A Giveaway, Lunch and Dessert

Isn't this the cutest doll you've ever seen? And it is being given away here. It's about Annie is a cute blog and she makes the dolls. She has the patterns too so you can make your own. They are all so precious. Good luck everyone!! (including me)

I'm trying to make healthy lunches. Last week I made a salad from Bulghur, tomatoes, olives and feta. So good for me and so tasty too. Today I made a soba noodle salad for the next couple of days. What do you take for lunch? I'm so spoiled by being able to come home for lunch that it's hard for me to plan ahead. Since I'm only working 6 hours a day, I only take a half hour so it's easier if I take something and eat at my desk.

The recipe is from this month's Everyday Food.

Cold Soba Salad with Feta and Cucumber

1 package (8.8 ozs) soba noodles (Japanese buckwheat noodles)

1/2 English cucumber peeled into long ribbons and thinly sliced

1/4 head red cabbage thinly sliced

1 shallot thinly sliced

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3 T olive oil

salt/pepper

4 ozs crumbled feta

Cook soba according to package instructions and drain.

In a bowl combine cucumber, cabbage, shallot, parsley, lemon juice and olive oil. Add soba season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until chilled, top with feta cheese and serve.

Tonight I'm having barbecue ribs, dijon potatoes and steamed broccoli with lemon and garlic oil. For dessert it's Brownie Pudding Cake. I can hardly wait for dinner. I have to idea where I got the recipe. I've had it for years.

Brownie Pudding Cake

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

4 T unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup milk

1 T oil

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup chopped nuts

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 cup boiling water

4 servings

In a medium bowl stir together flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 T cocoa powder and baking powder.

Add milk, oil and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Stir in nuts.

Transfer batter to an ungreased 1 qt casserole.

In a small bowl stir together 1/3 cup sugar and 2 T cocoa powder. Gradually stir in boiling water.

Pour the mixture evenly over batter in the casserole.

Bake 350 for 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean. Serve warm.

An Exciting Day and Award

What an exciting day!! Are you all watching our new President Obama and his beautiful wife? I missed today's activities because of work but I'm making up for it tonight. It is such an exciting time.
I received this award from my wonderful friend Mandy at the Vintage Kitten so I thought I would come out of hibernation to post. Mandy is such a fun lady and I love reading her posts.
Anna and Bailey wanted to say Hi also. It's hard to get a good picture of them together but happened to catch them this weekend. Both of them looking so innocent!!

I'm taking a break for awhile. I spend way too much time on the computer and my house is a mess and I really want to get some things done. I had some dental surgery that more or less knocked me on my ass but I'm feeling better now. Thank you all so much for your concern and checking in on me. I love you all. I'll try to post more often.