Hello.

Sorry I've been so absent... I seem to get quite busy for someone who should have too much time on their hands... I promise to post more soon! I've been gardening, knitting, dogsitting, show going, painting, tv catching-up-on, puttering, partying, and so on...

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What I do need to tell you is that you NEED to make this show if you're in the (SF) bay area:

Young Americans
Mills College MFA Exhibition
Mills College Art Museum: May 3 - 31, 2009
KQEDondemand video: Stoked Americans

This is where Chris is going to grad school, but he's not in this show (it's this year's graduates). Anyway, it's seriously the best show in the bay right now, and you only have until the 31st to catch it!

The 2nd Annual Mills College MFA Table-Tennis Mac-Off Tournament of Champions Winners!

We won one part!

Last Friday, I won the Mac & Cheese cooking contest for Chris...
(Mine's in the pink casserole)

As you can see, there was some pretty stiff competition:

Not only is that a baked tower of mac, it was also set on fire. That's right. Fire. Every entry was fantastic, though. I pretty much could have eaten all night long. Altogether, I think there were nine entrys, including one plate of bacon. Just bacon. It took fourth place.

Unfortunately, neither Chris nor I were any match for Doug's prowess in both the Table Tennis and Pellet Shooting arenas... Congrats, Doug, on winning Master of Arts!

The lovely and amazing Gina took these pictures... thanks to her for that and the use of her oven for reheating the mac I carted from Sacramento. Speaking of, there were some recipe requests, so I've posted it below... The original recipe came from Kathryn (thanks Kathryn!), but I modified the hizzy out of it. Here's my version:

Serious Mac & Cheese
16 oz. pasta (I like mini penne) - cooked al dente
2 cups cottage cheese (whole) - creamed
8 oz. sour cream (whole)
3 eggs - slightly beaten
1/2 of a whole nutmeg - freshly grated
salt & pepper - to taste
6 cups cheese (I like 1/2 & 1/2 sharp cheddar and
gruyere) - freshly grated*
*I avoid pre-grated cheese in general because
of the extra additives and weird texture...

Preheat your oven to 350°. Mix the cottage cheese, sour cream, eggs, nutmeg, salt & pepper in a large bowl until well blended. Mix in the grated cheese (reserving 1/2 to 1 cup for the topping), then the cooked pasta. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour - until top is nicely browned. Eat, eat, eat.

That's it! You don't even have to make a roux! Yaaaaaay!

Chris and his Smarty Pants.

Chris starts his classes at Mills College today!

Yes, they have co-ed graduate students.

He's studying art (emphasis in Photography) and

is a genius, if I do say so myself.

Wish him luck!

Gifty

Soooo.... Chris made it into grad school, which means we can't spend any money for the next two years... then we'll be paying back loans, so umm, maybe more than two. Anyway, peeps will be receiving handmade goods for awhile:

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Tammi's Birthday Cupcake:

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Kathryn & Doug's Housewarming Present:

The pattern for Lambkins is here.