New post three days later?! The Earth has tilted.

First of all, I just read the latest blog entry from the Lake Forest College Coffee House (now known as Cafe Calypto) Writing Club. I highly encourage you click here  to check it out. Slam poet Andrea Gibson visited campus to perform a few of her poems. There is a link to a video of one of her "most arresting poems", as bloggers from Cafe Calypto put it.

I don't have much to say today, aside from mundane comments about the beautiful weather. So I'll refrain and just show you some photos from the past few days. I spent a number of days house/dog sitting for a friend. Between the dog walking, reading, playing, feeding, etc., I found a few photo opportunities.

Amazing light fixtures in Laura's house.

And the goofiest dog in the world. Readers, this is Koa.

And readers, THIS is my perfect cat, AJ.

We also had a pretty wild snow storm recently, as did much of the U.S. My mom documented a bit.

Aaaand the last bit of photos. My dinner last night! A family favorite: Cannelloni.

This is my homemade marinara. 

It's a piece of cake. Saute diced onions in some olive oil until they start turning transparent. Add minced garlic and crushed red pepper (as much as you like, depending on your tolerance/love for spice) stir for a minute or two. Add a can of either diced or crushed tomatoes. Obviously crushed will turn out a smoother sauce. Then add seasonings! I usually stick with dried herbs for simplicity's sake. Normally I would add some oregano, basil, and maybe a little sage as well as some salt and pepper. This time I went really simple lazy and just added some pre-mixed italian seasoning. You can eat it once it's warm or let it simmer all day. Most people would tell you the longer it simmers, the better it will taste. This is accurate in that the flavors will be allowed to develop over time. However, I love my marinara to have a really fresh tomato flavor, and I don't like it to thicken too much. So I often prefer it after just a few minutes of simmering. Either way, yum. And this is a perfect platform for all kinds of marinaras. You can use this base and add things like bell peppers, mushrooms, meats, red wine, or cream for all kinds of varieties. 

Cannelloni is interesting because it's a rolled pasta filled with goodies (in this case, spinach, cheeses, prosciutto, pork sausage) which is not too different from stuffed shells or even lasagna. But it does differ from these other pasta dishes in that it bakes before adding any sauce. They're simply brushed with melted butter and popped in the oven. This lets the pasta get golden brown and a bit crisp on the edges.

THEN you add the sauce. And then you enjoy. Preferably with a glass (or mason jar) of wine.

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weather and the weekend.