Has it really been ten days???

Wow!  I was reminded today by a loyal fan that I haven’t posted in ten days.  My apologies for the lack of The Onyx Plate in your lives folks.  I must indeed renew my commitment to you.  It’s a balance it seems.  One doesn’t realize what all they have going on in their life until they start “attempting” to prioritize things.  This would be a good time to catch you up on what’s going on here.

Garden – It’s about that time for planting my peppers.  In fact, the time is now.  A couple months ago we re-landscaped the front (only, because HGTV doesn’t come out to the east coast for shows, and I couldn’t afford Ahmed Hassan on my budget *he’s so sexy*).  Since we re-landscaped the front, we decided to do a container garden in the back on the patio.  It seemed as if it would be a lot of work neither of us were really into doing when it came to digging up grass again, tilling again, etc.  So, I was fortunate enough on my last trip to IKEA to find 12” clay pots very cheap, to make this container garden a reality.  I also found this delightful little place to get hanging baskets, herbs, and vegetables.  It encouraged me to pick a few things and keep it simple this year.  Some pictures from the place are below.  I have already bought two tomato plants, and plan on going back very very very soon for the pepper plants I long to plant this year.  For the fun aspect of planting (as I think you should always be adventurous with food), I bought a tomato plant named Mr. Stripey – which will have stripes of course – and a tomato plant named Black Krim – which is very dark hued, almost black.  I’m excited about these little guys! 

Cooking – As I normally have a lot of recipes up, I am ashamed I have been slightly slacking in the cooking/photography department.  We have been reduced in funds a little here and have been eating out of our freezer and pantry.  A majority of the items have been rushed meals with our schedules, and they just haven’t turned out photo-finish ready. *smiles*  So, my apologies. 

Although, I am kicking myself for not photographing last night for you.  A seasoned EVOO sauce over noodles, topped with a Tuna Steak that had been dusted with Hot Hungarian Paprika, Smoked Paprika, garlic salt, red and black pepper, and a little dash of EVOO.  It was amazingly delicious for a last minute dish.  I boiled the noodles al dente, then set them aside.  Then, I sautéed one chopped red bell pepper, some leftover roasted garlic, 1/4 cup chopped yellow onion,  sea salt, black and red pepper, all in EVOO.  Then added about a 1/4 cup more of EVOO to it before adding the noodles back into the pot with the sautéed items.  The tuna steaks were from frozen, but they sufficed (I wish I had the funds to buy these fresh.  I adore tuna steaks!).  I rubbed them down in EVOO, dusted them with the aforementioned seasonings and baked them for 20 minutes, then broiled them for 5 minutes.  Of course making sure the meat flaked off nicely before indulging in our delicious dinner.

***Today’s Assignment: You should try making your own EVOO pasta sauce.  The EVOO takes on whatever flavor of what you’re sautéing in it, so when tossed with the noodles, it carries the flavors throughout the whole dish.  A very easy dish!  You could top it with chicken, steak, tuna, shrimp, or more sautéed vegetables.  Your choice!  Make it your own!

I renew my commitment to you…I’m back.

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