Brain currently booting in Safe Mode

Okay. Rant time.

I want to make a cake, which is no big deal. Instead of carrot, I will use beets because I have more beets than carrots and they make a delicious substitute. I also have some pears to use up before they go bad in the bottom of my fridge.

So. A beet and pear cake, likely spiced with cinnamon and ginger and clove. Good autumnal cake.

I have a recipe that is my go-to for carrot cake. I decide to look online for beet cake recipes. THEN, being uninspired, I hit up my cookbooks for carrot cakes, knowing that I can substitute beets.

I noticed something that I found really REALLY disturbing: the stupid amount of oil in each of these cakes. My go-to lists 2/3c for an 8x8 or 9x9 cake. I've cut that back to 1/2c, because I've found it too greasy. If I double it, it's only 1 cup for a 9x13/bundt cake, which seems totally reasonable to me. Most of these other recipes? TWO FRIGGEN CUPS OF OIL for a layer/9x13/bundt cake size.

That is way WAY too much. Yuck.

Making something for dinner that is part one recipe and part another. I'm calling it Sausage Noodle Casserole. Yes, that's a riff on the classic Tuna Noodle, but also takes some cues from another recipe I make occasionally, called Witches' Brew (that's not an exact recipe, but it's close enough to the one I use).

I'm recording it here in case I need to find it again or someone else needs a filling meal that uses mostly cupboard stables.

Ingredients:

500g sausage of choice, casings removed (beef would be nice, too!)

750g elbow macaroni (it was the entire package, which makes my life so much easier)

two onions, chopped

one bell pepper - I have orange on hand, so that's what I used

1 to 1 1/2c frozen peas

1 to 1 1/2c frozen corn

1 to 1 1/2c frozen green beans

1 796mL tin diced tomatoes

1 284mL tin condensed tomato soup

1 to 2c shredded cheese

garlic powder to taste

soy sauce (optional)

salt, pepper to taste

pinch sugar (optional)

buttered bread crumbs to top (I flavoured mine with oregano and more garlic powder)

Okay. First off, this makes A LOT. A lot more than the 9x13 I was planning on putting it in. I needed to put about a third of it into a 7x11 and had plenty of breadcrumbs for both. Next time, 500g of pasta should be plenty. I didn't really measure the spices, nor the veg. Mostly I just put in what I thought was 'sufficient'. Which is why I made so much.

I'm currently baking it in a 375 degree F oven for about 35 minutes, then letting it rest for 10. I also never cook my pasta until it's done, as once it goes in the oven for a while, it gets overdone and I'm not a fan (your mileage, etc). I'm also thinking that next time, I find a way to melt the cheese into a sauce or at the very least, not be surprised when it does that weird coating/lumping thing when you just dump it in and stir. Or use something that won't do that like a processed American cheese.

I'll try to remember to update this post (or add a comment) about what it actually tasted like.

I made some soup for lunch and it was tasty. Because it used stuff out of pantry (and things are kind of crazy still), I thought I would put it here in case anyone else wanted to make it.

Tomato Coconut Soup

• 2 cans condensed tomato soup
  
• 1 can coconut milk
  
• 2 soup cans water (or stock - I'm not the boss of you)
  
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
  
• salt and pepper to taste

To this base, I added about 3 c cooked rice (leftover from Sunday's dinner) and some frozen corn.

Because it's pretty much out of cans, stir thoroughly, heat and serve. I think I'm going to get three substantial bowls out of it and it will likely taste better tomorrow. Is it gourmet? Welp, the red and white soup labels say no. Is it quick and simple and filling? Yes. It took longer to eat than it did to make and my tummy is full of soupy goodness. Plus, it's fairly inexpensive, given the ingredients, which is important at times like this.

I was intrigued by the idea, but every recipe I could find was either A) Full of Meat or B) Not Terribly Interesting. So I put some things together and came up with a ridiculously tasty meal that was A) Tasty and B) Tasty.

Tasty Chili Cheesy Pasta

Ingredients:

• 450g pasta (I used large shells and they were perfect. Scoobi Do would also be awesome.)
  
• 1 796mL can diced tomatoes
  
• 1 540mL can red kidney beans
  
• 1 540mL can chickpeas (don't like chickpeas? Use black beans instead.)
  
• 1 398mL can baked beans
  
• 2 medium cooking onions, diced
  
• 1 bell pepper (colour of your choice), chopped
  
• 10 cremini mushrooms, sliced (Cremini mushrooms are baby portabellas.)
  
• 4 cloves garlic
  
• 2 tsp chili powder
  
• 1 tsp thyme
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• grated cheese

1) Make pasta according to package directions.
2) While waiting for the water to boil/pasta to cook, sauté onions and mushrooms together.
3) Add garlic, spices, and bell pepper.
4) Drain and rinse kidney beans and chickpeas. Add to vegetables.
5) Mix in tomatoes and baked beans. Salt and pepper how you like (I do find that tinned tomatoes need a LOT of salt to balance the flavours) and let simmer together until the pasta's done.
5) Drain pasta and mix everything together in one big pot. Cover and let stand for 5-10 minutes.
6) Dish up and add cheese to everyone's portion.
7) EAT.

It's good and it's cheap AND it's meatless, which is awesome, since I didn't find the meal lacking in anyway. You can add cheese to the pot, put a lid on it, then serve it after the cheese is melty, but I did that last night and while it works for that night, it kind of sucks for leftovers.

Notes to Self:

-Natural peanut butter is perfect for nanaimo bars. It helps to cut the cloying sweetness of all that icing sugar.

-Must do yoga tonight. I've been lax about keeping up with my exercise routine (keeping up, that's funny...I can even get it *established*!) and I need to stick with it.

-Hmmm. Should get stuff together to finish the Super Secret LARP Project. I still have time before the next game, but I don't want to be rushing around 5 minutes before I have to leave trying to get it done.

-Open the rest of the windows. For some reason that I cannot fathom, someone has turned the furnace on (?) and it's bloody hot in here already. I'm contemplating sabotaging the switch so it can't be turned on again once it's off until the switch is fixed. Problem: I'm not comfortable enough fooling around with it. Damn. It seems like the only real way to get the furnace to stay off.

-Bathe the baby at some point today. She's due.

-If possible, clip the cats' claws. I just had a gander at Franklin's and they're a bit on the long side.

Wow. That's quite a list. I should get right on that, then. :)