Chalupa Helper™

Top one corn tortilla with 1/3 - 1/2 of a gluten-free vegan MRE, Chao cheese alternative, fresh chopped greens, onions, and jalapeños. Heat in covered frying pan until Chao is melted. Serve with salsa.

The Mixing Mug

1. Layer ingredients in a 32-oz beer mug.
2. Mix with a submersible blender.

Recipe for "Quick-ish black-bean hummus":

• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4 cup peanut oil
• 1/2 can black beans, drained
• 1/2 onion, oven-roasted
• 1/2 red bell pepper, oven-roasted
• 1 jalapeno, oven-roasted
• 2 cloves garlic, oven-roasted
• 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1/2 cup fresh basil & thyme, chopped

Serve with oven-roasted red potatoes & oven-roasted sweet potatoes.

Dog Food Lifehack

Chica awaits this morning's dog food.

If you've ever asked, "Haven't I fed you already?" -- this is for you!

• Dixie paper bowls:
  ~$0.10/feeding =
  ~$0.20/day =
  ~$6.00/month.
• Use a large permanent marker to label each paper bowl with dates & A(M) or P(M) for each daily feeding.

Best Shopping List Ever

I handed a savvy GNC clerk the image above, and she gathered the requisite products in a fraction of the time I usually take -- lovely!

Spicy Mango Dressing

Spicy mango dressing served with oven-roasted potato wedges and mushrooms, and fresh tomatoes.

Ingredients Makes about 1 cup.
• 1 green onion, chopped
• ~ 1/3 mango, chopped
• ~ 1/2 tomato, chopped
• 1 jalapeño, chopped and oven-roasted
• 1 New Mexico chile, chopped and oven-roasted
• 3-4 small bunches, cilantro, chopped leaves and stems
• 1/2 teaspoon, salt
• 1 tablespoon, olive oil

1. Layer ingredients.
   (I use a 21oz french working glass; my old Braun immersion blender fits to its bottom.)
   
2. Mix with immersion blender, ~5 minutes.
   (Note my splatter-shield hack: a hole cut into a large yogurt lid.)

(# - tag) + Brownie

Infused Gluten-Free Caffeinated Gingerbread Brownies
A packaged-mix hack for the complicated palate.

Whisk 4 eggs in a large mixing bowl. (2 will do.)

Heat the following in a small saucepan, while constantly stirring:

• 1/2 cup, peanut oil
• 2 tablespoons, Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk
• 1 tablespoon, dried cannabis flowers (needs more!)
• 1 teaspoon, crushed red pepper
• 1 heaping teaspoon, Cafe Bustelo Instant Espresso
• 2 teaspoons, St Dalfour Chocolate Sauce
• 1 teaspoon, fresh grated ginger (needs more?)

Remove from heat when bubbly around the edge.

Cover saucepan; allow oil mixture to cool.

Add cooled oil mixture to eggs, and mix well.

Stir in one package, King Arthur Gluten-Free Brownie Mix. (no XanthanGum, yay! btw, ~$2 less at Walmart.)

Stir in 1/2 cup, semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Stir in Bob's Coconut Flour until a thick batter consistency.

Pour batter into greased 9x9 glass baking dish.

Bake at 325° for 50 minutes.

Serve hot or chilled, topped with Organic Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk.

Improvised Table

Cantilevered glass tabletop for an impromptu breakfast nook.

• 24" round glass tabletop
• 29" wood saddle-back barstool
• 2 8" C-clamps (I've since replaced the C-clamps with these bar clamps.)
• black rubber shelf liner
• 2 furniture slides as clamp pads

This improvisation is working so well as a desk-height table next to a platform bed, that I'm thinking of it as a "sketch of a prototype".


Image from laptop camera on improvised BreakfastNook table.

(A still from upcoming vlog series Topper, episode "madamePiranha's Bruschetta", we hope. ;>) [See Vimeo-to-HBO TV series High Maintenance, S1.] )


Set of TheBreakfastNook.


Please share a bowl with us.... let'sSesh!

Sun Block for Renters

Above: An Emergency Survival Blanket has been temporarily attached to a casement window, as viewed from outside.



As viewed from inside, the Emergency Survival Blanket is partially transparent.



One half of an Emergency Survival Blanket (about $2 for a 47" x 84" blanket) was temporarily applied to a 3' x 4' window. Best-Test One Coat rubber cement was brushed around each pane, and allowed to dry. Once the silver-blanket film was adhered to the One Coat, excess film was cut off using a single-edge razor blade.