Rain, rain go away

You know those email quizzes often called "get to know your friends"? I love those. I always have loved them. Obviously I only play with people I already know, usually close friends who could already name four places I have worked in my life. Anyway, I made one up of my own this week and played with some super six in Sacramento (well, two of us are Sacramento ex-pats, but that's beside the point). One of the less riveting questions was "do you like the rainy season"?

Note: if you leave on the East Coast or South - in California, it typically doesn't rain from from April to December or so, hence rain is not a form of precipitation here, it's a season.

As you can imagine, the rainy season often leads to seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and most of us answered some form of no. I liked Jen Sweeney's answer best: "I miss the real thunderstorms that I used to love living back east. This gray and drizzle is lame."

Check out the view from/of our foggy window today. Lame.

Moving on...

I started another three-day weekend yesterday and could give myself a gold star for how productive I've been. No one besides me cares about that, though, so I'll share a recipe for some quick comfort food you might also enjoy. I got the original recipe from Real Simple, so click here if you want a printable version.

Creamy Rigatoni with Broccoli and Brie

1 pound rigatoni
2 heads steamed broccoli florets, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (Note: the original recipe calls for 1 head, but I think the more veggies the better)
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
8 oz. Brie (with rind), cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper


Cook the pasta normally, drain and return to the pot. Add the steamed broccoli, pine nuts, Brie, 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Stir until the chesse melts, then serve. Really good, takes only about 25 minutes and serves 4-6.


So glad this bat boy has kept himself busy today, too!