Took Matilda to a preschool classmate's birthday party today, and was gratified (a) to have both his parents corner me and thank me for bringing her because he really, really, really likes her and he'd been pestering both of them about whether or not she'd come to his party (not that he paid any attention to her at the party itself, but apparently he was happy just knowing she was there, and she was the only classmate he'd been really worried about), (b) to see her being about 9,000 times more socially adept than I am at my very best (in that regard, nothing would make me happier than having a child who doesn't resemble me even one tiny bit), and (c) to have another parent corner me to rhapsodize at length about how sweet Matilda is to her toddler daughter.

Matilda ate a metric shitton of strawberries, charmed everyone with the mermaid dress (she also wore it to church and slew the congregation DED), and is now curled up on the couch wearing a hoodie fastened at the neck so she can be Raven while she watches Teen Titans. How much more good could the day get? None. None more good.

No! Wait! I just remembered that there's cabernet fudge from Perkins still in the fridge! Well played, Sunday evening, well played!

so she can be Raven while she watches Teen Titans.

OMG. Her and Emeline are going to RULE. THE. WORLD. Em is having trouble deciding between being Jesse from Toy Story 2 (or our own Cowgirl Jesse - Em just wants a red cowgirl hat), Supergirl, or Robin (if I make it like the 60's tv show costume and can be a skirt).

charmed everyone with the mermaid dress (she also wore it to church and slew the congregation DED)

No way! Excellent.

I'm glad you had such a lovely day with your kid, babe. Those are worth everything.

Oh, that's lovely to hear, JZ.

Vortex, damn. That looks tasty.

And some denim pencil skirts.

shrift, where did you find them? I am on a hunt for the perfect denim pencil skirt.

I ate dinner tonight at the restaurant attached to the hippie grocery Calli mentioned previously. Delish salad, half of which awaits me for tomorrow's lunch, and warm truffle chocolate cake with local vanilla ice cream for dessert. Total nom.

My mom had a little veggie garden in the back corner of the yard when I was a kid. She grew carrots, beans, tomatoes, and rhubarb in a garden about 6 feet square.

I made gluten-free peanut butter cookies tonight. Easiest thing EVER. Peanut butter, sugar, an egg, and baking powder. Roll in sugar, make the fork-tine pattern thing, and bake. And holy crap, are they good!

Next time, I think I'm going to take those wee mini chocolate chips and drop a few on top of the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven, so the chocolate melts on top and then cools down with the cookie. Nom.

wasabi lime dressing.

Vortex, recipe? That sounds so good, and Dan and I both love wasabi. I wonder if salmon would be too delicate a fleshed fish to use it on.

Today I went on a local farm tour with a friend. The nearby hippie coop grocery organizes it every spring, and I think 30 or so farms participate. We were able to get to four. Still, I got to pet an angora bunny and watch baby goats and sheep bounce about. And there was a wine tasting and a bunch of growing things. It was a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Calli, that sounds like so much fun. I wonder if there’s something like that in KC.

Shrift, I am thisclose to getting that green dress. If I didn’t have a shoe order from Zappo’s coming in, I would. That’s a great sale going on till midnight.

Shoes I am getting: I ordered both, to try on, and will keep which ever fits best, as I have no shoes that I can teach my 3 ½ hour classes in, and look professional. I hope I like these best, but these would also be fine.

Suzi, that dress is very similar to my wedding dress, and my dress was silk georgette, and I absolutely loved the feel and flow of the fabric. (So much it apparently left me alliterative!)

Perkins, I like the style of the first dress better.

Walking outside to pluck a mango or a lemon was just awesome.

Le sigh, Amy. Doing that with lemons is kinda a wet dream of mine.

I've made those cookies before Steph. They are nummy. And they also are delicious when made with cashew butter.

Erin, I kind of throw it together, but it's basically

juice and zest of one lime (about 4-5 tablespoons, I think)
6-7 shakes of soy sauce
1 tsp wasabi powder
olive oil (don't know how much, I just drizzle and whisk until I get to the right consistency)

If I wasn't using arugula, I might have used more wasabi, I didn't want to over spice.

Wasabi POWDER. Hmm. I have Wasabi horseradish mustard; that might make an interesting addition to a dressing, if used sparingly.

And who measures amounts for dressing? Thank you, grandma; I have inherited your way with eyeballing amounts.