Lazy Saturday

So, I did something last night that I swore to you I wouldn't do. I made up my own recipe. For a little background, the last time I tried this, Shane took two bites before saying, "I'm making my own dinner." And I really couldn't blame him. It was pretty bad. Not awful, just not tasty. But it was my turn to cook last night, and we didn't have the ingredients for any of my recipes. So I decided to try it again. Here's what I came up with:
Chicken
Couscous
Boullion or chicken stock (to cook the couscous in)
Garlic
Green onions
Carrots
Basil
Dash of Allspice
I can't give you exact amounts, because I didn't use any measuring. About 2-3 halves of chicken breast, all the couscous we had left, 4 carrots, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 bunch of green onions, and basil and allspice to taste. (Not a lot of allspice--a little goes a long way.) This made enough for me and Shane to each have two bowls and Drew (who claims that couscous is "weird") had one. I liked it, but I was so nervous that Shane wouldn't. I asked him about eight times if he was sure he liked it, until he got his second bowl and I relaxed. He'd finish what he had to make me feel better, but he wouldn't take seconds if he didn't really like it.
With my focus on local, I have to talk about one of my favorite local bands. We saw them at the Pub last night. Steve Brown and the Bailers are AWESOME. Especially in a crowded Pub, dancing with your sweetie. Anyway, I really wanted to get some of their music but I hate buying CDs. Who actually uses the CD anymore? It just becomes another Thing in my house. So I figured I'd ask a friend whom I know owns their stuff, and then I'd just pay the band some money next time I saw them. For a lark, I looked on iTunes this morning and, ta-da! So check out Steve Brown and the Bailers. They're wonderful. Only one of their albums is on iTunes, but I'm hoping the second one will be up soon.
This morning for breakfast, I wanted pancakes. So I made this recipe for Zucchini Pancakes. So good! I substituted honey for the sugar. Shane was wary ("Zucchini bread pancakes? All right, but I'm making bacon, too.") but even he liked them. And it's a really good way of getting rid of our frozen, shredded zucchini. We also used the last of our maple syrup. From now on I'm getting birch syrup, our local version. Drew asked, "What's the difference?" My answer: one is made from birch, the other from maple. He rolled his eyes at me. Silly little brothers. The truth is, I've had some birch syrup, but not enough to be able to explain the taste difference.
Today was also a momentous day because it's the first time I've been able to bike this year. Yes, bike! Other than one large patch of ice and a bit of slush, most of the sidewalks were clear. It helps that it's sunny and gorgeous (37 degrees right now--I wore a tank top and light jacket). So I biked to HG Market. I've been so scared of the grain room, but I used the last of our whole wheat flour on the pancakes this morning and made myself go in there. I jammed the grinder on my first try and had to get help. Those guys who work there are so nice. Anyway, my total shopping there was a big jar of local honey ($35!!), 2 lbs of bulgar wheat, carrots, and asparagus! Shane and I both love asparagus, so the fact that it's in season here (at least for greenhouse growers) made me super happy. We'll have that tonight with the only meat I bought today: kebabs. My mouth is already watering.
The market didn't have milk today, or eggs. We've got 2 eggs left and 2 gallons of milk left. (We usually go through about 3 gallons/week.) So I'm sure I'll end up going back soon.
Also, I only have about $67 left of my budget to spend for this week, and we only have 2 meals planned (tonight and tomorrow). This could get rather interesting. I think we'll be raiding the freezer quite a bit and getting creative.