A coastal exhibit and lemon chicken

Last night, me and two of my friends went to the opening of Abriendo Puertas (Opening Doors). It is an exhibit that is being hosted by El Pueblo, the latino outreach organization and the George Ohr Museum, showing photographs taken by immigrants within the area. The photographs were beautiful, and the stories were touching. I highly recomend visiting. It will be up until October 5. It is located at the USM-Long Beach Library on the Third Floor. Visit here for more information.

On the way home from the exhibit, I decided I wanted roasted chicken. I remember looking at a recipe, for lemon chicken, and remembering that all I needed was chicken and lemons, and I had all the rest of the stuff, so I stopped in the store grabbed lemons and a chicken, and headed home.


This is how easy the recipe was.....
I was on the phone with my best friend gabby.....and I made the whole thing, and popped it into the oven, before I was off the phone.

This was the best smelling thing ever. My house filled with this rich meat smell, and the smell of lemons within 15 minutes of putting it into the oven. This would be a great recipe to cook for guests, because the smell alone will impress them. In addition to the smell, the fact that the simplicity of the recipe renders such a delicious bird makes me think that this is one of the best recipes ever. It beats my Roasted Chicken and Sweet Potatoes.

Because is started it so late, I didnt get to taste it until 10pm, but I stood at my counter and ate the leg and the thigh, dipping it in the juices, and grabbing a roasted onion between bites of chicken. I am so happy I have this for lunch today. Alright so here is the recipe. NOW GO MAKE IT!!!!!!! and be impressed with your cooking skills!

A productive and quiet week so far.

I woke up early today to sketch a bit for a project I am working on. Lucky me, I chose a morning when the storms are brewing. The rain is heavy, and the thunder is rumbling. It is so relaxing and has been very helpful in getting my head in the right place to work. I whipped out 12 sketches, and I figured I should make an update on what I have been up to for the last few days.

Starting monday, my week has been really productive, focusing a lot of my energy on my garden, my home and my work. At work, it seems like many of my projects are either wrapping up or gearing up. I have wrapped up two projects for the most part in the last few days. That has been really nice. I cant really speak too much about those projects, but maybe in time I can share them. I am also working on some of the marketing material for the office, and I have made a bit of progress on that this week, and hope to make some more serious progress throughout the week.

In addition to those projects, the new GCCDS website, something I have been working on for quite a while, will be launched soon. I cannot wait. I will be devoting a lot of this week and next to that effort. I am so ready to have that moving in the path it is right now.

On Monday, I finished laying out my garden, and since then, have been adding more plants, and starting the seeds for the new ones. Gardening is something that makes me so happy. I wish I had the money to really go all out, but it is fun to make do with what I have as well. It also becomes more of an extended project in this way, and not something that I spend a week on then just watch it grow. This way, I get to play in the dirt every few days, and get to have a garden that is growing in many different stages. Oh, I love just thinking about what I am going to do next to my little plot, and think of the nice drink it is getting from this morning storm.

All in all it has been a pretty relaxing beginning of the week. I went out on Tuesday night to play trivia at the Grocery, but only a few folks from our usual team were able to show up, so we decided not to play, and that only added to the relaxing week. I plan on keeping up the relaxing week. Although the activities memorializing the anniversary of Katrina might stir up the end of my week. And maybe I will go on a few adventures, but I would not mind keeping it low key for a little while. I have been going wide open for a while now.

Well, that is about it for now. I am going to go sit on my back porch and read until it is time to go to work.

Oh my garden.... and Dan!

In my last post, I mentioned that my weekend was not over... and that certainly was the case.

On my walk with my Momma on Sunday morning before she left, we were talking about cooking and things that we both enjoy.... and the subject of gardening came up. I had a garden I was pretty proud of when I was living in the camper, and when I moved, i had to let those baby tomatoes, the leafy dark green kale, my peppers, peas, squash that was just starting to make fruit, and my basil patch go to a certain future of an uneaten death. It was sad, very sad. Well, in our walk, we decided that it was time for me to make a garden, i could start with an array of fall veggies, and a few tomato plants, that would hopefully make fruit before it gets cold.

Well, after momma left, I headed for the garden center to buy some edging and some plants and seeds. I started digging up the grass. Once most of the grass was removed, I dug the edges for the border material. I was just beginning to put the border in when one of my best friends from college pulled up into my driveway. After giving him a quick hug, I ran in side, and put on some fresh clothes.

Dan, the same person I went to visit in Chicago not too long ago, is one of my favorite people on this planet. He is so genuine, and so inquisitive. I always have such a brilliant time around him. We jumped on bikes and rode through Ocean Springs. We rode through the harbor, and down to the Yacht Club where we looked at the catamarans and watched folks sailing. While we were there, he mentioned that he really wanted some sea food. I tried to think of a good place to go, but nothing was coming to mind, so I offered to cook him the rest of the Amberjack that I had in my fridge.

We called up one of my friend's that Dan had wanted to spend some time talking to, and I cooked dinner. It was a very relaxed and enjoyable dinner.

Monday, as I was leaving my house, I remembered that I had a half finished garden that needed to be finished that afternoon. It was no burden, but instead, made me a bit excited. I love doing yard work. I love it almost as much as I like cooking.

When I got home from work, I changed into my play clothes, ate a snack and got to it. I finished edging the garden, raked it smooth, and planted the mature plants that I had bought from the garden center.



In the garden right now are full sized tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, thyme, basil and cilantro.



I have seeds for brussels sprouts, kale, turnips and spinach. I will be working on getting those started tonight!

The weekend aint over yet....

but some how it feels like I have had enough fun to satisfy the weekend gods already.

I woke up this morning at around 6 am, listening to the birds and the sounds of my neighborhood. It was the first night I have slept with my windows open in a few months. It was really the first night that was noticably cool enough to do. I didn't really want to get out of bed. But I figured I could enjoy the cool morning outside, so I am sitting out in my screened porch, drinking coffee and enjoying the 70degree morning. It is beautiful out. My dog is at my feet, freshly brushed, and wishing she had a bite of my toast. (i will probably give into this) I hope the rest of my day goes as beautifully.

So far, my weekend has been just perfect. Not rushed, not wild, not action packed...I am not even sunburned but I probably should be.

Momma and Kathy rolled into town Friday around lunch time and we headed to Le Bakery for some Vietnamese poboys. Kathy went to the casino to meet up with her dad and momma took my car and went to the house for a nap.

Around 3:30 Momma picked me up from the office, we ran to the store to get necessities like coffee, dish detergent and a downy ball, dropped it off at the house and headed out. Momma loves this town, and it always seems that I recognize how pleasant it is more when she is here. We went to the Grocery ordered a few beers and sat outside to watch the evening begin in Ocean Springs. Kathy joined us a little while later, and then a few more friends pulled up chairs. It was raining at this point, and it only added to the atmosphere. Thankfully we were under the roof, but a few drops kept finding their way through, and they always seemed to land in one of my friend's glasses. It became almost a running joke. We ended up ordering some hummus and some of the grocery's fresh french fries, and sat there for the rest of the evening. The band came in, and we even sat there for that. It was so relaxing, and it was like the fun just came to us.

We left after we got to hear James play his harps with the band for a song or two, and went home to go to bed.



The next morning, Momma and I finished off the rest of the lasagna tart for breakfast, and went out to put a pic-nick together for our afternoon adventure. We went to the saturday morning farmers market, Fayards, and the grocery store, and had the materials to make a beautiful roast beef sandwich with red hoop cheese, on fresh baked bread and peppers from my momma's friend Al's garden back in Alabama. We packed the cooler full of beer, and our fancy sandwiches, met up with James, and headed out to the island.

The water was flat, and the sky was clear. We spent the day walking the beach, picking up huge scallop shells, trying to windsurf (james was the only one who could do it. but he has been doing stuff like that for years) and we ate our pic-nick. It was such a relaxing day. We got back into the harbor, right as the sun was hitting the horizon. After unpacking the boat, momma and I headed back to the house.

Momma and I went to Shady's and split a steak salad, and then headed to the Julip room but we were both so worn out that we were only good for one drink. The next morning we got up and went for a long walk around my neighborhood before Kathy came to pick her up.

It sounds like I have had a very full weekend, but the crazy thing is, is that it isnt over. I am expecting a visit from a good friend from school, and I think I will start making a garden while I wait for his arrival.

Momma on the Mississippi Gulf Coast!!!!!

My momma,left, and her friend Kathy, right, are coming to the Mississippi Gulf Coast today. Kathy is coming to spend time with her dad for his birthday, and mom is hitching a ride with her to come visit ME! I am excited to spend the weekend with her. Last time she visited, I was moving, and she some how got suckered into helping me, but we didnt get to have the good coastal fun that we normally do. So this weekend, I hope we get to make up for all of that... and have a lot of coastal fun. I plan on taking her to a bunch of restaurants that she hasnt been to yet, including the project lounge for the best burger on the coast, and maybe out on the water if the weather is good, and maybe out to see some good music. Oh, I am so looking forward to it.

The last few nights have been really uneventful but nice. I finally made the second lasagnia tart on wednesday night. Iit was good, but not as good as the first, because I made the dough a little too dry. But other than that it might have been better than the first. I added some more basil, and when I was sauteing the garlic I added a little sherry to it before I dumped the tomatoes in. It gave it a bit of a lighter flavor. It is totally edible, but not perfected. ONE DAY MY LITTLE TART PAN, YOU AND I WILL BE GREAT PARTNERS!!!!!!

Anyways, last night, I went to the gym and straightened up a little in anticipation of my momma's visit. James came over, and we went for a bike ride, and a beer. It was a nice simple relaxing evening, full of good conversation. It was a good ending to a productive day.

no tart tonight

I had planned on making a variation on that lasagna tart I made the other day, but it didnt happen, and I am sure for the best. My friend was supposed to come over and eat with me tonight, but we both have a bunch of stuff that we need to get done around our respective houses, and so we are going to eat the tart another night.

When I got home, I cleaned the kitchen from lunch, and went to the gym for a quick work out. Then I got to makin supper. My head must have been somewhere else, because I had a few mishaps. First, I put the garlic and onions in the olive oil and stated sauteing, but then, for some reason I put the tomatoes in before the onions had even begun to turn translucent. I sucked it up, and went on, adding the oregano, basil, bay leaves, sherry, a little spinach, and a sweet banana pepper that I picked up from the farmers market. I threw in a little sea salt, a little black pepper, topped the pan with a lid, and hoped for the best.

Some times when I make sauces like this, they are not the best thing that I have ever put in my mouth. And, because I didnt even give the onions a chance to cook, I was afraid they were going to be a bit strong.

Before I tell you how the sauce was, I have a side note. I went out side to see this turtle my roommate found, and my eye began to itch, so I rubbed it. Well, apparently I had not washed off my hands enough from that sweet banana pepper, which was not only sweet, but also pretty spicy. Well, I am sure you can guess what happened. It burned like the dickens, but then... it cooled down a little, and it wasnt that bad. It was almost enjoyable. I mean this by really exaggerating the word ALMOST. But it kind of reminded me of two similar feelings that I love. First is putting that alcohol stuff in your ears after you swim. The second is when you get too big of a bite of wasabi, and it burns up your nose. Well it was kind of like that. I am not going to say that from now on, when I am cutting fresh peppers, that I am going to stick my finger in my eye, because that would just be stupid. It hurts too bad. But I will KIND OF look forward to the next time it happens with a not so hot pepper.


Now onto the sauce. It turned out pretty well served on some vermaccelli, topped with some fresh parmesan. I would even serve it to my friends. The onions were not overwhelming, although I am sure it would have been better had they had a chance to brown a little bit.

Alright, off to do a little laundry, and watch a movie, and hopefully go play some trivia with my friends. Good night!

Seducing Dr. Lewis

Last night James and I watched this great little Canadian movie called Seducing Dr. Lewis. It was so refreshing. It was not wild, or violent. It was really funny, but human nature funny, not people being stupid funny. It was also not assholy funny. It was genuine and sincere. I really recommend it. It might be available at your local movie store, but not in Ocean Springs. It is, however, available on Netflix, and Netflix on demand.

Whoopie Pies, Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, and Friends

Yesterday, I got a bit ambitious in the kitchen. I had two separate culinary agendas for the day. Least importantly I needed to use some sweet potatoes that I had bought at the market and were threatening to go bad. I will get to this in a second.

But, my first and most important agenda I had was to make these zucchini whoopie pies. My friend Casie, who shares an uncanny similarity in food taste with me told me about whoopie pies a few months ago. I thought it sounded delicious, but I failed to make any real move to bake them. Well, about a few weeks ago I was browsing the Gourmet website, and I came across a recipe for zucchini whoopie pies .(you can find the recipe here) These were going to be the ones I make, especially in the summer when there is fresh local zucchini everywhere. I kept putting it off, until I heard that Casie was going to be making whoopie pies this weekend. I had to do it this weekend so we could share stories and compare notes on monday.

At the same time that I was scheming on the whoopie pies, my friend James suggested that I cook something up to take over to Ben and Dawn's house for dinner. I needed to use those sweet potatoes, and so the logical supper to cook would be baked chicken and sweet potatoes with a maple syrup glaze. I have made this several times, and I had everything in my kitchen besides the chicken.

I went to the store grabbed a few things, and got to cooking.

At around 5:30, everything was ready, I loaded up the car with the food, all wrapped tightly, picked James up and headed for our friends' house.


We sat out on Ben and Dawn's porch and had a few drinks. I am sure I said it in another post, but just to get the point across, I love their house. I am so jealous of it. It is a great old house, with wood planked walls and a giant front porch shielded from the road by beautiful big green bushes and a tree speckled lawn. We sat out there until we could no longer wait.


We set the table with the sushi plate that Ben and Dawn put together (OMG I CAN EAT SUSHI ANY TIME!!!!!) the Chicken and sweet potatoes and our drinks. We all started loading up our plates. What a delicious dinner it was. The sushi made me incredibly happy, and the chicken, it turned out nice and simple as always. I should say that this chicken recipe is one of the easiest dishes to make, and it always comes off so tasty and it looks pretty impressive. Those are the best recipes ever, no?


We finished our chicken and sushi, everyone feeling full and happy, and I brought out the whoopie pies. Until this point, they had been wrapped up tightly, less they get squished or something. So, no one had seen them, and no one really knew what to expect.
The whoopie pies turned out a bit larger than what was reasonable for one person to eat, so we cut them into smaller portions, and began eating. Goodness, the were delicious. I would so highly recommend making them. It was suprising, because even James talked about them for the rest of the evening, and he doesn't like sweet things. And for as fancy as zucchini whoopie pies look and sound, they were pretty easy to make. I can say it took me about 2 hours to make both dishes and clean up, and have a glass of wine.

After we ate, we returned to the porch, where, in good Zenor fashion(if you know my dad, you know what i am talking about) I laid down on the couch in a complete food coma, half awake, and listened to the conversations only rousing every once in a while to laugh at something funny that was said. It was a beautiful evening.

So today, I have a bit of the icing left, so I am going to make another batch today, after I go to the gym, because god knows I need to work out after just looking at those things.

A new health and a very pleasent evening.

After about four solid days in bed, I feel great. My brain is working and my throat only now tingles, and I have the energy I should.

Yesterday was my first full day back at work, and I was pretty productive. I went to a pleasant meeting, that regards fun work. I have things ready for the follow up meeting. I cleaned up a layout that is ready for input of the final layout, and I worked to finish up a development review (and began creating a template for that document in InDesign which will make it easier for all of us to use in the future reviews)

When I left work, I had a mission. I had received an amazing coupon for the Gap Outlet, and needed to go before it was expired, and did not feel like it until last night. I got many much needed replacements for my tank top collection and a new pair of jeans!

When I got home, I made a bowl of left over Cincinnati Chili. If you are unfamiliar with Cincinnati Chili, you should quickly familiarize your self with it. IT IS AMAZING. Look here for more information. I have been eating it for the last few days. My friend James, originally from that part of Ohio, has several cans on hand at all times, and brought some over for dinner the other night. What a nice man he is to share some of that glory with me.

After filling my belly a little, I went out side, and cleaned my car. I vacuumed it and wiped everything down. Oh, how nice it is to have a clean car.

At the end of the evening I settled down with a High Life Lite, the book Lucky You by Carl Hiaason, and my cell phone, out on the screened porch. I talked with my best friend for an hour, then finished the book. The entire time i had my foot on my dogs belly.

It was both a productive evening, and one that I spent having me time. It was much needed. I know I have spent a lot of me time in the past few days, but I wasnt feeling well enough to enjoy it.

Oh how good it feels to feel good again!

Bike ride, tornado, and the illness that is not swine flu or strep throat.

This weekend started off great. Friday night, I got a phone call from my friend James to see if I wanted to bike around town with him and his friend Ben, and stop and have a few beers along the way. The first thing that you should know is that both Ben and James have motors on their bicycles. I do not. The other thing was that my bike had just suffered a hernia in the back tire a few days before, and it was not fit to ride.

I told James and Ben of my misfortune, and they rounded up a bike for me to use. I met them over at Ben's house, and we sat on the front porch of Ben and his wife Dawn's beautiful house for a spell. I am so jealous of their house. It is an older house, with wood siding, a beautiful front porch, and wood planked walls. They are a bit weary of the repairs that it is needing, but I am so jealous. Ben and Dawn have also built a garage with a small apartment in the back yard which is so cute, and very well thought out.

While we were on the front porch Ben and Dawn's amazingly smart 7 year old daughter and her friend were running around with a big frog that they had caught. The poor frog had had about enough of that adventure but the girls had not. In fact, they were taking donations to buy the frog an $18,000 frog habitat. It was obvious how much they cared for the frog, but their pleading with their parents was not getting them any closer to the amphibious empire. They decided to step it down a notch, and ask all of the folks sitting on the porch for donations to keep the frog alive. I wasn't sure if it was a ransom, or if it was for the benefit of the frog's life but I couldn't refuse, so I emptied my wallet of the change, and put it in their begging hat.

Ben, James and I headed off into the night. We were trying to go to cafe New Orleans, because of course I was hungry, as always, and facing a night like that night, of biking and drinking, I knew it was in my best interest to get something in my stomach. They were closed, so we opted for the nearest place, Sweets. It was nice to go in there again. I havent spent too much time there lately, and it was a good return. All of the regulars were there, and I almost managed to school Ben and James on the pool table I learned on, but I think I got a bit to cocky, and lost my touch after the first 9 ball run.

We continued on to the yacht club, from there. I tried to order food, but their kitchen had already closed. We sat out side on the huge second story wraparound porch with an interesting couple and my roommate Jeff and his girlfriend Sharece, who joined up with us at this point.

James got a call from the Fort Bayou Slim folks and he was on his way to go play. I did not want to ride my bike over HWY 90, and i had not been drinking too much at all, so I grabbed my car and met them at the Julep Room. I was feeling tired at this point,(around 10 pm) maybe because I had been up since 5:30 or maybe because of my impending illness.

I headed home before watching James play what I later found out was one of the best times he had played in a long time. I woke up with a sore throat, but feeling pretty good other than that. I figured it was the smoky bars, and that my throat had grown sensitive in the year since I worked at Sweets. I made a pot of coffee, and James showed up right in time(around 6), to have a cup before we headed to the marina to meet up with Ben and to work on a boat. I wasnt really helping, just watching. It was the first time i had seen them work, and it was pretty neat. They are really good at what they do.

Once they got the propellers on the engines, we went to burger king, got a crosandwich, and I went home and took a nap. I was already feeling a little run down and it was only 9 am. I woke up from that nap and went on another boat fixing adventure. This one was in another marina, further east, and further inland. We got there, and a huge cloud was forming over the ocean spring marina... We watched for waterspouts and out of no where this big cloud touched down. It is not the first tornado I have been in, and technically, I was not in this one, but it was the first one I have ever seen.

James dropped me back off at my house, i crawled back in bed, still denying that i was getting sick, and took another nap.

I woke up, with a big headache, the feeling of fever, and a sore throat i have not had in years. I took some IB profin, and did some work. I had to finish this drawing for a friend that I am helping because they were going to do some work on it this week and were going to be away from their computer for that time. got it done, and crawled back in bed, took some more ibprofin, and went back to sleep.

James called around 7 and i was feeling better, a bit. My throat was still a little sore, but my headache and feverish body was gone. We went and ate dinner. He suggested that we go to the best steak house on the coast. I was excited. I love meat!!!!!

We walked into Cheryl's steakhouse, and it kind of looked like a bbq joint. It is not the type of place that looks like it cooks the best fillet mignon on the coast. I tried not to judge too quickly, and sat down, still excited, because great, or just ok, i love steak.

I ordered my fillet med rare, and it came out a little on the rare side, which i would totally prefer to it coming out a little on the done side. THE STEAK WAS AMAZING. I have never put a steak in my mouth that amazing. It was wonderful. The salad, kind of sucked, the sides, they were typical. The steak was worth it all. If you go, it was a BYOB place, so bring your own bottle of wine. They have openers and glasses. YOU MUST GO!!!!

James wanted to go out and have a few drinks, but I was so tired (still not admitting i was sick) and I tried, but I couldnt hang. I left after a gin-n-tonic that i couldnt even finish.

I woke up sunday morning, knowing i was not going to be doing much.... and sure i had swine flu.

I layed in bed for most of the day, and when i checked my temperature it was at 101. I havent had a fever like since i was in the 5th grade i dont think. I felt so bad. I slept all day, and tried to read, but i couldnt focus on the pages. I slept some more, ate some chicken soup, and slept some more.

I woke up around 7pm, watched some simpsons, and went back to bed. This morning, i woke up to the same thing, but now my throat is really swolen. I went to the doctor this afternoon, and he was sure it was strep, but it was not. He did not tell me what it was but gave me some antibiotics. I am guessing it was not swine flu, or he would have probably freaked out.

I should say that today, I felt a bit better than yesterday, maybe because i am taking a little more ib profin than yesterday. I have been able to read most of the day, and James gave me a good book to occupy my time. It is called Lucky You by Carl Haaison. It is a funny light mystery read. I am about to get back to it.

Patrick Daugherty

My boss introduced me to this artist today. It is this guy named Patrick Daugherty. What beautiful work he does. Check it out his work here.

A Night of Yard Games and Friends

Last night I had folks over to my house for an evening of yard games. Jeff, my roommate, and I have been assembling a nice collection of yard games for the past two months and now have enough fun to satisfy several architects, a landscape architect, and a musician for a night.

It was hot, buggy and threatening rain, but we persevered with beer and freixenet and played bacci and croquet. Also, when you mix sand, croquet and the idea of making obstacles with architects, wacky things begin to happen. If you look below, you can see how the sand and a dwell magazine were used to construct a ramp.

Amberjack Supper

My friend James came into some Amberjack yesterday, and called to see if I wanted to cook it up. Of course!!!!!!!!!!!


I drizzled olive oil and placed two slices of lemon on sheets of parchment paper. I placed the one inch fillets of amberjack on top of the lemon, and covered the fish with a light sauce of sauteed tomatoes, capers and garlic. I threw in a few sprigs of thyme, and tied the parchment envelope with some twine. I repeated this for each of the four servings of fish and placed the little pouches on a baking sheet. I popped them in the oven at 450 for 20 minutes.

I served the fish with some middle eastern inspired aromatic basmatti rice scented with a few cloves, a cinnamon stick, some cardamom, and slivers of ginger. Also on the table was some of the sun and rain bread that I pulled from the freezer and popped in the oven for a hot minute and a basic salad with cucumbers and tomatoes.

There were many drinks on the table. I was drinking a chillean white wine, Jeff was drinking Miller High Life and James and Ben were both drinking Captain and Coke.

We had full intentions of having some fresh Chilton County peaches from my lovely state of Alabama, but we were all too full to somach any more food.

New Gym, and Lasagna Tart

So, I have finally joined a gym. I have been reluctant to do so, because I live in such a beautiful place, that I should be able to get my exercise out side. I still can but now I can add weights into my routine. Plus, It is only $10 a month and it is right down my street. So, tonight was my first night going, and it was a little weird. The gym wasnt. It was nice... but as I walked in and out of the building, I had to go by a big ole table of pizza. They had boxes upon boxes of free pizza. now please let me know if this is not weird to you. It took all I had to not eat it. I hope that isnt how it is every night.


Instead of pizza, I had some extra zucchini in my fridge that needed to be eaten soon, and my momma bought me a tart pan so the Lasagna Tart seemed like an obvious choice when I came across it. I did have to buy a lemon and some ricotta, but everything else I had in my kitchen.
Here is the Recipe. It took a little longer than what I had expected, but it was well worth the work.

I substituted regular ricotta for fat free ricotta, and I am sure the regular would have made the dinner more rich and creamy, but it was still great with the fat free. Also, the fat free was about $1 cheaper than the regular ricotta.

I also had some fresh basil in my fridge that was on its way out, so I threw it in as well, and it was a good move.

I should say that lemon in the crust was well worth it. If you make this, do not skimp on the lemon zest! It complements the tomato and zucchini so well.

I highly recommend this. With the fat free ricotta, and the whole wheat crust, it is a tart to not feel guilty about, and it was soooooo super good! Good thing I liked it. I will be eating it for a few meals in the coming days.

A quick trip to Alabam!

Last week, I decided that I needed to take a trip home and visit some family. I also had a bunch of shrimp in my freezer, and since I was kind of growing tired of shrimp, I thought I would take some home and share it with the non coasters, or north of I-10'ers as we call em down here.

Anyways, we had a beautiful time. Momma and I cooked up the shrimp, made some rice and called some folks up. It was a great time with friends that I havent seen in a while.

Sunday morning, mom and I had french toast made from the left over bread and went shopping. I now have a Tart pan and a pair of grown up pumps.

I left Auburn and headed out to see my brother on my way out. I got to play with my niece for a while. It is amazing how fast she is growing up. She is so smart, and super cute.

I got in to Ocean Springs around 9:30 and hopped in bed. That brings us to this morning, where nothing extraordinary happened other than me vacuuming.