Exhaustion (still)

Apparently, I've been exhausted for a while.

When I get home, I get my lunch together for the next day, pack a bag for the gym (and about half the time I actually get out of bed to go in the morning), and try to get to bed before 10:30. When I really need to be working on a paper, I'm obsessively checking Facebook; when I should be writing letters to the labs where I interviewed, I'm obsessively checking my email; when I should be doing my laundry, I'm, well, just not. While I could be checking stuff off my To Do list, I'm burning CDs onto my computer and lamenting the lack of The Beatles in the iTunes store. What's up with that?

I usually don't end up in bed until 11:00. Even though I have my alarm set for the gym, I usually reset it. Then I go to work and work, work, work, work, work in lab for 9-11 hours with a 20 minute lunch and not drinking enough water or seeing enough sunlight (although it's been raining here for WEEEEEKS), and I get home and my night is shot again.

Anyone want to write my paper manuscripts or my dissertation for me???

I'm going to go try to get to sleep before 10:30 again. Wish me luck.

Buttermilk and berries

I found myself with a quart of buttermilk after making sweet potato biscuits.

Then I had a lot of strawberries. Oh, and blueberries were on sale at the grocery store.

So after my intense use of rhubarb (coffee cake recipe from Good Housekeeping cookbook), I figured I could find enough to cook to use up the buttermilk and the strawberries.

I made buttermilk biscuits to go with the strawberries, of course.

Then I made a buttermilk cake with strawberries in place of the raspberries. This was a good quick simple delicious cake.

Then I made buttermilk berry muffins with the last of the strawberries and blueberries.

I froze some of the rhubarb, strawberries, and blueberries. Who knows what I'll do with the left-overs!

Three course meal

I went to pick strawberries yesterday morning and may have picked up a couple other things at the farm. In order of my consumption this evening for dinner...

Sourdough bread with herbed goat cheese and cherry tomatoes.
Asparagus with soy sauce, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes.
Strawberry shortcake with my own home-made buttermilk biscuits.

Back in the kitchen!

Since I got back from my trip, I have cooked quite a bit. It is nice - although I do miss having a dishwasher!

I had a LOT of rhubarb from my sister. So far I have made strawberry-rhubarb squares, strawberry-rhubarb sauce for grilled pound cake (yes, on the grill - thanks, Aim!), strawberry-rhubarb lemonade, and blueberry-rhubarb coffee cake:
I still have a bit of rhubarb left and will probably take another friend's suggestion: pizza with rhubarb, goat cheese, and nuts. I might add some caramelized onions too. YUM.

I am also having a couple of friends over for dinner tomorrow night and am making quinoa-stuffed zucchini, sweet potato biscuits, and chicken with bulgar wheat.