puttering around

Much of today was spent puttering around my study -- listening to Neko Case, working on the log cabin blanket, *finally* discovering how awesome the "genius" playlist function is on iTunes (psst... "Girlfriend in a Coma" yielded the best results), and designing and printing invitations for a baby shower I'm hosting next month.

The design process was actually pretty fun. I was inspired by Heather Ross' post about how easy it is to make your own invitations. The only catch is that the design probably appeals to me more than the mom-to-be. Meh, too bad... I found an image I really liked, then incorporated the mom-to-be's favorite baby colors for the text. Initially I designed it using Serif Page Plus SE, a free desktop publishing program. In the end it was easier to deal with MS Word.
Capricha decided to help with the drying process. That cat! I printed out the invitations on scalloped-edge A6 flat cards I found at Target (bargain basement price of 10 for $1.99). Although the paper is not of the absolute highest quality, it is thick and works fine in my basic HP inkjet color printer. I switched the print quality to "best" and fed the invitations one at a time, with very few casualties.

I highly recommend giving this a try! I'm definitely designing and printing my own holiday cards next winter.

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In the kitchen

I love quesadillas, but they're generally frightfully unhealthy. While these aren't about to top the list of healthiest foods ever, at least they feature veggies! If I lived in Santa Fe, I would definitely add green chile (yum!) into the saute pan with the veggies.

Veggie Quesadillas

~ makes 2 quesadillas
~ serves 2-4 people, depending on side dishes and heartiness of appetites

olive or canola oil
1 C. fancy mushrooms, sliced -- I used a mixture of crimini, shitake, and yellow oyster
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 C. frozen or fresh corn (roasted corn would be esp. good)
2 roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
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2 or 3 handfuls of shredded cheese -- I used pepper jack and a good 2-year Wisconsin cheddar.
A more authentic cheese like chihuahua would also work, and a few dabs of fresh goat cheese would be delicious, too.

4 flour tortillas (I used red chile flavor, but whatever floats your boat)

salsa, sour cream, or guacamole, to serve

Drizzle a little olive oil in a medium non-stick skillet and heat over medium heat. Add mushrooms and garlic. Saute 1-2 minutes. Add corn and roasted red peppers; saute an additional 2 minutes or so.

Assemble quesadillas -- divide sauteed veggies and shredded cheese between two tortillas. Top each with another flour tortilla.

Drizzle a little more oil onto the skillet and heat at medium. Add quesadilla and cook 2 minutes; flip quesadilla and cook an additional 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Repeat with second quesadilla.

Cut into wedges and serve with plenty of salsa, perhaps even with sour cream or guacamole. None of that wussy pico de gallo! I served this with tomatillo salsa from Whole Foods that was delicious. A roasted salsa would also be quite nice.