Pitas appear to be beyond me.

Aha, and ya'll thought I forgot about my mission to re-cook everything I ate in England, didn't you? The one I gave the ridiculously British-sounding name to? Well, I didn't forget at all!

I'm just bad at cooking things in a timely manner, it seems.

The original version of this dish came from the Jazz Cafe, and it was one of the things I was most looking forward to. And it turned out deliciously. Everything except the pita, which I attempted to make on my own. The bread tasted fine, but you know how pitas are supposed to have little pockets, for putting food inside...?

Mine were just sad and flat. I didn't even take a picture of it, because it made me so sad.

I did take a picture of the final product, though.



So many colors! If I had not made whole-wheat pitas, then maybe there would have been even more, but I appear to be obsessed with whole-wheat. I think that's a good thing, it makes me feel healthier.

These are really easy to make. Mixing together the tabbouleh and tzatziki can be day the day before, even, and the lamb patties only take minutes to throw together. It takes a while only to chop everything up by hand. I'm a horrendously slow food chopper, so it still took me about half an hour, but Mama Bird could have done it in probably 10. I guess that should be my next goal: improving my chopping skills...

Recipe from All About You
(Makes 8 servings, with 338 calories and $2.02 per serving)
Lamb Patties

18 ounces ground lamb

4 tablespoons breadcrumbs

1 egg

zest of 1 lemon

2 teaspoons oregano

3 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Mix all ingredients but olive oil in bowl until well combined.
   
2. Shape into eight patties.
   
3. Place on tray and chill in fridge for at least 15 minutes.
   
4. Heat oil, and fry over medium to high heat for 4 to 5 minutes each side.
   
5. Drain on kitchen towel.
   
6. Serve with tabbouleh, pita, and tzatziki sauce.
   

Tabbouleh

2 ounces couscous

2 ounces fresh parsley

1 ounce fresh mint

1/2 red onion

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Put dry couscous in bowl and pour in 1/2 cup of hot water.
   
2. Stir, then cover and let sit until water is absorbed.
   
3. Fluff with fork, and add remaining ingredients. Chill before serving.
   

Tzatziki Sauce

1 cup greek yogurt

1 cucumber

1 green onion

2 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon mint

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Peel and dice cucumber.
   
2. Combine all ingredients and stir well.
   
3. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.
   

Today's lessons learned:

• I chop things very slowly.
  
• Pitas without pockets are a lot like naan.
  

Caramelized Onion Sandwich

The vegetarian adventure is going well. My grandparents are visiting right now, and my grandfather enjoyed eating his Denver steak- not the cut, but a recipe I will share here someday- as slowly as possible, and discussing how delicious it was with a big grin. They're here for a week, and I'm thinking it's going to be a very difficult week. But it's nice to see them.

The decision to make this came from my looking at the archives and realizing I had not made anything off my list of things I had eaten in England, other than that coconut ice I tried to recreate.

Y'know, that's probably vegetarian too. Maybe I ought to make that this week.

Anyhow, I realized that re-creating that list was a goal I had set myself that I had made no progress on. Granted, it's not exactly a pressing goal, but... I said I would do it, darn it, and I was going to do it. So the first meatless dish I came to was the onion sandwich, and I cringed slightly.

I remember how proud of myself I was when I ordered that. A sandwich with no meat? Just vegetables? Well, darned if I wasn't the most cultured American in all of London. Who cares if it came with fries? I was still cultured and proud of it. The smug pride lasted until I took the first bite, and realized it was sweet and served cold.

It wasn't bad, mind. I ate most of it, as you can tell by the quarter that was left by the time I remembered to take a picture. But it wasn't something I would ever order again. So why would I want to cook one for myself?



Because I made mine savory. Worcestershire sauce (also, how English!) instead of sugar, and on toasted bread with melted cheese. And a bit of mustard, because it sounded good. Instead of the fries, I served it with enough broccoli on the side that my sister asked if it was the serving plate for everyone else. She was disappointed. My family was amused by my sandwich, but I enjoyed it.

It could have been less calories if I had used lighter bread, but I decided I wanted something firm to stand up to the cheese, and because I thought at first the onions would be very oily. They weren't, but the bread was still delicious.

Hopefully I'll be making more England food after this month is over. But so far, I'm really enjoying the lack of meat. Hopefully Darth Bird is holding up!

Recipe from Closet Cooking.
(Makes 1 sandwich, with 500 calories and $2.38)

Half a large onion

1 tablespoon oil

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon thyme

2 slices cheddar cheese

2 slices oatmeal bread

1. Slice the onion thinly.
   
2. Heat up oil, then saute onions until no longer firm.
   
3. Reduce heat, add water, and stir occasionally for 15-20 minutes.
   
4. Toast bread.
   
5. Add Worcestershire and thyme to onions, and scoop on top of bread and cheese.
   

Today's lessons learned:

• I have come to really like onions, but perhaps not enough for daily onion sandwiches.
  
• Savory onions are much more delicious than sweet onions.
  

Birds Can Have Multiple Hobbies?

Birds do a lot of things other than cook. Sometimes they sing (but only in their bird baths), play games, sample wines, or even do crafty things. It's difficult with talons, but birds can be quite creative. So in the interest of amusing myself, allow me to share the last crafty thing I've done.

It should be a surprise to no one that Darth Bird is a huge Star Wars Fan. But in case you hadn't pieced that together, there it is.

A group of my friends decided to do a semi-secret Santa around Christmas. I say semi-secret because Darth Bird organized it, and I told him in no uncertain terms that I knew exactly what I wanted to get him, and that I was claiming his name. He didn't really let me, but I was the first person to 'secretly' claim someone. I'm quite subtle.

Truthfully, I had a few ideas for him, but I settled on his love for Star Wars, as I figured that he'd automatically love anything that had Darth Vader on it.



Yes, I can see all the places I should have trimmed. There are a lot. Let's not dwell on them.

My interest in cross-stitching started off strangely. I encountered an old, hardly started sampler of Mama Bird's in our laundry room, and I couldn't leave it unfinished. I don't know why, but knowing it was sitting incomplete bugged me. So I learned the basics, and completed the sampler.



And isn't it lovely. Only I have no idea what to do with it, hence the wrinkles. It just lays around, moving from box to box. Someone I know needs to have a kid so they can hang it in their room. And until then, I'll just try not to lose it.

Another 'hobby' I have gotten into is fitness. I don't go to the gym, since that would be impressive, but I work out and use the elliptical in our basement. I try to run intervals, and lift some weights. Originally I was doing it because I just wanted to lose weight, but I have accepted it's something I just need to do every day if I want any changes I'm trying to make to stick. It's partially how I started becoming more interested in cooking; realizing that I ate out far too often and that if I wanted to get healthy, I needed to eat healthier. Not being a huge fan of vegetables led me to despair, until Fleur Bird's girlfriend pointed me to tastespotting, telling me that they made everything look good and usually had the recipe. And over the months I have slowly gotten healthier, learning to enjoy vegetables as more than necessary evils.

I'm in love with black beans now. I never really disliked them, but I would not have eaten a dish made mostly of black beans and vegetables with no meat. Now I am considering making more for myself, for a fourth time. I have learned.

Realizing I was no longer dependent on meat, I decided to try a powerhouse.



It looked great while I was making it. With freshly sliced cucumber, piles of baby spinach, spicy red pepper roasted hummus, thin wheat bread, what could really go wrong? I looked forward to diving into the ranks of vegetarians, at least for one meal. I brought it to work for lunch one day, and...



And it was okay. The cucumber was too thick, and I didn't have bean sprouts. Lessons learned for the next time I attempt it. Because there will definitely be a next time.

Today's lessons learned:

• Slice things thinly for a sandwich, but not so thinly you lose texture.
  
• Trim your cross-stitching better if you're going to post it online.