Caesar salad

I've been positively buried in work lately. But no matter how busy I am, I try to cook, and when I do, I take photos with the intention of posting them. If I get really busy, like now, I end up with stacks and stacks (or lots of RAM) of photos, just waiting to be uploaded. So although I made this Caesar salad a few weeks ago (!), I am only now getting to posting it (even though I should be in bed as I have a 7:30 am flight in the morning for work, ugh).

Smooth operator

I have, for no good reason, been intimidated by my blender.


But then I saw this article not too long ago in the Times and it sounded so easy I thought I'd give my blender another chance. I love the suggestion of freezing over-ripe bananas, as I've had issues with bananas in the past. And it is true, if you use frozen bananas, you don't need ice.

Fourth of July pasta salad

Have you ever seen that 'Friends' episode where Monica and Phoebe plan a surprise party for Rachel, and Monica controls all the details, as usual, leaving Phoebe in charge of only cups and ice? And Phoebe, insulted that Monica leaves her with a seemingly meaningless task, goes way overboard with like five different types of cups and different kinds of ice (including dry ice)?

For our Fourth of July barbecue, I volunteered to bring either a salad or dessert. I figured I'd be assigned dessert, because I make desserts a lot. I got assigned salad. Salad! Who eats salad at a barbecue?

Well, I'm glad I got assigned the cups and ice salad because I discovered this incredible salad dressing/dip. The key ingredient is the slow-roasted tomatoes which I admit are time-consuming but well worth it.