Devi. Of course.

This shouldn't make me laugh, but it is so baltimore:

"Planted in gratitude for the dedicated service of the court clerks of the circuit court for Baltimore City," reads the plaque that has survived a tree only Charlie Brown could love.

"At least his tree had needles on it," said Assistant City Solicitor Robert D. Anbinder. He, too, is among the tide of people who walk past the once-healthy cherry tree. "I can tell you what kind of tree it is now. It's a dead one."

You had me at "stick of butter" truth be told.

"Dump the bag" AND a pint of sour cream!

Almost as good as the buffalo chicken DIP I came across recently -- two of my favorite things all in one, AND with two packages of cream cheese to boot!

Why is my boss back in the office, and does she think we're having our 3:30 meeting?

I think this [link]

Is the recipe my friend uses to make her delicious H'ween treat -- Man Toes.

Butter, sour cream, and potatoes - what's not to like?

Butter, sour cream, and potatoes - what's not to like?

All it's really missing is bacon.

And cilantro.

kids in the US (as opposed to Korea) were actually rating themselves as "excellent" at things like math where they clearly weren't.

Hey! Just like the competent study thingy!

I love that. It makes me laugh and laugh.

I'm not a prank person, usually. But this makes me laugh. Perhaps because I have all intersections filed under "worst case no right of way" and "right of way will be forced at some time" from each angle. Which play into my "cost of route" calculations every trip.

Or would, if it weren't so geeky.

Simplify packing.

My two favourite squash/pumpkin recipes (both from Bittman's The Best Recipes in the World, although the soup is supposed to be with carrots):

Squash soup

3 Tbsp butter or oil
1 onion or 2 shallots, chopped
1 large baking pototo, peeled and grated (or chopped)
1 lb squash, peeled and grated (or chopped)
5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
salt & pepper to taste
sour cream or cream to serve

1. Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion or shallots, potato and squash and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
2. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Puree with an immersion blender or put through a food mill. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Squash pasta (savory version in brackets)

2 Tbsp butter (or oil)
1/4-1/2 tsp crushed dried chilies
1/4 tsp nutmeg (or garlic)
1 tsp sugar (or omit)
1 lb squash, grated or already cooked
1 lb cut pasta
grated parmesan for serving

1. Put pasta water on to boil (salted). Add the pasta when it boils and reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water when you drain it.
2. In a large frying pan, heat the butter or oil. Add the crushed chilis, nutmeg sugar, squash and 1/2 cup of water.
3. Cook, stirring and adding more water occasionally, until the squash is cooked, about 15 minutes.
4. Add the pasta cooking water as needed to thin the sauce and toss with the pasta.
5. Serve topped with parmesan.

I brought the pasta to a potluck, and it was quite popular, although people were surprised at the spiciness.