When Life Gets in the Way

Am I the only one on earth who realizes that March is the month of birthdays? Every month of the year (besides March), I either know and/or hear of 0-3 people with birthdays. Not March! It's one birthday after another! I have 7 close friends and family born in this month, not to mention a surplus of other people I know of that have birthdays in March. I bet a ton of you have March birthdays, don't you? You can go ahead and admit it! ;)

Well, this brings me to why I haven't been very blog-active the past couple of weeks. I've been very busy planning and preparing for birthdays (lots of cooking, you see) as well as an Easter meal that's coming up. Oh, and not to mention... we set the recording date!!! This means we've been practicing our butts off. We actually decided against going with Sanctum Sound, as fancy as they are, because they were waaaay too expensive. We checked out a couple more places and ended up sealing the deal with New Alliance Studio in Cambridge. The producer is really cool, laid back and most importantly- his main shtick is metal! They also have a mastering studio next door (he's affiliated with New Alliance) that will lower our price for going with NA. So we're pretty pysched. You can expect some updates on that very soon. We'll be recording on April 19 & 20 as well as the 26th and 27th. That'll get a good chunk done. We'll be booking future dates to finish it up very soon.

Lastly, my work company is moving! This means that I'm going into a different department where I won't have access to the internet quite as much. Normally I update and read all of your blogs at work, so it's going to take some time to transfer all that reading and writing to evenings and weekends. But I will! I promise!

In the meantime, I made two V-Con recipes to tide you over!

First: Baked Pumpkin Ziti



Yet another V-Con recipe that's been making the rounds! I knew this was going to come out delicious. And you know what? I actually accidentally used the recipe for tofu ricotti as opposed to the cashew ricotta it called for. Whoops! It was still excellent. It was very reminiscent of my mother's baked macaroni and cheese, so it brought back a lot of nice memories.

The only complaint I have is that the pumpkin flavour was a little weak. I know it was more for a bit of sweetness than pumpkiny-ness, but it failed on both counts. It didn't really matter, though- the bread crumb topping was simple yet delicious! I know I could have eaten them even without the ziti. Definitely a must-make!

Second: Chocolate Chip Waffles (with a dollop of vanilla yogurt)



Three words: OH MY GOD! These were utterly amazing! I would say they were definitely more dessert than breakfast. I'd eat 'em after dinner anytime. The chocolate ooey-gooey goodness was complete heaven. Alas, I cannot take the credit. I was going to make them, but got distracted by my NEW JUICER! (More on that in a moment.) So Mike, impatient as ever, started preparing measurements. Then he ended up mixing the batter. Which, in turn, caused him to actually make the whole recipe. I didn't mind. He did an amazing job. So make these! They are like brownies in waffle form. Mmmm...

Now, for my juicer! I may have to do a whole entry dedicated to this. It is truly wondrous. I have to admit, I was a little scared when I first turned it on. The sound it makes is like a horror movie (maybe it's just my model?), but that didn't stop me from throwing in a TON of spinach. The green liquid looked like something from Dr. Dreadful. Does anyone remember that game? I was scared at first to try it but when I did... well, it wasn't bad! It tasted, um, like spinach. So the next morning I got to making a new juice from my juice and smoothie book.




I forget the name of the drink, but I DO remember what was in it:

Fresh strawberry puree (courtesy of my food processor)
Apple Juice
Carrot Juice (homemade!)

It was very good, even better than the strawberry juice from a week ago! I am so excited to try all the different combinations- fruit and veggie alike! It's unbelievably healthy for you. In fact, I firmly believe that FRESH fruit and veggie juice is the healthiest thing you can put in your body. There are many organic supplements and herbal teas and, of course, whole grains, nuts, seeds, etc... that are vital to a strong, healthy body, but fresh fruit and veggie juice is vital for... well... EVERYTHING! Not only can they prevent degenerative diseases, they can also get rid of cancer cells, viruses and harmful bacterial infections. Among many, many other things. Consider them a vacuum of all harm for your body. Or a destroyer of harm.

Get a juicer and get juicin'!

I promise I will be back with updates on the band recordings, birthday treats I've made as well as the day-to-day yummies. I am going to do my best to get myself up-to-date with your blogs. The office closes at noon today, so I'll do what I can. I really miss reading your posts! But I'll be back. Sometimes life just... gets in the way, ya know? ;)

Oh, and because I know that many of you can probably appreciate this this month: Happy Birthday!!!!!