Daylight losing, storing food and a nocturnal friend

First up, Moussa is still with us. She's going slow, but she's still doing her thing and even wanted out to roll in her ball the other night. Thanks for your well wishes and thoughts. While to some she may be just a hamster, she's part of our family, we love her very much and it's going to be hard on us when the time comes.

I haven't had to participate in daylight savings in a few years... and let me just say, it sucks! No more light after 5pm. I know that this is only fair because it stays light out until 10pm in the summer and I love it... but this is a serious change from AZ. It's a good thing I'm so busy for the next few weeks, I don't get too lazy. I have been making some time for casual reading, though, and it's been very nice. I love snuggling up in bed, with flannel sheets and good book.

Now, onto the food. I have been wanting to power cook and make a bunch of meals that we could have in freezer to use for lunches or on nights that I don't feel like cooking or get home late. So I spent Saturday holed up in the kitchen, cooking and baking up a storm.


Zucchini muffins, currently living in the freezer. Lightly sweetened with maple syrup, with some raisins and walnuts in the mix as well.


Banana walnut muffins, my favorites! I couldn't freeze all of these, so I let myself eat one that night as a treat.



Another big batch of Leslie's stew/soup. I accidentally opened a can of pinto beans instead of chick peas, but it still tastes great.


I roasted some bell peppers I got at the farmer's market on Saturday and I really wanted to make some chili, but I didn't have any cans of black beans and I hadn't planned ahead and soaked any. A quick search online and 20 minutes later my lovely pressure cooker made me a batch of them. So good... I love this thing, it really does make my life easier.



Dinner last night: stuffed shells. Again, Michelle influenced me by making some tofu ricotta cheese from the Real Food Daily cookbook. We were just muching on it with pretzel sticks, like a dip, and it was really tasty. So I had to make it. But I over did it with the garlic, to the point where it was a bit hot, so I decided to put it in something. Served with some breaded and lightly fried zucchini.


And we had to have dessert! Brownies with Mint Fudge Stripe So Delicious and some chocolate sauce on top. There is nothing better than brownies and ice cream, I don't think.


We have a new wildlife friend! I hadn't gotten a picture and as I was typing this, Bindhi let out a yelp, which meant that he was back, so I rant to the window to take this picture. I had to use my night setting, which blew out his eyes and makes him look a little creepy, but he's not all. Here's the back story: We put out some whole peanuts for the squirrels a few days ago and later that evening I noticed the cats looking through our patio doors intently. It was too late for squirrels to be out, so I flicked on the light and was startled to see the back end of what appeared to be a cat-sized rat! I called up to Jim to get down here to see, and by that time our little friend had turned around and revealed himself as a possum! This is my first run in with a possum and I had no idea they were even around here! Actually, the North American variety is called an opossum. They are marsupials and are "opportunistic omnivores", which basically means they eat meat when it's available or easy to find. I imagine that in an urban environment they are scavengers much like raccoons. I'm very excited to have another little friend to feed. I'm going to do some research on other kinds of food to see if I can leave out some fruit or veggies for him tomorrow.