I forgot to mention that we finally have an oven! The landlord and the handiman came on Friday and ripped out the lower cabinets and hooked up the new range. The cabinets were not empty because there was no confirming phone call, just a vague thought about Friday. That was a bit annoying, as well as the splicing of the phone cord as they got the range into the kitchen. But the handyman gave us a replacement cord which I have since looped up above the door jams (with some lovely masking tape) so it won't be run over and spliced ever again.
I made pita chips for a thing for Shannon, tuna noodle casserole, and german chocolate cake. The pita chips were just pita cut into wedges, tossed in a bit of olive oil and salt and then toasted in the oven. Sounds simple and meh, right? But in actuality so so good, especially with Shannon's hummus (which she took away for a party, the heartless bastard). We've been getting this olive oil from the coop that comes in wine bottles. It is the kind of olive oil that is worth $12, the kind that makes me forget butter. That is a feat in and of itself.
The tuna noodle casserole is in my mom's style of a simple concoction of noodles, cream of mushroom soup, and tuna spiked with lots of black pepper and parmesan cheese, but with my addition of frozen broccoli and white pepper as well. I am in love with white pepper. There's nothing like waiting for a casserole on an overcast, windy day.
The cake was due to Shannon's bad grandma's habit of giving us non-perishable food items every time we visit. For why, you ask? No reason is ever given, just a bag of food and a stack of the local Colfax Mingo papers. She's getting crazier and crazier. We were last there in October and in the last batch was a Hy-vee german chocolate cake mix. I like making cakes from scratch but I also like mixes. This one had a recipe for the frosting on the side so I decided it was perfect for the new oven bake-apalooza. The homemade frosting was easy to make and has great flavor. I forget how awesome pecans are sometimes.
Tonight is going to be all about homemade pizza. I've got sausage, mushrooms and lots of mozzarella awaiting me. There's also pistachios and filo dough begging to be made into baklava. There is a pumpkin pie in line, right behind some blueberry muffins/coffee cake (not sure which yet).
