Monday, March 18, 2024

My Music Monday

Now and then, songs pop into my head from the past. I mean, you know, they can't be from the future, right?

It's not even a song I've heard on the radio or in a store. Just something triggers the thought. 

And for those who know me, sometimes it is difficult for me to get something out of my head. It's a problem now and then. 

This time, the song is "Say You Will" by Foreigner. 

I know a ton of Foreigner songs, but never purchased an album. They had a number of hits and some well played album-oriented rock songs that technically weren't singles. These would span top 40 and rock stations, depending on the song. 

They'd been around since '77, but "Say You Will" would be a decade later. The song is well put together, or so I think. ....and clearly it's been in my head. 


Sunday, March 17, 2024

Drain You

The knee is (was?) still wonky. 

Three weeks (and three days) since my last appointment. Not only were the two identified problems no better, but I acquired a new one. 

In the last 10 days, my knee has been making a horrible cracking noise along with a horrible, albeit brief, pain. 

Wouldn't you know in the day before the appointment, the knee would only now crack one out of every three or four times. I mean, yay, it seemed better, but boo, I wanted them to see / hear it at its worst. 

No worries - it finally acted up at the docs. 

My fear was that the steroid injection of which we discussed wouldn't be given because I didn't think the bone noise was indicative of the other pains. 

This is the reason Blobby doesn't have a medical degree.  Well.......one of the reasons. 

I noticed my knee looked swollen too, but I kept telling myself it was the aftermath of taking off the brace. And other reason I'm not an MD. Or even a DO!  Nope it was swollen. 

The docs (I allowed a resident in the room with my ortho guy) assured me it was swollen and it should be drained - and get the cortisone. Both would give me relief. The doc said there should be about 3ccs of fluid at the knee, and he estimated (vial ultrasound) I had 25. 

When Morty was up, I don't think he noticed (or too nice to say - so, wait, no, that doesn't track.....) how I took the stairs, especially down. Both feet had to go to one step before advancing. 

So, the docs get the ultrasound fired up and put the gel on me. They turn off the lights to show me what the deal was, but honestly, I don't know how anyone really reads any ultrasound. I can't see most of the things they point out. My doc did laugh when I said, "10 fingers, 10 toes?". 

First there was the freezing spray - no big deal. Then the lidocaine, no big deal.....though something nagged at me though I wasn't sure what.  The draining would go first. 

Oh. The. Pain. 

I have a high pain tolerance. And my ortho guy knows it. So, when I said - loudly - "motherfuck!!!!!", he knew I was uncomfortable. 

Immediately, I'm second guessing the resident didn't put the lidocaine in the correct area - the nagging I had came to the forefront. I did ask, "how bad would this be without the anesthetic?" .No one was going to tell me if they fucked up. Maybe they didn't. 

It did not help when he had to squeeze the knee to extricate more liquid. More ouchy. 

I never felt the cortisone shot, so either that worked in the right place, or so much trauma I didn't feel it. Or - and maybe he did everything right and that's how painful the first part as supposed to be. 

I had semi-immediate relief. My knee no longer cracks. Some of pain has subsided. I can walk down stairs on foot in front of the other. But I still have some pain - but it's to be expected. I've done this enough to know it will take a few days or a week to fully kick in. 

No running yesterday - which was to be 14 miles - and maybe up to 5 miles today. We'll see. 

Oh and for the record, the ortho guy to the cc guess down to the drop. 


(stock image. That is what it looked like - just with a much hairier leg in the background. They tossed my actual one before I could get a picture of it.)



Song by: Nirvana

Saturday, March 16, 2024

To Sir with Love

I got no great intro this week.  But really when do I?

Dad #1's boy  I'm not surprised in the least. 

He made the feed. 

The dude is big. 
Yes, we have a chair positioned at a window so he can spend time there.  I hope people walking down the street see him there. 

Warm day. 
I sprang Shep from daycare and we took a walk around a lake. This is the shot I sent 710. 

Lulu LOVES Shep.

She barks at everyone who walks by, except Shep. Her butt wiggles with excitement and we have to go to her, as she is contained with an invisible fence. 

Simon does like to sleep on my ottoman, so I'm not a complete pariah to him. 



Song by: Lulu

Friday, March 15, 2024

Ship of Fools

It was an off day. Meaning, I was off. I felt off. 

I was off. 

I dodged news. I dodged emails and texts when I could. There is a certain group of friends who are exempt from my anti-social behaviour. Everyone else? They'll hear from me when they hear from me. 

We had a double "celebrity" death two days ago:  Eric Carmen (from the Raspberries and solo work) and Karl Wallinger (from the Waterboys).

Carmen was a Cleveland boy. And while it didn't say where he died, he did relocate back here a few years back. Oh, how scandalous it was to have "Go All the Way" on a K-Tel album. Even I knew at a young age that was like kissing or something. 

While one of my sisters had his first solo disk and played it far too often (according to me!), I knew the music but was never a fan. Less so when Celine Dion decided to cover "All By Myself". I mean, good for Eric - because you know that was a bunch of coins. But ick - the cultural stigma for the rest of us. The scordeling. 

I did, however, like the Waterboys. I'd say they had a number of songs - and they did - but few most people might know. The assumed biggest (I did zero research on this) is what I"m featuring below, "Ship of Fools". 

Save me from tomorrow........indeed. 


Thursday, March 14, 2024

Cooking with Blobby

More food prep. And NOT pasta. You can thank me later. I think. 

It is called Crispy Lemon Chicken Cutlets With Salmoriglio Sauce. Yeah, I don't know how that sauce is pronounced either - not that I've given it a try in the first place. 

Now, 710 has an issue with lemon in his food. To a degree we both do - and that is due to my mother. As she aged, her tastebuds weren't all they could be, so when she put lemon in a dish, she put LEMON in a dish. It was overpowering and no one ever said a thing, because.......well..........old woman made dinner for us. 

I thought I had this figured out, but I didn't. It's good, but yeah, the lemon could be cut back and I'll explain where along the way. 

Make no mistake, this is all about the prep. Cooking time is minimal and quick! Like 5 minutes. But zesting and grating and chopping and dredging take some bigger chunk o'time. But for me, it's relaxing in a certain way. 

Mostly, you can clean as you go, but once you start cooking, it's all about that since it goes so quickly. 


INGREDIENTS 

Yield: 4 to 6 servings 

1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4), halved and pounded ¼-inch thick 
Kosher salt 
Pepper 
3 large lemons 
2 eggs, beaten 
½ cup very finely chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley 
1¼ cups bread crumbs 
¼ cup all-purpose flour 
¼ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano 
2 teaspoons dried oregano 
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for frying 
1 garlic clove, minced

PREPARATION 

Step 1 Pat chicken dry, then season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. 

Note: I used chicken cutlets. It's easier than halving and pounding chicken. Even NAMBLA agrees on this. 

Step 2 Zest 1 lemon, reserving the zest for the bread crumbs, then halve the lemon and squeeze all its juice into a medium bowl. Add the eggs to the juice and beat to combine. Add the seasoned chicken and turn to coat. Let rest while you make the sauce and bread crumb mixture. 

Note: Maybe not add the juice to the eggs? Or use less of a half. 


Step 3 Prepare the sauce: In a medium bowl, combine the zest and juice of the remaining 2 lemons; stir in ¼ cup of the parsley. Set aside. 

Note: this is where I might scale back on two entire lemons for the sauce. Maybe one or two for zest one for juice. 




Step 4 Prepare the bread crumbs: In a shallow dish, combine bread crumbs, flour, cheese, oregano and the remaining parsley. Add the reserved lemon zest and, using a fork, press the zest into the bread crumb mixture to combine evenly. 

Step 5 Working one at a time, press each chicken breast into the bread crumb mixture, using your fingers to help thoroughly coat it on both sides; place on a sheet pan. 



Step 6 Heat about ⅓ cup of oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Working in batches, leaving 1 to 2 inches of space between, add 2 to 3 chicken pieces and cook until golden brown, turning once, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle immediately with salt. Repeat with remaining chicken, adding and heating more oil as needed. 



Step 7 While the first batch of chicken is frying, heat ⅓ cup olive oil in a small saucepan on medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, just long enough for the garlic to sizzle but not brown. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. 


Step 8 Once all the chicken is plated, slowly pour the garlic oil into the lemon and parsley mixture and whisk to combine. Before serving, spoon the Salmoriglio sauce liberally over the chicken.


It had moments of too much lemon. You can even see the sauce on the plate. 

We did split another cutlet and did not add any more sauce and it was great. I'd totally do this again - just with a little less lemon. 

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

12 of 12

 So I'm doing my 167th 12 of 12.

Normally it is 12 pictures taken on the 12th of the month. Since I only post once per day, you get my images the following day. All pictures taken with my iPhone. Click images to enlarge, if you choose.

Created by Chad Darnell and picked up from, what I can tell, any number of random bloggers who then link back to him and vice versa. Chad is no longer doing this, nor is successor coordinating the linking of other 12 of 12'ers anymore.

04:39. I still have an hour to sleep!!!  ....but maybe take a peek at 'Connections' in NYT

06:09. Breakfast: Completed

06:41. No Run A.M.  I biked 12 miles for my cardio. I'll run this evening. 

07:14. Stretching the fuck out of my leg. I'm hoping for the ok to get cortisone later this week. 

08:00. Caffeine. 

08:08. I don't know why I love this so. But I do. 

13:05. Lately, I have only been in the mood for a half a sandwich at lunch. 
Trying not to eat just because I can. 

14:46 Starburst Jellybeans.  I pick out the green because they're disgusting. 
Why even have green?  They don't have green Starbursts. 

17:27.  Getting ready for running group. 
5 miles of speed interval training.  Ick!

19:05. Creamer. 
While I waited for a dinner order to be created, I walked to the grocery so 710 would have this for his coffee. 

17:17.  Dinner pick-up. 

20:08.  Waffle treat time. 
Actually, half of a waffle broken into two. He doesn't know. 


Not the most exciting day. I cannot believe I didn't take a pic when Georty came a-callin'. We had a nice visit, as they were in town for part of the day. Time with them was way more important that getting a pic.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

It's Over

Well, THAT'S over! 

Mike's "witty" comments in his selections aside, he wasn't even around for the first half of Oscar night because he was at an actual Oscar party - and I quote - "have been asked to play piano for a "friend" (ok, I added those quotation marks) who is singing one number."

There may have been an audible groan by me at the thought of someone in P-Town speak-"singing" "What Was I Made For", because you just know that was the "number".   ....and that Mike was tinkling the ivories (not a water sports/pachyderm euphemism.....probably) is just precious. And I just know he volunteered more than he was "asked". 

Wow - there are a lot of quotation marks above. All perfectly cromulent. 

Maybe it was due to the time change, but I assumed this thing started at 20:00 as it usually does. It did not. So we missed Jimmy Kimmel's monologue which is usually good, but who knows. I suppose YouTube does. And we missed an award or two, nothing the internet couldn't catch me up on. 

The show? Blah. It seemed so forced, even more so than usual. And really? A standing ovation for the stars of Twins???? I'd get it if both of them were dying. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be. 

Due to Mike's piano recital, he was virtually non-existent in our normal texting back-and-forth for the first half of the show.When he did arrive, it was fun. Maybe that's the sweet spot:  miss the first 30 minutes of the broadcast and only chat for half of it. 

As we went into this, Mike and I diverged in our selections by 11, which is a lot for us....and the same as last year (I just checked).  And like last year, Mike won by one. 

It seems I still let emotion and not logic dictate two choices (more really, but some of those paid off. I was very correct about the best actress........thank you!)  - director and song. Had I just picked one correctly, it would have been a tie.  I stepped up with the animated stuff; he with the screenplays. There was only one category were we both picked incorrectly. 

But from the accounting firm of Dewey, Cheatham & Howe, here are the official results from the 13th Annual Academy Award Guessing Games®

Best Picture - both won 
Best Director -  Mike wins
Best Actress - Blobby wins
Best Actor - both won 
Best Supporting Actress - both won 
Best Supporting Actor - both won 
Cinematography - both won
Editing - both won 
Original Screenplay -Mike wins 
Adapted Screenplay - Mike wins
Production Design - Mike wins 
International Feature - both win
Animated Feature - Blobby wins 
Animated Short - Blobby wins 
Documentary Feature - both won
Documentary Short - both lost
Live-Action Short - both won
Visual Effects - both won
Original Song - Mike wins 
Original Score - Mike wins 
Sound - Blobby wins 
Makeup and Hairstyling - Blobby wins
Costume Design - both won

Mike had 6 wins. I had 5. The rest were tied. I suppose I owe him cookies.....or perhaps some Ozempic. ...whichever is easiest to get and send. 




Song by: Roy Orbison

Monday, March 11, 2024

My Music Monday

With all the Oscar post stuff - pre and soon to be post - I kind of forgot I needed a post for today. 

Clearly I'm giving it no thought whatsoever. Or am I?

I considered putting the winning song up here, but at this point 21:07, I don't know what that is.  And from what I'm seeing - the first three are SO bad. 

The sound mixing wasn't great for Ryan Gosling's number, but it was fun - I don't care WHAT Mike says. 

So what the hell, whether it wins or not, it's Kenough. 


Sunday, March 10, 2024

Guess Again

Here we are, at the 13th Annual Academy Award Guessing Games®. It's like another, different, kind of trip around the sun. One not always pleasant. Usually for me. 

I haven't done an official count over the years, but I'm feeling that Mike has bested me at this more than I him. It irked me because usually I saw more of the movies than he. This might not be the case this year. That dude sat through Scorseses 3+ hr movie. Even I wouldn't do that for a win. 

I have a hunch that Mike's husband sees most of the movies, or fully through, and fills Mike in afterwards. Though I do know we all saw Maestro and we all know how that turned out {shudder!}

We "planned" to see more of the movies o the list, but it just didn't happen. At least not before this telecast. Woulda. Coulda. Shoulda. 

We don't call it a "guessing game" for nothing.  Here we go:


Best Picture American Fiction Anatomy of a Fall Barbie The Holdovers Killers of the Flower Moon Maestro Oppenheimer Past Lives Poor Things The Zone of Interest

I'm not even sure this one is in question. I don't think Barbie would get this had Gerwig been nominated, This could be a go between the Holdovers, Poor Things (for the upset) but most likely the guy who built the bomb, and I'm not talking Bradley Cooper this time - though Maestro was a detonated POS. 

Best Actress in a Leading Role Annette Bening – Nyad Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall Carey Mulligan – Maestro Emma Stone – Poor Things 

Benning?  Nada Nyad! At best that should have been an ABC Tuesday Movie of the Week. Mulligan? Yes she was better than her co-stars, but that's like saying 'she was the nicest member of the Manson Family', but no. It's coming down to Gladstone and Stone. Here's hoping I guessed correctly. 

Best Actor in a Leading Role Bradley Cooper – Maestro Colman Domingo – Rustin Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction

While I'd like it to be Giamatti - and it could be a weird upset - I think Murphy has it in the bag. Cooper can keep on dreaming. He shouldn't have even gotten a nomination. I'm sure Pauley Shore was in something this year that should have him on this list instead.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role Sterling K Brown – American Fiction Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon Robert Downey Jr – Oppenheimer Ryan Gosling – Barbie Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things 

Ruffalo should win all the awards - for just about everything he does. Ok, maybe not Hulk. Ryan, while still adorable, I'm not sure he should even be in this cohort. Not this time. RJD is getting this. 

Best Actress in a Supporting Role Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple America Ferrera – Barbie Jodie Foster – Nyad Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers

No one else in this category has won in other award shows. Ferrera did a fine job and I'm glad she's getting work. Foster was the second best thing in Nyad.  Benning was not the first. 

Best Director Justine Triet – Anatomy of a Fall Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things Jonathan Glazer – The Zone of Interest 

You'd think it'd be Nolan - and it might be - but I'm guessing it's Yorgos.  Yes, this will break from best movie, but I'm sticking with it. Nolan is still paying the price for having me sit through Interstellar. Fucker!

Best Writing (Original Screenplay) Anatomy of a Fall – Justine Triet, Arthur Harari The Holdovers – David Hemingson Maestro – Bradley Cooper, Josh Singer May December – Samy Burch Past Lives – Celine Song

As much as I liked Past Lives and its originality, I think I'm going with the Holdovers. Oddly, I think it will be Anatomy of a Fall that could take me down. ....though Maestro was extremely bad - and that's original. 

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) American Fiction – Cord Jefferson Barbie – Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan Poor Things – Tony McNamara The Zone of Interest – Jonathan Glazer 

I really want Gerwig to get this due to her director snub. And honestly, the female voting body might do just that due to that. That said, I'm going with a WWII upset. 

Best International Feature Film Io Capitano Perfect Days Society of the Snow The Teachers' Lounge The Zone of Interest 

Best Animated Feature Film The Boy and the Heron Elemental Nimona Robot Dreams Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Didn't Spidey win a year or two ago? I'm tired of the webslinger. So. Very. Tired. 

Best Documentary Feature Bobi Wine: The People’s President The Eternal Memory Four Daughters To Kill a Tiger 20 Days in Mariupol 

There is no good follow-up to My Year of Dicks, so if Mike wins, I don't know what t-shirt I'd get him this year. If the one movie here was Blobby Wine, I'd know what he'd be getting......and choosing not to wear. No one wants to wear a shirt from the Ukrainian war.....at least not ironically. 

Best Film Editing Anatomy of a Fall The Holdovers Killers of the Flower Moon Oppenheimer Poor Things

I've seen one of these. One.  ....and it wasn't the one I picked. 

Best Cinematography El Conde Killers of the Flower Moon Maestro Oppenheimer Poor Things 

A colour movie that looks makes you think in black & white. Sepia tones. People eat that shit up. I'm too tired to get yet another dig at Maestro

Best Music (Original Score) American Fiction Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Killers of the Flower Moon Oppenheimer Poor Things

I want Robbie Robertson to get this posthumously. He's scored like 10 movies for Marty, let Robbie get this one. I'm sure John Williams doesn't need another Oscar (I'm assuming he did Indiana Jones). Robertson was partial Native American, I'm guessing he did a great job on this. Of course, it could be bias, but that is exactly what awards shows are. 

Best Music (Original Song) “The Fire Inside” – Flamin’ Hot “I’m Just Ken” – Barbie (Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt) “It Never Went Away” – American Symphony Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People) – Killers of the Flower Moon “What Was I Made For?” – Barbie (Billie Eilish O’Connell, Finneas O’Connell) 

Ellish won last year - and it's not really singing. Moving on. Dua Lipa's "Dance the Night" from Barbie should have been up for this more than "I'm Just Ken". "The Fire Inside" is what I get after eating dinner at Mike's, so, he might pick that.  I don't know IF "Ken" will win, but I want him too - even though Gosling didn't write it. 

Best Sound The Creator Maestro Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Oppenheimer The Zone of Interest 

Oh, I laugh and laugh and laugh at Maestro even getting a nod for this. The sound and mixing were horrible, at best! Cooper's wrist must have carpal tunnel from all the handjobs he had to give to get this nomination. Oppenheimer has no actual Enola Gay bomb-dropping, you gotta believe it would have had great sound. 

Best Visual Effects The Creator Godzilla Minus One Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Napoleon 

Sometimes you just want to root for the big lizard. ....and no, this time I don't mean Mike. Actually, I've heard good things about Godzilla. 

Best Production Design Barbie Killers of the Flower Moon Napoleon Oppenheimer Poor Things 

It was lots of pink and cool Mojo Dojo Casa Houses. 

Best Costume Design Barbie Killers of the Flower Moon Napoleon Oppenheimer Poor Things 

I'm just going by some of the clothes I've seen Ruffalo and Stone wearing. 

Best Makeup and Hairstyling Golda Maestro Oppenheimer Poor Things Society of the Snow 

I see that whomever made Leonard Bernstein's nose got in here. You gotta believe Golda's was better But much like the reason for the above category, I'm going that way. 

Best Animated Short Film Letter to a Pig Ninety-Five Senses Our Uniform Pachyderme War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko 

I'm no fan of John & Yoko's song, but the trailer was gripping to me. More so than the others.  I'm making assumptions Mike will say something about Letter to a Pig and emails that come my way. 

Best Live Action Short Film The After Invincible Night of Fortune Red, White and Blue The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar 

I dunno. It's the only one I saw - and I liked it immensely. And it might be the only way Wes Anderson gets an Oscar. 

Best Documentary Short Film The ABCs of Book Banning The Barber of Little Rock Island in Between The Last Repair Shop Nai Nai and Wai Po

Oh, those crazy Hollywood liberals!


Well, there you have it. I guess we'll all find out on Tuesday to see the results. I think this year we settled on winner getting cookies. Mike can even make it easier and just box up all the Thin Mints he has stored in the guest bedroom. He doesn't even have to bake. 




Song by: Jeff Tweedy

Saturday, March 09, 2024

Rockin' Chair

Dog and Cat day.  Do I need more of an intro?  Je think not. 

Sprung from daycare early - we took a hike. 
Dog on a log. 

Again - I've given up getting him to stop going upward. It's a full-time job.

Bailey: single-handedly keeping the dog toy business thriving. 


Hoagy Catmichael. 

That's what a neighbor has named him (or her?). He (or she?) hangs at John's house, where he has given the cat a heating pad on that chair. Hoagy is nice, but not a fan of Shep. 

Henry !!!!!

It has been forever since I had seen him. I still love him, and him me. 

You'd think the dude on the left was Henry, but it's his brother. Well, same parents, different litter. 
His name is Biden.  But the hound next to him. Heart melts!

One step closer to Spring. 
Shep takes a dip. The non-swimming water dog. 

I had to pee SO badly. 

But I couldn't move. 





Song by: Hoagy Carmichael

Friday, March 08, 2024

App of the Month

The NYT has yet a new game out - in Beta form - to suck more time from me in a day.  

I'm an easy mark. Cleary. 

Strands is the name. 

It is about connecting adjoining letters - in most directions - to form words. Well, words that are four letters and higher. 

BUT - there is an unknown theme to each day and you gots to figger it out. 

On the plus side, you don't get dinged for guessing words that are not in the theme. Actually, do enough words that don't fit and you can have a 'hint'.  Until yesterday, I hadn't used the 'hint' button, but I was struggling. Finding LOTS of words, just not the right ones. And I also needed to try it out for this post. Win-Win? 


Here's the board. I haven't looked carefully day to day to see if it's always 6 across and 8 down, or if it was just for this puzzle. 


You can see I spelled 'LASER'.  While it wasn't in the theme, you can see my 'hint' button is starting to fill up. I'd go on to find probably almost a dozen words - none in the theme - before I tried the 'hint' button. 


Once I saw the hint, I had a pretty good idea of the theme. 


Once I got the 2nd word, I just had to remember what the seven deadly sins were. 


Oh yeah - you use every letter on the board. And there is a Spangram....which is the theme. 
Though they call them Cardinal Sins not Deadly. 


Since you don't get dinged - like in Connections or Wordle, it's as angst provoking to me. But it is Beta, so if it moves forward, who knows if the rules will stay in place. 


If you're looking for the game, you have to be on the NYT site (and have a subscription?). Go to the Games section and menu (three bars in the upper left corner) and scroll down the list of game to find it. 

Have "fun". 

Thursday, March 07, 2024

Cooking with Blobby

More pasta. What can I say? 

For the most part, pasta is easy. And versatile. I'm not saying you can't fuck up pasta, but sometimes one goes out of their way to do it. You've seen it here. 

This one, Peanut Butter Noodles, caught my eye for a few things - the minimal lack of ingredients, the seemingly ease of prep and the fact that it was billed as midnight pasta. 

Now, save for insomnia, it's rare that Blobby sees midnight. Still I get what they mean: drunk and need to eat when you get in. Been there, but honestly, isn't that why Burger King, White Castle and Taco Bell exist?  But I get the need for something to be in your stomach after some time out with the boys. 

Sure sure.......you could also be coming home from working 2nd shift somewhere.  {wink}

So let's see how it goes.....and how I did. 

INGREDIENTS 

Yield: 1 serving (yes, this recipe is for one person only. multiply it as needed for others)
Salt 4 ounces spaghetti or 1 individual package instant ramen (seasoning packet saved for another use) 
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter 
1 tablespoon unsalted butter 
1 tablespoon finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving 
1 teaspoon soy sauce

PREPARATION 




Step 1 Bring a pot of water to a boil (and salt it, if using spaghetti). Cook the noodles according to package instructions. Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water, then drain the noodles and return to the pot. Turn off the heat. 

Can I just say that I loathe how spaghetti is packaged? I find it near impossible to figure out half a box, let alone a quarter of one. Yes, we have a kitchen scale, unfortunately, the batteries were dead. So, Blobby eye-balled. .....and most likely incorrectly. 




Step 2 Add the peanut butter, butter, Parmesan and soy sauce. Vigorously stir the noodles for a minute, adding some reserved cooking water, a tablespoon or two at a time, until the sauce is glossy and clings to the noodles. Season to taste with salt. 

Only now do I see that it asked for 'unsalted butter'.  Ooops. But watch it. Salt is in the pasta water, and the Parm and soy are salty a well. I probably could have done with a tablespoon or two of the pasta water, but while stirring it all seemed fine. Plating it was a little different, but not horribly so. 

The pics look a little cloudy no?  I thought it was the steam or the lighting. No - it was a peanut butter smear on my camera lens. 


Step 3 Top with more cheese, if you’d like, and serve immediately.


Ok, that is a lot of pasta. More than a single serving. At least in my eyes. But it's quite possible I had more than 4 oz of spaghetti. Probable even.

Honestly, I wasn't sure how the Parm would go with peanut butter, but it all worked out. The soy probably helped bridge that. 

As I am 98.2% sure I had more pasta than needed but the "right" amount of the sauce, the peanut flavour wasn't overwhelming or anything. I think it could have used a little more - or I could have used the right amount of spaghetti. 

I did not finish the entire dish. There is enough leftover for two sides, which I plan on using when I make salmon tonight (well.....last night now). I think it will pair nicely, especially if I use some sesame oil when cooking the fish.