Good evening, Dear Readers:

I’ve got to make this post fast, because I’m fading off. I hope I don’t have any typos. This 2 hour a day commute is wearing me out. Still, I get to go downtown every day.

I worked my paws off getting my week ready this weekend including a little sewing on a suit that is STILL not done, tidied up (including containerizing a lot of thread and things) and ironing on Sunday afternoon. I’m ready.

Longtime readers of this blog may remember an earlier post I wrote about Cupcakes and Capitalism. An update to that story is that I found a perfect example. Remember the new shops in the tunnel I was telling you about? I was lucky enough to have a conversation last week with the other owner (Justin Frazier) of New Addiction Cupcakes in the Tunnel, and he had some interesting things to say. First, he’s a minister–and the shop name means he wants people to leave their addictions behind and become “addicted” to the Word.  I asked, “you don’t mind that I’m a Buddhist, do you?” Nope. Didn’t bother him at all.

His original shop is on the east side of Houston, and while they produce a quality product, he’s in an area of town that doesn’t have a customer base that feels justified in paying $3.50 for a cupcake when they can get them 4 for $3 at Kroger or something. The idea of artisan-made, top quality doesn’t resonate there, and that area of town doesn’t see the difference.

If you’ve ever had a specialty shop cupcake, you KNOW the difference.

One of Justin’s friends suggested he find a storefront in the tunnel, and they opened a couple of weeks ago to raving reviews. Justin said that Nicole and Ivy are his “A” Team, and they really are nice to everyone. New Addictions always seems to have  customers–I’m glad. The Fraziers are also a very small operation, so doing gluten-free is a bit off for now. Understandable, and I wish them all the success they deserve. (First customer review here.)

Now onto me.

This weekend I whipped up a) roast turkey thighs, b) roast pork loin c) cinnamon-hazelnut ice cream, and d) another Heat Cage Kitchen breakfast quiche, or frittata, or mess–whatever you call it. I have food for the week.

When I got to the breakfast thingy, I got this little surprise when I started cracking eggs:

Yes, that’s three little yolks in the space of one. Probably a good thing I bought that egg. Had it been allowed to gestate, it might have gotten a bit crowded in there. But hey, it’s chicks–they probably don’t mind.

I also put up another week’s worth of lettuce. No kidding, the lettuce lasts a week. Just don’t let it get too cold to where it freezes up, or you’ll defeat the purpose of the jar. It gets mushy when it thaws. I love my salad, y’all.

Here’s a totally unnecessary shot of the ice cream in the maker:

It’s a simple recipe with some of that Torani hazelnut flavoring thrown in. Creamy, rich, and no sugar since it’s once again sweetened with Somersweet. (I need to get more.) However, since I use my small fridge-top freezer as a second pantry, the freeze-before-you-use insert is an issue. And since my neighbor was out of town for 4 days, and she only stores a few frozen dinners in hers. . .and I have a key. . .I had her freezer at my disposal for freezing the ice cream thingy! (Yes, she knows. No, she didn’t mind.)

And now for something completely different.

I am happy to announce that I am having. . .a tomato. No kidding, one of the three tomatoes that came on the plant is turning red, ever so slowly:

Just noticed it yesterday. Also, the pepper plants are doing well:

Isn’t that cute?

Since the basil was doing well, I harvested it and some flat-leaf parsley to make pesto:

I wanted to cut them down so they would grow back again, so I can have lots of fresh herbs:

However, I didn’t think I had enough basil, so I supplemented:

And you know what? Half the leaves were black. I was not happy. But I picked off as much green as I could. I did have enough basil for a batch, and into the freezer it went.

Ta da! Freshly made PESTO!!

Let’s see if I can get another batch, or even two, out of the Heat Cage Kitchen garden so I can have it all winter. ‘Cause there’s no way I wanna buy it, that’s for sure.

True story–two years ago, I got caught short for a birthday at work and made a batch of pesto as a birthday present. Gave the recipient a recipe for Pea Pesto Soup with one other thingy, and she was quite happy with it. Dunno if she ever had it again. This is a now-75 yo little Baptist lady who is just a sweetie and is sharp as a tack. She’s got nearly everything, so I figured a little something different was in order. Hey–it worked! I’d do it again, too.

I love pesto, can you tell? I only discovered it about 10 years ago.

I am seriously fading, but wanted to let you know I’m still at it, and still looking for more foodie adventures. But I gotta sleep.

Happy Dining!