Sufferin' Succotash!

I recently happened upon a vegan food blog and saw a recipe for "late summer succotash" from the Vegetarian Times which looked delicious. For those of you who don't know, I have been inching my way towards being a vegetarian, but it's hard with the no-wheat and little-to-no-soy thing, which rules out quite a bit of wheat-based meat alternatives like seitan, and also tofu, soy sauce, and such. I eat at Spiral Diner whenever I get a chance (thank goodness they are coming to Dallas soon) and love the fact that they use all organic produce and recycle as much as they can and all that stuff. So right now I am an ovo-pescatarian, meaning that I am a vegetarian but eat eggs (cage-free and organic eggs) and fish. Basically I don't eat anything with legs and am not eating/drinking bovine fairy but I have not excluded goat dairy. It's complicated. Most vegetarians would laugh at me and say that I'm not really a vegetarian, which is true, but I have given up a lot since January and it feels like a huge step to me.

Anyway, I emailed the recipe to Carly and was like "we should make this sometime!" And on Monday I just happened to be at Target getting groceries and things before going to Whole Foods to complete the day's list, and lo and behold I get a text from Carly asking what I was up to, which surprised me considering she was supposed to be at work. Turns out she was home from work and I just happened to be at the SuperTarget just down the street from her place. So I ran over there and we decided to make the succotash that afternoon which was quite handy since I had to go to Whole Foods anyway. We were able to find everything there except for lima beans, which we substituted edamame for.

Everything in the kitchen went well, except that the onion won in the onion-vs-Hollis'-sensitive-eyes contest. (The next day I was watching Martha Stewart and she said to burn a candle close to an onion when you chop it and the candle will burn off the onion fumes. I tried it today and it works like magic.) Our Late Summer Succotash was divine if I do say so myself. The tomatoes really made it, and I don't normally like tomatoes.

Up next: Metaphysical Quandary Green Bean Salad

Recipe here

proof we really cooked and didn't steal the above pic:




So on Sunday and Monday I got to cross 2 things off my summer to-do list and one thing off my lifetime to-do list. Hoorah! Feels pretty awesome. Next up is learning how to change my own oil. I'll keep you posted on that one.

At the Drive-In (a.k.a. Galaxy night)

Four friends and I finally stopped talking about it and went to the Galaxy Drive-In Theater in Ennis, TX this past Sunday. I got to cross "go to a drive-in" off my summer to-do list. It's only about 20/25 minutes South of me, which is closer than much worse options like Studio Movie Grill. It rocked my socks off. Well, I wasn't wearing socks to start with, but you get my drift. They have 4 screens, each showing a different double-feature, and it is always just $6 per person! AND they have Dippin' Dots, the "ice cream of the future" (but somehow available today)! Since the movie studios take most of their box office profits, they rely on the concession stand for their main profit, so don't eat before you go. It is very affordable (think cheesy fries and a coke for $3.50). This is my new favorite thing to do in DFW for sure, so let me know if you want to go on a Sunday or Monday! We saw the double feature Simpsons/Transformers.

During the ten minute "intermission" they show old fashioned ads and graphics and stuff, so it's cool that they have kept up the vintage flair and didn't try to modernize it. they still have the metal speakers that you can hang on your window, and you will probably need to use your car radio (the sound broadcasts over different frequencies for different screens) to hear well, but we didn't have a problem with this wearing down the car battery.

Here are some things to remember about the drive-in:
- CASH ONLY!
- Um, they have Dippin' Dots now - how awesome is that?
- Bring plenty of bugspray and chairs/blankets
- If you get there after dark don't forget basic drive-in etiquette, such as turning off your lights ASAP and driving slowly through the aisles.










After the movies were over we headed a bit further into Ennis on a small road and pulled into a field to watch the meteor shower, and I finally saw shooting stars (I had never seen one before...yes, really, never). I must've seen about 10 at least. i don't have any pics of this so you will have to take my word for it. This concluded our "Galaxy Night."

whevever i start feeling alone in this world...

...i just remember the mosquitoes, and their never ending love (for my flesh and blood).