Today I fell in love.

...with Orangette. I was meandering around Barnes and Noble today and came across the blogger's book, sat down and started reading. Before I knew it, it was 6:00 and my poor husband had been waiting for me an additional two hours longer than I intended to come home with a smoothie, most likely the only thing he would have been able to keep down since he came home sick with the stomach flu or the like today. I am in love with her writing and was instantly sucked in. Yet another inspiring book on my must-read list.

Inspiration

This book is one of the most beautiful additions I've made to my home library, ever. It's chock-full of creative inspiration and makes you feel good about wanting to do nothing but sit around at home and knit, or sew, or bake, or garden, and that it's not wrong or degrading to women to want to do these things, it's a lost art. I LOVE IT. Mom would be proud.

We close on our house this afternoon! As of this weekend, I will finally have my own kitchen where I can get my cook on, and a craft room where I can read, write, sew, knit, and collect snippets of inspiration for future projects. Then Elska Aprons may actually launch one of these days. Score!

Update: As it turns out, we did not close on the house this afternoon. The bank wants to do a three-day review of the documents, so now it won't be until next Tuesday. A week late. This is indeed a frustrating process. All I can say is that I hope all the putting off of the paperwork resulted in the lower interest rate we were told we could get.

Friday's Find: Beer-Glazed Black Beans and a PHENOMENAL Vegetarian Cookbook!

I know I'm a couple of days early, but I literally couldn't contain my excitement for another second. There are no words to describe my everlasting love for my shiny, green new vegetarian cookbook- and let me tell you, does it ever live up to its name. How to Cook Everything Vegetarian is almost 1,000 pages long, chock full of every little piece of advice for cooks ranging from novice (me) to pro (me someday in the distant future... hopefully). He answers questions like: What is quinoa? How do you choose a good onion at the store? What in the world do you do with leeks anyway?

My first dish- well, actually, it was a side for an impromptu quesadilla recipe I made up with zucchini, diced tomatoes and onions, and the ever-important cheese- was Beer-Glazed Black Beans. This was very exciting to me for three reasons: 1. I love cooking with beans because they are a good source of protein; 2. Um this recipe calls for beer. Of course that's the first thing I'm going to try out from this book. 3. I still have no idea what to do with tofu yet.

These beans were a vegetarian's answer to old-fashioned maple baked beans. They were sweet and hearty and complete with onion and garlic (because everyone knows that NOTHING is complete without onion and garlic). We used Sam Adams Boston Ale for this recipe, and the author, Mark Bittman, gives his readers the freedom to use any kind they like, as different beers will yield dramatically different flavors.

Beer-Glazed Black Beans

Makes: 4 servings

Time: 20 minutes with cooked beans

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 cup beer

3 cups cooked or canned black beans, drained but still moist, liquid reserved

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon honey, or for a vegan version, molasses

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Put the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for about a minute, then add the beer, beans, chili powder, honey, and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper.

2. Bring to a steady bubble and cook until the liquid is slightly reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve hot or store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

P.S. I HIGHLY recommend using Williams-Sonoma's Vegetable Chop and Measure. I was able to slice and dice the onions AND mince the garlic using this puppy. Huge time-saver!

If you can't find me, try the library.

Given that libraries have a history dating back to ancient Egypt, the idea of the public library should not be some sort of newfound, glorious light-bulb moment, but in this day and age of mega-bookstores and building up your own personal home book collection, it apparently is. I hadn't set foot in a library for the sole purpose of checking out books since my elementary school days, much less CDs or DVDs that weren't even available at the time. Granted, much of the media available at the library has suffered the abuse and neglect that comes with the territory when people don't actually own it so they don't care if they run it over in the driveway fifteen times; however, I must say that if you are lucky enough to find a CD in good shape, it is a spectacular way to check out music or movies you don't know enough about to justify spending the money.

For example: Flight of the Conchords. OH. MY. GOODNESS. I realize that I am probably a bit late hopping on this bandwagon and consequently they could be a little played out by now (a la Dane Cook), but when I saw their EP "The Distant Future" I remembered my brilliant friend Stacy being a huge fan of the show, so I picked it up figuring that she must be on to something because the girl has got some TASTE. On our way to Orange County this weekend, while almost getting blown away by the wind in Indio, I put on my most recent Scottsdale Public Library find and we pretty much haven't stopped laughing for three days, mostly because of this song:

"BINARY SOLO." Ha ha ha ha ha!

In addition to this CD, I was finally able to check out (no pun intended, but it works so there you go) Mindy Smith, Amy Winehouse, Jimmy Eat World, and since I can't find my Jeff Buckley CD, I get to upload that one too. And if any of the songs don't work, I can just download the individual songs for $1 a song, and end up paying a fraction of what it could have cost had I downloaded the full albums. Score. Cody and I watched "Babel" last week courtesy of the library. And while the selection isn't nearly what it is at the mega-bookstores, at least you have to read your latest selection in a timely fashion because sometimes you are forced against your will to return it because other people are waiting on the hold list (the only downfall I have encountered).

Current library reading selection: "Outrage" by Dick Morris. If our government's blatant mishandling of our tax dollars doesn't send you into fits as the title suggests, and if you think that the government can be trusted to put our money to correct and effective use in every program, if you think that they should be given more of our hard-earned money to dribble away into oblivion, then it's time for a reality check.

For the curious nerd in all of us.

Being the biggest book nerds either of us know, Cody and I have decided to start frequenting the library now that we are working to become debt-free. Frequent trips to the bookstore and the impulsive purchases that result from them will be a thing of the past, with the exception that the library tends to close much earlier than the bookstore, in which case you may find us in a Borders or B&N from time to time.

Anyway, I went on the Scottsdale Public Library Web site to find out what their hours were- and found a plethora of nerdy resources that just made my day. Hands down, the coolest part of their site was the Opposing Viewpoints link under the research tab, perfect for someone who's trying to decipher where he stands on the major issues of the day. You have to sign up to be a member, but what an awesome resource! I personally don't want to start arguing for or against something until I have at least a minor grasp on the other side's view. Check it out here.

Speaking of books, we will be selling a bunch of ours, among other things. If you have seen our office, you would know that we have quite the impressive library of our own. Stay tuned for a list of titles, prices and links to the publisher's or Amazon.com descriptions.