of other period classics like Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, etc. The language and or dialect can challenge the reader. The language in The Picture of Dorian Gray slowed me a bit too. So, it's definitely a valid point. I'm curious on your opinion of the book too. Jenny really gets into Halloween, so I think reading a book like Dracula for the season is a good idea. It sounds like something Jenny would do.

Thanks for the share.