More pictures and updates....

I couldn't fit it all in the last post - so here's some more.

Gus and me in mom and dad's hotel room in DC (this is October 1st-ish, for hair reference here):

And here's Gus and me (it is "me", right? Not "I"?) with mom, out on the Mall:

And now, for the latest in hair pictures! My hair is SO long. It's really curly, too - it's getting a bit unmanageable, so I think it's about time for my first haircut! Yay! Anyway, this is Gus and I at a scenic stop on the GW Parkway. It was taken on Halloween:

And another hair post - this is from today, when I went on a walk around the lake:

And a few more photos from the walk - it was SO BEAUTIFUL OUTSIDE!!! I kept stopping and just staring up at the trees and marveling at it all - being forced to live in a stuffy hospital room for 2 months will do that to a person. It's amazing to see how the seasons change around the lake - in summer it was so green, then it was colorful in fall, and now it's starting to get kind of sparse and bare as we move into winter.

The leaves were ALL OVER the ground - I couldn't even see the sidewalk or the walking path! And then I came across this insane mushroom - it was bigger than my head.

And last weekend Dave and Corrinne came to visit - it was so nice to see them again, it's been way too long. We had a homemade pizza FEAST the first night they were here, followed by a tarte Tatin care of Corrinne.

Apples cooking in buttery goodness:

The pastry on top of the apples:

The finished tarte!

And a close-up of the insane deliciousness:

The next day we had yummy brown sugar pecan baked french toast, and then walked it off in Cleveland Park. We went to this AMAZING apartment building called the Broadmoor - it was built in the 1920s, and in the 1930s there was a restaurant in the building. They had a bar and everything - you could totally envision "Smitty" making you a sidecar or something. There was even an old menu tacked up on the wall - lunch was 50 cents! The whole building had a bit of a The Shining feeling to it, but in a good way. Here's me at the bar:

And yes, I'm aware of the fact that I'm wearing the same white sweater in practically every picture. :) Okay these next few definitely are not as interesting/tasty as an apple tarte, but it was my first time making veggie stock and well - I utterly destroyed the kitchen. The stock was immediately followed by me making minestrone (which was really good) and bread, so this is what the sink looked like midway through the "operation":

I literally used up every pot, pan, and bowl in the kitchen. And I had no idea how many veggies went into making a few cups of stock - damn!

The minestrone week was followed by eggplant week - the beauty of the casserole. This is a BAKED eggplant Parmesan - no oil, no frying. It's just eggplant, egg whites, a minimal amount of bread crumbs, fresh part-skim mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, and tomato sauce. So it's HEALTHY. It also happens to be delicious, so if anyone's interested in the recipe, let me know. I can't even remember what "regular" eggplant Parmesan tastes like because this is the only kind I eat. It's that good.

Next project: granola bars. I love granola bars - but the ones you get at the store are full of vile ingredients and things I can't pronounce. So I made my own - and they're so good! I ate two the first day. :) They're walnut and sour cherry granola bars with an apricot glaze - and again, this was a really easy recipe, so if anyone's interested, let me know!

And last pic in this post - my acorn squash muffins. I made these today - I roasted an acorn squash the other night for dinner, but it took so damn long that we ate before it was finished. So I had some cold cooked squash languishing in the fridge and figured out a way to use it up. Result = delicious. And full of fiber! They taste kind of like pumpkin muffins, but a bit different.

More tomorrow - I've got more pictures, believe it or not. Yikes.