Things* Diana Likes

I can almost do an entire Monday puzzle. I rock!

I finally made them! I used my mom’s old recipe from when I was in elementary school, and I decorated them with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles, M&M’s, etc etc. Now I have enough dough in the freezer for perhaps 3 dozen more cookies- good thing I have hungry classmates. The cookies below were my first batch, and yes, they sort of look like they were made by an overly ambitious 4-year-old, although I really was trying my best to make them look professional.

Ixodes scapularis seeks lizard for long term (up to 72 hr) partnership. Lyme and Ehrlichia negative, currently small but hoping to get bigger with your help. Can offer witty banter and companionship to the right lizard. Dogs also considered

I went running one morning this week and I saw- no, beheld- what has to be the single most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen. I was running along the river, which was wide and flat and quiet in the early morning air. There was a layer of fog blanketing the river, obscuring the trunks of the skeletal trees on the far bank. The trees are tall and old, and their branches reached up out of the fog, higher and higher, above the tops of the mountains in the distance. A few leaves were clinging to the tallest branches, making little clusters of black dots against the blue-to-peach sky. A few trees had no leaves at all, only large, crooked arterial branches. Beyond the trees, the mountains hid the rising sun, but the sky above them was soft pink and orange, with a few horizontal clouds catching the early morning light. Far above my head was a bright crescent moon against the fading night sky. It was spectacular.

I am always astonished to hear people say they don’t like British food. Somehow, British food has acquired a reputation it most certainly does not deserve. One of the things I miss the most about the UK is the food- hearty winter vegetables, sausages, potatoes, onions. Last night I made one of my all-time favorite British dishes, Cottage Pie, for some friends.

Cottage Pie is the same thing as Shephard’s pie, only it uses beef instead of lamb or mutton. It’s sort of like a cassarole- it’s meat and veggies and sauce/gravy on the bottom, and mashed potatoes on the top, all baked in the oven until the potatoes are crispy and brown. It’s beautiful in its simplicity and a perfect dish for the cold season. I threw in some pumpkin (of course) and topped it with Worcestershire sauce and black pepper, and I was happily satisfied with the result. I love food.

This made me laugh.