Say yes to the dressing.

Today was a lazy day. After a long run where I melted my eyebrows off, I shoveled down some food and looked forward to a leisurely afternoon. School starts back in a couple of weeks and I’m taking advantage of any spare time. I know that teacher stress will kick in soon enough. What am I doing with all these hours?

Kitchen experiments of course.

(and maybe some obsessive Tastespotting and Foodgawker email checking. I kinda like seeing the acceptance emails for my pictures. So far, TS has shown more love, but FG has surprised me lately)

I’ve baked pies, done every imaginable thing that’s legal in all 50 states to a tomato, drooled over desserts that I don’t need to bake…like Ina Garten’s Brownie Pie and random pick-a-flavor cupcakes. Sigh. So much sugar, so little healthy pancreas left.

I’ve also been playing around with dressings. Not just for salads, but also for the numerous combinations of proteins, veggies, and grains that I love to throw together. These are various tastes of a basic vinaigrette. I love the way one ingredient can change the whole dish.

For lunch, I cut up some pork loin, added some red beans, and lots of veggies. Then I made the vinaigrette.

• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon prepared Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage

Combine, shake, pour over pork and vegetables.

After lunch, it was time to work on a recipe book project.

Frankie helped.

Countdown to school starting……no idea. I’m sure I’ll figure it out when my principal sends me a text asking if I’m going to come get my room ready. 😉