Oooh, it's a bit cold....

[dira]

Eddie Izzard describes my life. I mean, sure, he says "Napoleon" and "Hitler" and "invading Russia" instead of "Dira at age 26/27/30" and "attempting to quit being a nerd-hermit and spring into the dating world in one flying blind-date/speed-date/internet-matching leap". But other than that, spot on.

Which is to say, I have an "It's not you, it's me. Really, really me." Email to write. Again. /o\



And in slightly less doomed adventures in having a social life, I'm going to a potluck dinner party thing next weekend, and I'm supposed to bring an appetizer for eight. And the hosts are vegetarians. And the main course is very cheese-oriented, so I feel like I should do something that is not, you know, also cheese. I keep forlornly googling vegetarian appetizers and halfway convincing myself I could totally make a couple dozen tiny empanadas and then wondering if I can't just, like... bring a veggie tray. HELP ME, INTERNETS. YOU ARE MY ONLY HOPE.



On the bright side, it is actually not a bit cold in my apartment, because yesterday iulia and helaaspindakaas came up to help me plastic-seal my windows. I think last year at this time I had not yet reminded my landlord to please take the window A/C units out so ... it was a lot colder in my apartment, this time last year. I've spent the last 24 hours not constantly huddling under blankets and marveling at the wonders of technology.

Iulia also wound up hanging some art for me--I bought a level and some frames, but I'm hopeless at hammering and ... perfectionism ... so she just kind of took over after I took out a lamp trying to hang a picture. So now the art is very, very level and it becomes apparent that everything else in the room is crooked. This is what happens when you disassemble and reassemble bottom-of-the-line IKEA bookcases a couple of times. They get... wobbly. But I have art and heat AND managed to cook beef stroganoff correctly for guests, so what more can I ask?

Except some manner of appetizer recipe. Seriously. I have no idea. O.O

Comments

[spatz]

The first thing I thought of was cucumbers with lime juice on them, which is just about the easiest thing on the planet and therefore not a great bringing-to-parties dish, but along those lines:

CREAMY CUCUMBERS

½ c. mayonnaise
½ c. sour cream
½ tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. dried dill
1/8 tsp pepper
2 med cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 sm. white onion, thinly sliced

Mix and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Or, another recipe from my granny:

SPICY OLIVES

9-10 oz green olives (with pimentos)
1/2 c red wine vinegar
1/4 c salad oil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c finely chopped onion
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
lemon juice (couple squirts)

Place olives plus juice in a jar, add ingredients, and shake well. Refrigerate - the longer it sits, the better it tastes.

[dira]

Oh, man, creamy cucumbers sounds AWESOME. I think I am going with hummus for the party, but I may need to make some cucumbers just for me. Om nom nom.

[spatz]

My granny came through the fifties appetizer craze with thankfully awesome taste. :) (Protip: careful not to overdue it on the dill - haven't had them in awhile, but I remember the taste came through quite strongly for such a small amount)