Greys

Max likes to hang out on our kitchen chairs. She actually likes to sit on the seat and chew on the bottom of the table, so we rarely have our chairs pushed in. She was playing on the seat of the chair a few days ago, when Stella flew over, perched on the top of the chair, and started threatening Max. You can kind of see Max leaning away from her. I moved Stella to a more appropriate perch after taking this picture.
Inspired by some of the cooking blogs I've been browsing lately, I've decided to do more cooking and baking. I'm also trying to turn cleaning into one of my hobbies, like knitting or reading. That has not yet happened.

My absolute favorite cookbook is called How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. Every single thing we've made from here has been absolutely delicious, and the title is not deceiving -- just try to think of something vegetarian that's not in here. Want to make your own ketchup? Check! Thirty different kinds of veggie burgers? Check! Plus, he writes in an easy style with lots of explanation for those of us who are not great cooks, yet without being condescending. I can not say enough good things about this book!

When Thomas was on call last time, I decided to make Double Chocolate Bars as a surprise for him when he got home. The recipe called them a mix between brownies, fudge, and cookies. They were, not surprisingly, delicious (and I don't really like chocolate). Since the parrots can't eat chocolate, it's driving them nuts when we eat some.
Thanks to Max, I'll always be able to quickly find the page on which this recipe resides: Thomas got a little angry with me on the phone yesterday, so I surprised him by having a two-course meal ready for him. Both recipes from this book, of course! I made beet crisps as the starter and a roasted eggplant dish. I did take pictures, but they didn't turn out well. Maybe next time!

The parrots loved the beet crisps, and all of them had bright purple droppings this morning.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! My taper is in full effect so I'll be running 14 miles this weekend. I'm expecting great weather! We're also planning on going to an apple orchard and winery -- this may disgust the purists out there, but I can't wait to try some apple wine!