What's a girl to do?

This morning I completed a chore that I've been putting off for a few weeks.  I shovelled the deck.  More accurately stated, I chipped ice off of the deck.  It was kind of like washing dirty dishes days after they should have been washed.  Procrastination has a nasty sense of humor.

That said, I am still procrastinating the editing of my paper.  I keep telling myself, tomorrow you will finish it.  Then I get a phone call to go fishing.  What's a girl to do? 

That's me on the left.

 

The Great Samoan Hunter needed photos for the Lodge's fishing blog.

 Who knew flying fish lived on the South Fork?

Growing up in Idaho, my dad instilled a healthy fear of wild animals in the hearts and minds of me and my two little sisters.  However, the wild animals we were most afraid of were not the typical lions and tigers and bears one might associate with the wilds of Idaho.  No, we were afraid of beavers and turkeys.  Beavers carried beaver fever, a deadly disease no eight year old with buck teeth wished upon herself, and turkeys grew spikes -- enormous, thorny, angry spikes on the back of their legs that scratch little girls' eyes out.  Not sure those were my dad's exact words, but to this day I am still leery of beavers and turkeys. 

Yesterday I was just about to jump in the shower, and I noticed some movement outside of my bedroom window.   

   

15 man-eating, eyeball-scratching turkeys in my driveway.

Casting fear aside, I snuck outside to catch their photo.

They ran away from me!  That's right, bitches.

My eyes lived to see another day.

So did the turkeys, as Tuli slept through the entire encounter.

Last night with the full moon, we decided to drive over the hill to Victor for a nighttime skate ski. Fortunately for me, we didn't see any turkeys or beavers. 

Before we left, we threw together the fastest, easiest, yummiest meal. This is a great one for anyone who is busy and/or lazy.  These days I fall into the latter category.  You can piece this meal together with any veggies you have on hand.  After our moonlit ski, it was a wonderful treat to come home to a warm meal.

Chicken thighs, potoatoes, asparagus, and tomatoes drizzed with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper and thyme.  Baked at 300 for 2 hours (less time would have been fine, but that was our roundtrip).

Tender, flavorful chicken and veggies.

I have one more super easy, translation lazy, meal for you today.  Somehow all this talk of procrasting has enduced some bizarre blogging efficiency.  Here's a fast, simple, delicious pasta that I made for lunch today. The sauce comes together in the time it takes to cook the noodles. In order to use the Great Samoan Hunter's internet, I bribed him with lunch.

Any shape pasta you like cooked according to the directions, one diced onion, one can green chiles, one small can whole tomatoes, and not pictured oregano, cumin, a handful of cilantro and some feta cheese.

While you bring your salted pasta water to boil, saute the diced onion in a tbs of olive oil. Saute until translucent -- about 3-4 minutes.  Add the chiles and tomatoes.  As the tomatoes simmer, smoosh them with the back of a spoon.  Season with 1/2 tsp each of oregano and cumin.  Simmer the sauce while the noodles cook.

Chop a handful of cilantro.

Throw in the cilantro with a good amount of feta.  Add the cooked pasta (and a little of the cooking water if your sauce is too thick).

Toss it all together and enjoy! 

Even the meat-eating Samoan Hunter enjoyed this lunch.