yummies

Tonight I decided to finally make a couple recipes I've been wanting to try.

First was granola - I've made it before but wanted to try another recipe I found. I added sunflower seeds, almonds, and some mixed dried fruit we had, since Brian doesn't like raisins. I'll probably add cashews next time too (we didn't have any at the time), and use the huge bag of craisins I got at Sam's. It turned out wonderfully! I've been munching on it all night (which you can tell from the picture - bad news). Update: I told Brian that the only bad thing about that recipe is that it didn't last very long. Don't get me wrong, it made a lot of granola. It was just so I good I couldn't stop eating it.

After that, I worked on some naan. At our house, we're completely addicted to hummus (I suppose there are worse things). Usually we eat it with tortilla chips, but I've really been craving the naan/pita bread they serve with it at Mediterranean restaurants. I found a really simple recipe online and figured it was worth a shot. It turned out to be incredibly easy and delicious! :) Update: The naan was tasty but got pretty hard by the next day. Brian said we'd just have to make more and eat it all. ;) The recipe did say you can wrap them in tin foil and put them in the oven for a little bit to warm them up, which actually did soften them up a little, so it worked out ok after all.

Of course, I had to have some homemade hummus to go with the naan. (We have some I bought, but I don't like it as much as the kind I normally get...whoops.) I've never made it before, but I knew it wasn't that hard. My sister-in-law had told me recently that she uses plain low-fat yogurt in place of tahini when she makes hummus, so I just substituted that into my recipe. Definitely a handy trick, since tahini is about $8 for 16 oz, and I got the yogurt for $2 for 32 oz. The recipe made a lot, and it tasted really good. I probably won't use as much lemon juice next time (it's a little strong), and I will add more garlic, but I'm happy with it for now. Update: I've been taking the hummus to work as part of my lunch/dinner. I don't usually like hummus with veggies (weird, I know), but this has been really good with my carrots, cucumbers, and green bell peppers.

Brian and I snacked on the naan and hummus for a while tonight once the naan was done. I'm very full now. :)

don't be fooled

Ohio's weather is kinda weird. It was pretty warm for most of October, November, and December. (Believe me, I'm not complaining.) We've definitely had chilly days with biting wind, but it's been pretty nice for the most part.

Last week, it got very warm for this time of year. We got back from Michigan, and the next 2 or so days (I think) were in the 50s and 60s. My favorite was when it rained and melted all the snow. :)

I think the hardest thing for me to get used to (again) is that the sun can be out but the temp is still below freezing. The other day, I noticed that the sun was bright on the back of our house and decided not to wear a heavy coat as I was taking Brian to work (that's another story...his car is out of commission again for now). Silly Amy. Even though the back doorway was nice and warm, it was definitely cold outside. Same thing happened when we went running yesterday. We started out at the back of the house (I guess I could mention that it's a southern exposure), and Brian had to warn me that it was going to be much colder in the shade. Oh boy - come summer, I will definitely not miss that bitter, cold wind. (It was bad enough that we had to turn and run a different direction to avoid it as much as possible.)

Moral of the story: Don't let the sun fool you.


P.S. It snowed again today. I hope it doesn't last long...