4:19 PM

Leftover fiesta salad



















Some days I have an uncanny ability to make something out of nothing. And today that extended to the kitchen. I think the ability to re-make leftovers comes from those days when the budget was tighter...student days when brocoli with a processed cheese slice was pretty darned good dinner.

It's been really warm here and my desire to cook has gone the way of my mojo. I pulled this salad together from a hodge podge in the fridge and it turned out really well:

1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1 can corn drained
1/3 red onion chopped
1 red pepper chopped (1/2 if it's a large pepper)
cilantro chopped - I love cilantro so used about 1/4 of the bunch
2 tbsp jarred jalapeno pepper finely chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper
2-3 tbsp of canola oil
2 tbsp lime juice

Toss it all together and crumble feta on top if you like. The measurements are not exact since I'm not generally very exact when cooking so go to your taste.

It's a pretty salad and I think it would work well as a take along to a potluck or bbq. For me, it just tastes good and didn't require heating up my kitchen!

11:05 AM

Women and heat

What is it with women and heat? There are all kinds of expressions and concepts that revolve around women and heat, "slaving over a hot stove", "she's a hot babe" or what a "hottie", there's the concept of "being in heat" and then of course later in life we get to enjoy "hot flashes". And the witch in the Wizard of Oz cries out "I'm melting!!!" as she expires.

One of my favorite women is quoted as saying "Women are like tea bags. They don't know how strong they are until they get into hot water." (It's Eleanor Roosevelt in case you wondered.)

Or until the weather is hot for days and the need to haul up the 70lb or so air conditioner from the basement overcomes their disbelief that they can carry it from the laundry/storage room, up 14 stairs, across the dining room and get it in the window.

Last year this resulted in an air conditioner casualty - the air conditioner came from a closet upstairs but sadly jumped out the front window. So far today, this smaller cousin air conditioner seems happily perched on the shelf constructed to dissuade jumping.

30 degrees here today...and no lake or pool...but at least a chance now of not feeling like I am starting hot flashes a little early.

1:19 PM

My sleep in is broken!

When I was a teenager it drove my mother crazy that I could sleep until 2 in the afternoon (or later). And once I was in my 20s that was how I recovered from late nights when I got the chance. I could sleep through pretty much everything too - including the lawn mower being run under my window.


In fact, I can't remember a time when I couldn't sleep in.

Until now.

I don't know if it's because when I'm being smart I recognize that I need 8 hrs a night and do my best to get it so that I'm not perpetually sleep deprived. And that means I don't need to sleep in until noon on the weekends? Because I can't.

And I want to...I love sleep! But the harder I try, the more my body revolts. Sometimes I can convince myself to fall back asleep for an hour but then my back starts to ache. And if I try to push it beyond that I get a headache.

It's really not fair.

But I'm fighting back. I've discovered the afternoon nap. Which is almost as great as sleeping in.