Results of Friday's Dinner Poll

fraunahgooyen: Thanks for stopping by! Unfortunately, I despise sushi and most other forms of seafood.

elisandra: I believe you were playing the "What did Terri forget to bring to work with her today" game instead.

mschryste: Oooh! You win! I did some tweaking to it though to make it a little healthier.

mahdi: Considering Boo's barely a mouthful and Kita has no meat on her bones, you would have ended up short one cat in order for me to have a full meal.

serenica69: Shelving for a later date.

duncan_blkthrne: See below recipe. I took an family favorite my mom used to make and tried to make it a little friendlier.

zevblue: Sounds yummy except for the shrimp part!


So, what did I eat (and serve to khanfused, my unsuspecting dinner guest)? This is probably the only recipe I carry in my head. It's something that was made a lot in our house when I was a kid. I don't usually measure anything for it, so here's the closest I can get.


SEVEN LEAGUE PIZZA BURGER

1 loaf french bread, sliced in half lengthwise

Topping:
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1 small can tomato paste
1 small can sliced olives
Apx 1/2 can creamed corn (don't ask)
2-3 handfuls grated parmesan, romano or asiago cheese
At least 3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
Lots of basil
A litle oregano
Some thyme
Crushed red pepper (as much or as little as you want)

Final touches:
6-10 slices tomato
6-10 slices cheese - Tradition calls for those individually wrapped American cheese food slices, but tradition also doesn't include most of the above listed seasonings (those who have heard tales of my mom's cooking will understand), or the ground turkey option, so feel free to experiment. I used Swiss. Provolone would also work well.



Directions
Mix the topping ingredients all together in a big bowl, then spread over the French bread halves. Broil until the meat is cooked, then top with alternating slices of tomatoes and cheese. Put back under broiler until cheese melts. Slice and serve.


It's also good cold. I have a slice with me for lunch today.

October

It's October 4 and that can only mean one thing. Only 27 days until NaNoWriMo 2004 begins. I've been debating over the last few months whether or not I was going to do it again, and still am not convinced that I'm doing it, but I updated my registration and I'm throwing details and ideas around in my head for where to take my story.

Which means, I probably will do it. It's a hell of a time committment, but I know I can manage it. Wish I had managed to score a laptop before now, but there's always the old fashioned pen and paper option for when I'm on the go. Or the "mooch someone else's laptop for an evening" option. That worked once last year (thanks darkmoon!).

Not sure about my mental state though. Last year, I blew through it with flying colors while being horribly depressed. This year, I'm happy. I've been mostly consistently happy for about 7 months. I also haven't written much of anything in 7 months. I hope there's not a connection there, because I have no desire to go down in history as one of those writers who wallowed in misery, drank themselves to death, and produced great masterpieces in the meantime.


And on a completely unrelated subject, it's a bitch trying to concentrate on work when all you want to do is go home and play Civilization: call to Power. I knew I shouldn't have reinstalled that game. I'm frighteningly addicted.