Best home sandwich ever.

I have just discovered my new favorite sandwich to fix myself for an evening snack here: toasted bread, honey, sheep's cheese and slices of ripe pear. Ambrosia. Seriously. Especially with a sweet cup of coffee and a good book.

How To Feed Yourself For A Week. Maybe.

Basically, it's simple: make a big-ass pasta salad. I get a lot of compliments on my pasta salads, and it takes almost no time at all to whip one up. So here's the run down:

Take your selected amount of pasta (usually I make a lot, hence the eating for a week thing), in whatever small-ish shape appeals to you. I like mini penne, farfalle and fusilli, but it's up to you. Salt some water, bring it to a boil, and throw that pasta in. Cook for however long the package specifies.

While the pasta is boiling, cut up some fresh veggies. I usually go for tomatoes, cucumber, fresh corn (when in season), avocado, maybe bell pepper. Really, the possibilities are endless, depending on your taste. Chop up some fresh onion, a large bunch of fresh basil, and maybe some fresh herbs or chives.*

When the pasta's done, transfer it to a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and plenty of your vinegar of choice. Liberally salt and pepper (I like coarsely ground black pepper and kosher salt). Add in a couple pressed cloves of garlic, or alternately mix up a dressing beforehand that includes smashed garlic. Mix in the veggies and fresh herbs.

Finish the dish off by crumbling feta or a good goat cheese into the finished salad, stirring to incorporate. Eat, and continue to eat for the next few days. Oh, and tip: a higher veggie to pasta ratio is recommended, otherwise the dish seems less like a salad and more like a pile of noodles with a couple of forlorn green bits thrown in for decoration. Not so appealing. Therefore, if you're making enough pasta salad to feed yourself for days on end, you'll need to have a reasonably large veggie selection on hand. Sometimes I add fresh vegetables to each subsequent serving.

Other good additions: grilled or smoked salmon, olives, capers, curry powder, lemon juice, pine nuts, parsley, cilantro, Thai basil, sauteed mushrooms, hard-boiled egg, steamed green beans, tuna, dill...ok, my point is made. Pasta salad is versatile, delicious, easy to make, and usually a crowd-pleaser. People who don't like a. bell peppers and b. feta have eaten my pasta salad containing both and proclaimed it good.

*How many times can I use the word 'fresh' in one sentence?

Oh my god.

My mouth thinks it has died and gone to heaven.

Basically, a family friend from Chicago who makes amazing deep-dish pizza invited me over for dinner before I go to Germany. Hooooly shitttt. So good. I try not to swear excessively in the blogosphere, because it sounds stupid later (i.e., when I reread my blog posts out of boredom). But, there is no other way for me to convey the deliciousness of this pizza. Words, profanities even, cannot express how good it was. I wish I'd had my camera and taken pictures, although it's dark and rainy here right now, so they wouldn't have come out well at all. Anyway, it was a simple pizza--mozzarella, tomato sauce (with copious amounts of garlic, of course), Italian sausage, olives, onion, basil. My favorite toppings. Home-made crust! I could go on and on about that crust. Sweet Jesus, that pizza was good.

And for dessert, there was ice cream from a certain locally-owned ice cream shop. That I happen to work at. Ahem.

It's the little things like this evening I spent with friends and family, eating good food and having good conversation, that I will miss the most when I am away. I can't wait for this next chapter in my life, but at the same time, I'm reminded a little every day how much I care about everyone here, and how lucky I am that life right where I am makes me this happy.

Here are some things that are making me happy this week:

*There is deep dish pizza in the fridge for lunch before work tomorrow.

*Orange blossom honey

*Economy pack of Twining's Earl Grey Tea

*Honey-nut Cheerios (Good breakfast cereal can make my day, actually.)

*I've seen so many of the people I love, but who I am never able to visit, in the past few days.

*Ice cream!

*Fresh vegetables from a friend's garden

*The premier of the next movie installment in a certain over-hyped franchise involving a boy wizard, which I may be going to with coworkers

Is anything not making me happy? Honestly, the list is very short:

*Packing. Ugh. My life=boxes.

*Mt. Eerie is playing at a local music fest. AND I'M GOING TO MISS IT. A sad turn of events (but I'll be in Europe...!).

More at some point in the future. Right now, pizza-bliss/work-induced weariness are lulling me into a sleepy daze. Oh, July.