Helicopters, Tomatoes, and Waiting

In addition to thinking, "Man, it's f'ing hot out," when I stepped outside at 7:30 this morning, I thought, "Why does it sound like there's a helicopter over our house?"

Because, duh, THERE WAS a helicopter over our house. Actually, a few houses to the east and a couple of streets to the north. But it was loud, and it wasn't moving.

I warily walked down the street...wondering if a strung-out crazy was going to come tearing through the neighborhood wreaking all sorts of havoc. When I got to Grand, two police cars and a fire department ambulance tore around the corner of Gasconade and headed to wherever the helicopter was focused. Then the helicopter flew away.

I imagine that, unless I overhear something on the bus, I'll never know what happened.

Where Did the Weekend Go?
Saturday started bright and early with a quick trip to the Tower Grove farmers market. I bought two pounds of some very good tomatoes. YUM! I also picked up a pint of cherry tomatoes, a pint of locally grown sweet cherries, and an ambrosia melon (probably the last of the season). At the baked sweets booth, I bought just a single mocha macaroon because I purchased a raspberry scone and a blueberry scone for my and Porkchop's breakfast. The scones were fabulous, especially the raspberry one.

I spent the rest of Saturday at the Saturn dealer having a bent wheel replaced and my brake fluid flushed and replaced. Fun. I also drove around looking for secret things.

Sunday also started bright and early because I awoke at 7:30 and couldn't get back to sleep, even though I didn't turn in until after 1:30 am. After 8:00, I decided I should go ahead and get up and do yoga, but Porkchop suggested that we instead grab brunch on the way to the closest Michael's.

The closest Michael's turned out to be in South County, which meant brunch options were severely limited. We ended up at a Waffle House, where I did not heed Porkchop's advice on ordering a pecan waffle and therefore ended up with a mess of eggs with super-processed cheese, nasty hash browns, and cinnamon raisin toast with apple butter (the shining light in my plate of grossness). Porkchop gave me some of her pecan waffle, and I realized she was right. I should have ordered a pecan waffle.

The rest of Sunday consisted of making food for dinner at a co-worker's house, going to a 9-year-old's birthday party, and then going to the co-worker's house for dinner.

With the trip to South County in the morning, the roundtrip travel to Fenton for the birthday party, and then the trip to Bridgeton for dinner, we spent over two and a half hours driving on Sunday. Blech. People should live in the city - that's all there is to it.

The birthday party wasn't so bad (probably because only two other kids were in attendance) and dinner at the co-worker's house was delicious. Our hosts grilled various meat products and vegetable skewers, and the standout was the tandoori-style chicken. So good! Another co-worker brought roasted potatoes, and we brought pesto deviled eggs (which people didn't really eat...what's wrong with people?!) and a panzanella salad (see recipe below), which was a hit. After eating, we played carrom, which was lots of fun even though my team didn't win any of the games. After a couple of games we had chocolate cake and mango pie for dessert.

So, Sunday started with some gross food and then ended on a very high food note.

Now
Now I'm just waiting. Waiting to go to Albuquerque and waiting for Fall to begin.

I should be quite busy after returning from ABQ. The weekend of August 25 is the international festival at Tower Grove park. Labor Day might be a trip to Chicago, which means the weekend after that would be a trip to see my parents. I will be in ABQ the first weekend in October, and my parents will be here in St. Louis later in October.

Busy!

Panzanella Recipe
I based my recipe on one from Everyday Food, but I made quite a few changes. So, here's mine:

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Pepper and salt
1 lb tomatoes, diced
1 14.5 oz can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium zucchini
4 oz fresh mozzarella, diced
3-4 cups crusty wheat bread, cubed into large chunks
1/4 cup fresh basil, torn

DIRECTIONS

Dice the zucchini and roast in a 400 F oven. For roasting, drizzle the zucchini with olive oil and toss with pepper. Roast until tender.

Meanwhile, whisk the vinegar and oil together. Add pepper and salt.

Add everything else, except the basil, to the vinegar and oil mixture. Let the salad chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and no more than 8 hours. Before serving, add the basil.

Enjoy!