Strawberries from the balcony.

Strawberries from the balcony., a photo by chloe & ivan on Flickr.

Sad to report that the strawberry plants are not doing well : (
I have cut off the blighted leaves, & quickly ate these two gems.
We will see if the rest of them make it!

Sharing meatballs on the internet

Some of you already know I love meatballs. There are meatballs in every culture all around the world.
hmmm. kinda like donuts. There is a sweet fried dough in every culture all around the world.

These meatballs smelled so good I could have foolishly burnt my mouth on them as soon as they were done.
They smelled good from shallots & garlic & oregano & freshly ground pepper & salt & flat leaf Italian parsley & oats because I was too lazy to grind up some breadcrumbs & an egg. 

For those of you wondering what the heck is going on here, the meatballs are in my meatloaf pan with the holes in it to let the fat drip off. Underneath is aluminum foil in a cake pan. 

So I can just gather up the aluminum foil (a peeve of mine is everyone saying tin foil when it is not tin foil it is aluminum foil) and don't have to wash the pan. : )

Why is the meatloaf pan in a cake pan? Because I do not have a loaf pan the exact size of my meatloaf pan.

Because I moved across the whole continent and left a lot of things behind. 

But the meatloaf pan with holes in it is so useful that I will improvise.

I am on the quest for a loaf or bread pan to fit my meatloaf pan with the holes in it.

When I find one, I will make a nice meatloaf  for you.

I love meatballs. I often have made them to share. 

Sometimes, a meatball is the whole dinner for me. 

♥ Chloe

Real mail in ink on paper with stamps.

Arrived in my mailbox today. I have been waiting for it!
It felt good to hold paper pages and look at beautiful script.
No deleting this.

Now to write back.♥

PB&J For All!

PB&J For All!, a photo by chloe & ivan on Flickr.

Working out my submission for these guys,
http://www.demandstudios.com/InternalApplication.mvc/SelectAPosition
By now they probably think I will never get them a proper series of photo instructions about how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. No worries.
Remember the story https://vimeo.com/46036360 by Leo Leonni?
I used to work for someone who said I would circle the job, before I did it.
Circling the job.

Went to Jerry's for some red meat. With garlicky potato salad and homemade pickles.

Went to Jerry's for some red meat. With garlicky potato salad and homemade pickles., a photo by chloe & ivan on Flickr.

Actually I was out to look at magazines and there are no bookstores near me so I jumped on the bus after work and filled up my eyes with a pile of magazines and then I was starving so I walked far up Ventura Blvd and was shocked to find out some of it was not paved near Coldwater Canyon but continued on and saw the friendly Jerry's logo and stopped to eat.
This rye bread is so good

Cucumber seeds

Cucumber seeds, a photo by chloe & ivan on Flickr.

Seed music. Seed mysteries.
I didn't even know how to find or save the seeds before.
I didn't know that the seeds were hiding in the dried flower things.
They are so precious!

Oh man. How to not make a PB&J.

Really.
 http://www.demandstudios.com/media/docs/Demand%20Studios%20Photography%20Sample%20Instructions.pdf
This post will probably clarify a lot about why I am underemployed.

I think I will complete their photo assignment.
One thing.

No Mother in the world puts peanut butter on both sides of the bread.
Are you kidding me?
If you put peanut butter on both sides of the bread, the jelly (which they specify jelly in the assignment) will all ooze out. I mean jelly will be everywhere except in the sandwich.

Can't take their photos tonight with these bad directions because they want natural light.
Fine.
Natural light does make food look better. But won't stop the ooze.
Oh man, I only have jam. Jam is not jelly.

But if they don't know how to make a peanut butter sandwich, do they know the difference between
jam and jelly? Huh? Huh?

Who are these people?
They don't know about the soak. The jelly has to soak into the bread.
The jelly cannot soak into the bread if there is peanut butter on both sides.
jeeeze.
Thinking about if the budget will support a photo prop purchase of Welch's grape jelly.
I prefer jam. But the assignment for the oozing sandwich says jelly. Cut diagonally.

I love peanut butter with a lot of flavors.
The classics are Welch's grape, or strawberry. Knott's strawberry.

More about this later....♥ Chloe