My second recipe from Chef Alli was, by Michael's request, Roasted Vegetable Ratatouille. The big challenge for me was eggplant. I wasn't a big fan before and had never cooked with it.

 

It was a super easy recipe.
Just cut up eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes and red pepper.  Tossed with olive oil and garlic cloves. Roasted everything for a while. Took out just the garlic and squished it with a little more olive oil. Tossed all the veggies with the oil and - Presto!

I have been working out at the gym and working out in the yard - just an hour every day. I cleaned up the herb garden and discovered mint, lemon mint and sage still living under the dead leaves. I planted rosemary and oregano and mulched with cocoa hulls because they smells so delicious.

I planted catnip, although I am not optimistic about it lasting through the week. Check out my gardening assistants, Elliot and Alcibiades.

In these pictures they are "helping" me prune the roses and weed around them. They are very helpful in spreading the cocoa mulch. I'm not sure why they like it so much.

I also started clearing out the strip beside the garage which is planted with lavender and sage. They had grown wild and were filled with dead leaves.

This yard will never be "done." I haven't even thought about a vegetable garden yet.

Inside, I have been transforming architectural samples into coasters.

I started with some leftover maps that matched a tray I made for Michael.  I modpodged the maps on, covered the images with epoxy, backed each with cork and used a gold leaf pen to color the sides so they looked pretty and matchy.

Then when I put up the new calendar, I decided to give our 2012 calendar new life.


The 10" x 12" black and white Ansel Adams photos are striking. I split it into 12 squares and repeated the procedure above. Each coaster is beautiful on its own and when you put them all together, you get a photo of Half Dome in Yosemite. I painted the edges black for a more subtle look.

What should I try next?