Hi Omni. If the noodles did not swell in cooking, does not sound like a good brand. Maybe too old. Or maybe not cooked enough. Whole wheat pasta requires longer cooking time. Normally even bargain whole wheat pasta swells.

But part of the problem is whole wheat pasta is denser which has both good and bad points. It absorbs more liquid before it swells which makes it easy to undercook and also tends to use up more flavor just sponging, so that you need more spice and flavorings to get the same flavor strength as with regular pasta. Also whole wheat pasta has a nutty flavor of its own that does not go well with everything. This happens to be my recipe tonight to make a little over six servings:

Six tablespoons lime juice. 4 tablespoons soy sauce. 1 tablespoon honey (would have used molasses but out of molasses). 1 tablespoon sesame oil. 1 tablespoon olive oil. Garlic lots and lots. Cilantro Lots and lots. Ginger lots. White pepper lots. (Would have used black pepper, but one guest has allergy to black but not white pepper - same plant, different part or processing different chemicals composition). Would have use hot pepper but again allergy. Mushrooms, broccoli, mung bean sprouts, onions, sweet basil. Eight oz of whole wheat linguini (sp) cooked in excess liquid from the stir fry then added back to the stir fry. remaining liguid thickened by startch from the noodles makes a good sauce people can add to taste.

The point is not the particular recipe (though it is a good one) but that I'm using strong flavors that are also compatible with the slight "nuttiness" of whole wheat.

I'm making caramels right now. Well, I've made them and they are chilling in the fridge. When they firm up, I will dip them in dark chocolate and sprinkle a little smoked sea salt on top.

When they firm up, I will dip them in dark chocolate and sprinkle a little smoked sea salt on top.

And then I'm teleporting to Vortex's.

in Cajun/Creole cooking, the trinity is celery, onion and bell pepper. In most other forms of cooking it's celery, carrots and onion.

I remember a trinity from when I was listening to New Orleans broadcasting for work, I just thought it was celery, onion, and garlic.

Our house trinity is onion, garlic, then more onion.

I still have jaw pain though. thank goodness for advil.

I think the Advil helps. I just wish I'd remember to take it and then wait twenty minutes to put the guard in because I don't. Also hurts when I take it out. Feels like I am back in orthodontia. Which I hated the first time around but can see the positive effects of, so I am doing it this time too.

I'm making caramels right now. Well, I've made them and they are chilling in the fridge. When they firm up, I will dip them in dark chocolate and sprinkle a little smoked sea salt on top.

That sounds so amazing.

My sister did caramelized brussel sprouts the other night that were totally delicious. I've always liked brussel sprouts but never just wanted to eat ALL of the brussel sprouts. Since I watched her make them, I know how easy they were too. I think I assumed it would be a fiddly recipe that was hard to get right. Wrong. It still freaks me out when she's a really good cook.

Trinity is 2 parts onion to 1 part celery and 1 part green pepper. Garlic, while crucial to most cajun cooking, is not part of the trinity.

Did you make enough to share with the Buffistas class, Vortex? ::is drooling::

Vortex has a lot to answer for.

I can be pacified with 3 pieces.

Mmm, caramels.

So RI came over and is going to do some work. We had rice and beans and exchanged gifts (thank heavens she warned me, I basically pulled hers together when she was on the way) and I made cocoa. She's having hers without bourbon; such is the life of an intern.

Crafting is going okay - I got distracted at a bookstore for a couple of hours today, and was bummed that no one was coming over, but RI saved the evening. I need to take a break and prep for tomorrow.

Knitting is still going slow for me. Will enticed me down to Burlington today. We met and had lunch and then went to the mall so he could look for video game for his youngest and also get some tools at Sears. Then we went over to Barnes & Noble to look at games.

Then over to Best Buy, where he got the game he was looking for and Goodwill to poke around. We bought Sorry (2 bucks! I think it has all the cards) and a Land's End shirt for me ($4! It's a little to big but too pretty to resist) and then I had to drive home in the dark and it was snowing.

I did really well, I didn't have an anxiety attack even though there was a situation at lunch that would have sent me into a tizzy this time last month.

I just got really tired from the sensory overload, I haven't been to Burlington in about a month and haven't even been to some of the usual places I go when the weather's nice. So Tuesday I'm going to the used bookstore, and the library and the yarn shop and maybe Jo Ann's and just get out.