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Math. It's all I freaking do.

I did it for 10 hours a day both days this weekend. I survived by eating the last of the beef jerky, baby carrots, and tortilla chips with cream cheese and salsa. During the week, I'm living off of my precooked frozen meals, and tonight I had toast for dinner.

The result is that I'm more than a little hard pressed for blog posts... (Taneasha is playing me a song on the world's smallest violin right now in her completely bare kitchen)

I was going to do a post on how to cut up a mango to best maximize the eatability of it. But it's tough to take pictures of yourself cutting up a mango when you're cutting up a mango.

I know this is really pushing it as "cooking" but someone else will be making dinner here for me next week, so for now, you'll have to do what I'm doing and survive off of toast. 

Cinnamon Sugar

• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 c sugar
• a jar with a good lid

I've had my cinnamon sugar jar for ... nearly 18 years now. It's a small jar that once held premade pasta sauce. I've had it pretty much since I moved out of my mom's house, and it's travelled back and forth half way across Canada with me. My mom had a similar jar. Same one for as long as I could remember. It moved everywhere with us too, and I'm pretty sure she hid it on the day that I moved out so I couldn't take hers with me.

Cinnamon sugar has always been a bit of a staple for me because of that jar.

It was a fast breakfast, an all purpose snack, and it's what my mom fed us as we were starting to feel better after spending days sick on the couch watching soaps. It's a rare treat when I can get just that right mix of butter and sugar on bread that's toasted just right...

And I know some people try to sprinkle the cinnamon on, and then the sugar, but it doesn't work. There's never that same perfect consistency and homogeneity of spice and sweet. You have to mix them together before hand.

Measure out your cinnamon and sugar and put them in the jar.

Shake.

It's blurry because I'm shaking it. Sure is.

And then...

That perfect sandy colour.

Toast yourself some nice whole grain bread. White bread just seems too... insubstantial for this purpose. I mean, yeah, it's nice and squishy sometimes, but cinnamon has such a strong, spicy, robust flavour that it needs something sturdy under it.

Yes, it's a gratuitous food close up, but I really don't have much to work with here.

Once your butter has melted, sprinkle on just the right amount of cinnamon sugar.

I am so freaking happy with the fluke that is that picture.

It may seem like a big pile o' sugar on toast, but it looks like more than it is, and once you spread it around the sugar starts melting into the warm butter...

It's also great in coffee, handy to have on hand for fancying up cookies of any sort, and can turn plain old biscuits into cinnamon biscuit buns.

But for now, this

with a glass of OJ and a multivitamin, is dinner.

My mom would be so proud of me.

Watermelon to the rescue!

With the heat wave we’re having up here in New England (I'm from New England now!), it’s the perfect time for something cool and refreshing.  Watermelon definitely tops the list of refreshing foods, so why not mix it up a bit and enjoy a nice watermelon salad?  It’s great by itself, but you can also pile it on top of a mound of crisp lettuce or serve it alongside a burger for your next barbecue. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

4 cups-ish cubed watermelon
10 Basil leaves
4 oz. feta
½ cup slivered almonds
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1 Tablespoon honey
3 Tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon each salt & pepper

First thing we need to do is toast the almonds so they can cool while we make the rest of the salad.  Nuts have so much more flavor after they’ve been toasted.  Pour them into a skillet over medium heat and continue to stir until they begin to brown and smell amazing.  Remove them from the heat and set them aside. 

Next comes the basil.  We’re going to do what’s called a chiffonade.  Don’t worry, it’s easier to do than it is to spell.  Stack up your leaves with the largest ones on the bottom. 

Then roll the stack up like a… well, like this:

Now thinly slice the whole thing.

When you’re done, you’ll end up with a nice pile of basil ribbons. 

Next comes the feta.  Dice or crumble it into fairly small pieces.  

Now, throw your watermelon into a bowl followed by the basil, almonds, and feta. 

Mix it gently until everything is evenly distributed. 

Now let’s make the dressing.  Dressing is really easy to make.  Not sure why so few people do.  Squeeze the lime juice into a bowl then add the honey olive oil and salt and pepper.  Whisk until it looks something like this:

Easy enough, huh?  Now pour it over the watermelon mixture. 

Mix the whole thing together and serve.  Like most salads, it is best made right before serving.  This shouldn’t be a problem since you’ll probably be picking bites out even as you make it. 

The sweetness of the melon off set by the saltiness of the cheese and the brightness of the basil, it simply sings of summer.