No argument from me...

I made the moss photo from my parent's trip to Japan my desktop image.

It is just so blooming AWESOME!  I notice so much more in the photo being the desktop image, such as the boat moored across the river.  Oh, how I wish I were the one standing on the moss taking the photo.  I might never have left, though.......

When I cook, I use my own recipe blog, since my rememberer is rather broken.  When making the Black Bean Soup with Roasted Bell Peppers, I realized that the changes I made last time that kicked it up to the stratosphere of deliciousness did not make it into the actual directions.  So, I corrected the recipe.

When you cook with puréed onions because of a texture issue, this is how your dishes start.  That is the olive oil, butter, onions, garlic, and spices simmering.

And then your stock/water base looks like this!

I decided to add the dried cilantro and the Ancho Chile Pepper that I recently acquired to the soup, figuring I couldn't go wrong with a tiny bit more tweaking.  I cannot taste a significant difference, so I think that I needed to add more of each.  Right now, the recipe has the proportions I used.  I think I need to at least double what I used, if not triple.  Maybe just double the pepper but use more of the cilantro. I do have that ginormous fear of cilantro that I have to battle in trying to learn to cook with it...

The changes I made last time still have this at a very high level of tastiness.  I actually find myself a bit impressed eating it!

Amos, by the way, has been bugging me about writing on his blog more.  I cut his nails, so helping me type would be easier.  And then I added the follow-by-email feature to his blog for those who care about his thoughts.  Back when I started it, Amos had far, far more hits on his blog than mine. I feel sort of guilty for losing his fans.

Poor puppy dog.
He leads such a rough life.

Something that I forgot to celebrate was my water bill victory last month.  Given that water here is not economical (the total for a "low" month went up ~30% in the four and a half years I've lived here), I have been working to lower my bill.  Years ago, Becky lovingly shamed me into learning to brush my teeth without the water running.  However, I refuse to hand wash dishes in a bowl or sink of soapy food water.  So, I still wash dishes with running water.

This is the faucet I chose when I renovated the kitchen.  I wanted a faucet that fit with the age of the house.  It is technically called a "bridge" faucet.  It is a knock-off of a knock-off.  At first, after salivating over the original line (from England), I chose a knock-off.  Then, I got sensible and found a knock-off of a knock-off.  In other words, my faucet is literally 1/10th the price of the original line.

It is a Belle Foret and is ALL metal, including the hose that is on the sprayer.  I just love, love, love this faucet.  It is heavy and sturdy and beautiful and absolutely everything I wanted in a faucet.  However, the water flow is incredibly strong.  Really, you just have to slightly move the levers to get a significant flow going.  Since I am so used to just opening the faucet full force, I waste water at the kitchen faucet.

How do I know this?
I spent a month with a sticky note reminding me to only turn the handle part way.
I saved ~$7 off my water bill (15% of the bill)!

My goal is to permanently retrain myself, as I did with teeth brushing, to use the faucets only partway open ... to save water in the kitchen.

In making the black bean soup, I used the last of my stock.  So, I made some more.  Mostly, I made some more because I have been keeping vegetable scraps in the freezer and had all I needed on hand. That salt, pepper, bay leaves, some seasoning, and a stick of butter.  After all, Martha Stewart says you absolutely cannot make vegetable stock without a bit of fat in it to help carry the flavor.

Who am I to argue with Martha Stewart?????