Happy Leap Day!

Aren't these just the cutest cupcakes you've seen in a long time?  A lady I work with made a big batch of these and brought them in to share.  The eyes are marshmallows.  They are much cuter in person than this pictures shows!

A Vegetarian Sandwich

My motto could easily be, "she who dies with the most recipes wins!"  Many of you have heard of my "legendary" cookbook collection as well as the many binders of recipes I've found here and there.


I have a lot of recipes that I make often.  But I am always in search of something new.  Although I will never give up meat. . . are you kdding?. . . give me a nice cut of meat and my smoker and I can create a masterpiece. . . I do eat a lot of vegetarian meals.  I can remember, back in the day, when vegetarian meals were boring - sticks and pebbles, actually.  Those days are long gone.


Recently I did a search online for vegetarian sandwiches.  Wow!  I found some real winners!  Here is one.  It is a chickpea salad sandwich.  This is similar to making tuna salad.  There are many ways you can make it.  Here is how I did it:


2 cups dried garbanzo beans
chopped red bell pepper
pumpkin seeds
about a rounded tablespoon of mayo
about a rounded teaspoon of Dijon mustard
juice of one lime
1 to 2 teaspoons of dill seed
salt and pepper to taste


Soak and cook the garbanzo beans.  Rinse in a colander.


Mash the beans, leaving a handful whole.  Combine all the other ingredients and stir well.


Chill until ready to serve.  Use a nice whole wheat or artisan type bread for the sandwiches.


I found that I prefer my sandwich warm, so I put it in the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds.


Enjoy!

You may as well laugh at it. . .

Chaos. . . that is the word that comes to mind when I think of the commute in to work this morning.  I had a commitment at work today so I couldn't just stay home.


Although I only live a mile from work (in a straight line), it was very treacherous driving on roads that were not plowed and then pulling into a parking lot that had not been plowed.  One of our secretaries e-mailed me about 45 minutes ago that she was leaving work and going home.  Just now she called me.  She parks in the same parking lot as I do.  That lot is plowed, but there is the part from the plows that piles up in front of the cars.  And between cars, the snow is building up.  In other words, it's going to be a mess just trying to get inside my car when I do go home!


So far, this winter has been very mild in Rochester.  Now we are catching up for lost time!


Even in the worst storms, if the roads are plowed and salted, you can get where you need to go.  That definitely was not the case this morning.

If you don't like Rochester's weather. . .

hang around a bit, it will change!  That is an old Rochester proverb that is so true.

We have had a very mild winter this year, for which I was very grateful.  Just this weekend, I was out running around in a shirt jacket and regular shoes and was very comfortable. . . My snowblower has not been used on my driveway this winter. . . I was actually feeling sorry for Bailey because, in her first winter, she has not experienced the fun of running in deep snow. . . There have been winters, where I had to dig a path in my backyard for my dogs to go potty.

Yes, I pay attention to the weather forecasts, well most of the time.  This morning, I decided to wear a skirt and top.  THAT was a mistake!  By the time I walked from the parking lot into my building, I wasn't sure my legs were still there. . . they were frozen!

This weekend the temps are forecast to be in the single numbers.  I can almost bet there will be school closings tomorrow due to the frigid temperatures.

But this is mid-February and Spring is not far off!  I'm very much looking forward to my annual trek South to my cousins reunion (this is number 8!) and this year there is a wedding to go to in addition to the reunion!

A new avocado dip recipe

Our group at work had a Super Bowl party this week.  I love these events.  People bring in their very best recipes.  I brought in deviled eggs. . . is there anyone that doesn't like deviled eggs?

One lady brought in the most wonderful avocado dip.  Not only is it probably one of the best dips you've ever had, it is also nutritious!

4 ripe avocados
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon each:  garlic powder, onion powder, salt
2 limes juiced

Mash the avocados.  Add the sour cream and stir well.  Add remaining ingredients and combine well.  Adjust the ingredients to your taste.

Cover the surface with plastic wrap and chill till ready to serve.

And on another note, you may have noticed I haven't posted on my blog as much as usual these last months.  There is a reason for that and her name is Bailey!  Yes, having two Labs in the house, especially when one is a rambunctious puppy, is a handful.  Just today I noticed she is bigger than Morgan.  Morgan is 3, well, 3 1/2!  Bailey is 8 months and still growing.

It's a constant battle with dog hair, dust, breaking up (playful) fights, and now that there is no snow, keeping the tracked in mud at bay.  Oh, and there is Bailey's love of grabbing the end of the toilet paper roll and taking off through the house in the blink of an eye. But I wouldn't trade these two dogs for a spotless house and less work, or anything else for that matter.  If you spend the time with proper training, to my way of thinking, the Labrador Retriever is the most wonderful dog in the world.