Summer cooking is always a challenge, isn't it? I dread turning the stove on when the mercury hits 80, but there's only so much salad a girl can eat. So yesterday I made up a tasty dish I thought I'd share. Sure, it uses the stove, but you can eat the leftovers straight out of the fridge (if cold tofu doesn't turn your stomach). And, most of the ingredients can be found at Trader Joe's! GNAT (Ginger, Noodles, Asparagus, and Tofu) 200 grams dry udon noodles (equals 2/3 package of TJ's brand organic udon) 2 t minced fresh ginger 2 t peanut oil 1/2 t sesame oil 1/2 lb asparagus, cut into 3 inch pieces 1 package extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (I used TJ's organic tofu) 1 T soy sauce 2 T bottled teriyaki sauce (I used Soy Vay) 1 t chili bean sauce, if you like it spicy! (this is also called Toban Djan, and can be very hard to find. I got mine at 99 Ranch market) 1 t cornstarch dissolved in 1 t water Method: Cook and rinse the noodles according to package directions. Return the noodles to the cooking pot. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the oils, and the asparagus. Stir-fry the asparagus for a few minutes until it begins to brown, but is still firm and bright green. Pour the asparagus over the noodles. Return the unwashed skillet to the heat, and add the tofu. Leave the tofu alone for a minute or two to brown, then stir gently. Add the ginger and three sauces to the skillet and bring to a boil, cook for about 2 minutes. Add the cornstarch mixture to the skillet. It should start to thicken the sauce almost immediately. Simmer for another 30 seconds, then pour the contents of the skillet over the noodles and asparagus and gently toss to coat. Taste for salt. Yields about 3 servings.

Yeah, it's hot out, but it's summer so what did I expect? The past few days were sweltering but today is pretty darn pleasant. My Cosmos seems to like it. When I planted this flower, it was about 6 inches tall. Now, it's nearly five feet tall. The little marker that came with the plant said that it would grow up to 24 inches. LIARS! I'm not sure I like a plant that can look me in the eye. Hmmmm..

Frasier's Eddie was one of my favorite televised animals. At the age of sixteen-and-a-half, he's dead. Boo! I think I'll go chew up some slippers tonight in his memory. And maybe pee on the rug a little.

I love it when two of my favorite things intersect. Just as my garden is really starting to go crazy, the Seattle Times publishes an article on gardening with a purpose. Mixing awesome herb-infused cocktails with herbs from your own garden! Yahoo! I already have mint, basil, and sage, but my rosemary plant is nearly dead. Drinks and gardening. Gardening and drinks. Two great things that go great together.

I just sent a perfectly nice person at work an e-mail with ten attachments. And eight of them were images named: moist loose snus creamy plug twist dry toombak Can anyone guess the nature of the project I'm working on? If his spam filter doesn't delete my e-mail, I'll be done with the project soon, and I'll reward your patience with gen-u-ine knitting content! With pictures! Ooooh we're all tingling with anticipa... ....tion!

Just off the top of my head, here's a list of my current unfinished projects: Backyard leaves scarf: 40% done Socks (can't remember the pattern name): 2% done Trellis lace scarf: 10% done, requires too much concentration Sleek Ribs Tank: 85% done, stopped working after noticing a dropped stitch in the strap Bunny toy: 65% done, ears sewed on wrong, dreading the re-do Odessa hat: unknown, it's so screwed up Cabled purse: 70% done, but ugly Saturday market bag: 75% done Cozy scarf: 3% done I am in serious need of some focus. So I should not be surprised that I am totally enamored of this embroidered kitty shirt. The pattern motifs are available for free here. No, I don't know how to embroider. I've done some cross-stitching in my past, but that's it. How hard can it be? This stitch dictionary should help, as should all the free patterns at Needlecrafter.. On a different topic, does anyone have any recommendations for high-quality hair clips? I like the various types that use spring tension to grab the hair, but I find most clips don't have strong enough springs, leading to annoying slippage that makes them useless. I bought a great clip at the Body Shop about 10 years ago, but it's long deceased. Anyone? Anyone?

No no no no no no no. We are NOT doing this again. Absolutely not.

I love to write, but only for profit. So far, this has turned out pretty well. I've managed to win myself a TiVo and an iPod in writing contests, and I also got some cold, hard, cash for a wee bit of poetry. So of course I'm entering the McSweeney's writing contest. You should too. Just like the lottery, you can't win if you don't play. And no, I'm not holding out this blog as an example of finely crafted writing. Except for that piece yesterday about the squirrel. Pure Poolitzer.

It's June 13th, and it's raining. Summer doesn't officially begin until June 21, but this is ridiculous. Anyway, just a few random notes to keep you interested. The other day I saw a squirrel jump out of a trash can with a banana in its mouth! Now this is remarkable because I didn't know squirrels liked bananas. The banana was peeled, so either someone peeled a banana and then threw it away, or the squirrel found an unpeeled banana and somehow managed to denude it. This second scenario bears consideration, because if squirrels can peel bananas, there are no limits to their potential. (Isn't it queer that an "unpeeled banana" is a banana with the peel on, and a "peeled banana" is a banana with no peel?) Anyway, it wasn't a whole banana, but it was a fair 5 inch portion, and the squirrel wasn't even dragging it on the ground! This tells me that squirrels have enormous jaw strength for their size, and the banana was obviously not very ripe. Otherwise, the squirrel wouldn't have been able to get sufficient purchase on the banana to carry it in its teeth. Old Welsh Proverb: Squirrels may have strong jaws, but their teeth are small. The small teeth is what makes squirrels poor fighters, particularly when engaged against avian species. Just the other day I saw a squirrel on a high tree branch come under attack from a crow. The crow dive-bombed the branch and the squirrel fell off - I can only hope that it caught a lower branch, because it was a good 40 feet in the air when the crow attacked. If anyone out there has a backyard and squirrels, I can't say enough good things about the Squngee. When I lived in a house, we made a homebrew squngee out of parts purchased at Home Depot, and it was awesome. The squirrels would line up on the ground under the squngee, taking turns "riding the cob" until it was stripped bare of kernels. Seriously, that thing was better than TiVo.

I've got another baby to knit for (hooray!) and I've got all sorts of ideas. The baby I knit for last year was a little conservative, so I knitted a few rather sober items, such as the Fixie Hat and the Umbilical Cord hat from Stitch 'n Bitch. This year's baby is a little more wild. So I'm thinking a nice Chicken Viking Hat, or that Baby Corn Bunting from Lion Brand. Then there's Baby Tart. And of course, the famed Cupcake Hat. Does anyone know any other fun baby patterns out there? Please share if you do!