Nice to meet you

ABCs

Stolen, with love, from Lindsay

A. Age: 24

B. Bed size: Full. Steven had a queen size bed, but my mattress is more comfortable. And I have a cuter bed frame, which counts.

C. Chore you dislike: While I don't particularly like chores, we tend to take care of them right away so they never wind up being too much work. I don't love doing the dishes, but Steven washes them after dinner, which I am appreciative of. We should probably start using our dishwasher. I don't particularly love vacuuming either.

D. Dogs: I've had one great dog, and one nightmarish dog which equals out to indifference. I like them fine, but cats are so much less work and are usually just as fun.

E. Essential start to your day: Water. A big sip as soon as I wake up.

F. Favorite color: A very specific shade of pale turquoise. I'm also really drawn to purple and brown. Yes, brown.

G. Gold or silver: I don't have much of a preference, and it really depends on the piece of jewelry. I just don't like bright yellow gold.

H. Height: 5’4

I. Instruments you play(ed): Nothing, ever. My brother was the family musician and the rest of us never really tried.

J. Job title: Teacher, unemployed.

K. Kids: None. That would mean getting rid of the second bedroom/library/office/puzzle assembling room, which quite frankly, I am not prepared to do.

L. Live: Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Home of Krispy Kreme, Hanes, RJ Reynolds, BB&T and Wachovia. But let's focus on Krispy Kreme.

M. Mom’s name: Marilyn

N. Nicknames: I'm pretty much a first name only kind of person.

O. Overnight hospital stays: None, thankfully

P. Pet peeves: When anyone ends a sentence with "at," as in "Where did you get that at?" or "Where are you at?" Also, "supposably" "fustrating" and "exspecially"

Q. Quote from a movie: My favorite quotes tend to be the ones that feel like a punch to the stomach with how beautiful or true they are. My most repeated quotes tend to be silly and/or inane things that tickled my fancy when viewing the movie.

R. Righty or lefty: Righty.

S. Siblings: Two older brothers. One younger sister.

T. Time you wake up: One of the benefits of being jobless is waking up whenever! Though I almost always wake up when Steven gets up for work. Unless it's the weekend and then we both sleep in until one of us feels guilty for not having fed Josie yet (it's always me)

U. Underwear: Yes.

V. Vegetables you don’t like: Onions. A thousand times onions. Especially chunks of chewy onions. That is pretty much the only vegetable that I don't enjoy. And yet, onion rings are perfectly acceptable.

W. What makes you run late: Nothing. I am perpetually 5 minutes early.

X. X-rays you’ve had: I'm pretty sure I've only had dental x-rays. Oh! And when I went to the hospital Christmas Day 2004 with chest pains.

Y. Yummy food you make: Hopefully Steven would agree that all the food I make is yummy. I just asked Steven and he said his favorite was probably peppers stuffed with quinoa, corn, and feta cheese. I have to agree. I ate the rest of the filling the next day for lunch and it was still amazing cold.

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup quinoa, rinsed well several times
3 T olive oil
1 bunch scallions, including 2 inches of the greens, thinly sliced into rounds
1 jalapeno, finely diced, seeded (seeding and cleaning it makes it infinitely less spicy)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups, more or less, fresh or frozen corn kernels (from 3 ears of corn)
½ pound spinach leaves
½ cup chopped cilantro
¼ lb feta cheese
4 bell peppers

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add ½ teaspoon salt, then quinoa. Give it a stir, cover, and simmer over low until the grains are tender, about 15 minutes. Warm half of the oil in a wide skillet. Add the scallions and chiles, cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes, then add the garlic, cumin, corn and spinach, along with 2 tablespoons of water. When the spinach is wilted, add the cilantro, quinoa, and feta. Toss everything together, taste for salt, and season with pepper. Slice the peppers in half lengthwise without removing the tops or stems, then cut out the membranes and seeds. Simmer them in salted water until tender to the touch of a knife but not overly soft, 4 to 5 minutes, and remove. Fill them with the quinoa and set them in a large baking dish. Preheat the oven to 400. Drizzle the rest of the oil over the peppers and bake the peppers until heated through, 20 to 30 minutes, then switch the heat to broil and brown the tops. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.


Z. Zoo animal favorites: Otters, owls, anything soft looking