Man, have I had a run-around with customer service today!! In prep for our move, and just because today was an admin day, I made calls to:
- AT&T
- AT&T Uverse
- Comcast
- Dominion Power
- City of Cville Water/Gas
- PODS
- City of Cville Neighborhood Rules
- Piedmont Natural Gas
All I gotta say is there are a LOT of set-up / installation charges and fees and I was not a happy camper!
But I did glow for a bit while I ate this delicious snack in a jar:
- Fage
- Peach
- Quaker Oatmeal Squares
- Lingonberry residue
Thank goodness for Team Monson. Matt + Karen worked on this delicious dinner featuring a taste of Virginia produce!
A spin on this recipe: Summer Squash Gratin.
Tonight’s had zucchini, squash, baby eggplant, heriloom tomatoes, panko, parmesan, herbs, salt and pepper. Matt pre-cooked the veggies in a flat skillet just to soften them a bit before layering and baking. The gratin was still rather watery, but so long as we lightly drained each piece before plating, it was great.
Layers
On the side we had some simple beans Karen cooked from scratch last week. They tasted SO good and had to ask her how she made them. Her answer>: just simmered in chicken broth and pepper. That’s it! The flavor was 1,000x better than beans made with water. Must use broth!
Seconds!!
L’Orange to cleanse the palate!
And my bedtime is in ……NOW!
3AM baker’s alarm clock is set. See you tomorrow! I might be around on Twitter 
{ 64 comments… read them below or add one }
Squash gratin?! It looks fabulous!
I love the layers! So beautiful and tasty!!! Aren’t beans just the perfect protein?! Sleep well and enjoy your morning of baking!
Those layers look so tasty. I’ve been using vegetable broth to cook beans lately. I use it to boil rice noodles, too! Good luck at Great Harvest in the A.M. – excited to see photos of all the yummy fresh-baked bread.
Kath the baker!
I’ve never been able to do a veggie casserole without the watery part .. I guess this is why we whould put bread crumbs of something like that?
The time I did a veggie casserole I baked some of the veggies before hand so it wouldn’t be as watery. Hope you sleep well Kath!
And I thought I was an early bird. Good luck for 3am!
I made my husband make all the moving calls today and he was NOT happy afterward. They really do like to give you the run-around!
I love those oatmeal squares!
That gratin looks so delicious and just gave me inspiration for dinner–thanks! I’m sorry about the frustrating administrative experience…what a bummer. Enjoy your evening!
I’ve known about the chicken stock trick for a while. It make a huge difference with rice, I never thought about using it for beans (I don’t eat beans – don’t like them). I have to go to bed now too – my baker’s alarm clock goes off at 4:45!
yum!!!
setting up for a move is such a pain. at least you’re almost done!!
(i’m setting my 4am runner’s alarm clock for tomorrow. i will think of you while it is still dark out)
Home phone?! What is this? The 20th century? Stick with the cell phone or get vonage if you absolutely MUST have a home phone.
Gentle, gentle! We did not get a home phone. I was just setting up my home via phone.
squash gratin looks absolutely amazing – i am drooling for sure.
3 am? gross.
HOLY YUM! That is my kind of dinner!
Holy YUM! The layers of that gratin look amazing, and the cheese! Looooooove. I must make this.
Wei-Wei
Wow, you’re going to have a LONG day tomorrow — but worth it! Enjoy.
I will have to remember that tip about the beans!
And, dang girl, 3 am? Bakers are troopers.
A 3 am wakeup call?? You are insane! lol
Oh wow – dinner looks fantastic! Bookmarking that recipe!
I can’t wait to hear about your bakery adventures
Those layers look so good.
I hate having to set up everything after moving… so much work.
I’d never be able to wake up at 3am. Sleep well!
Props on the phone calls. I hate those types of tasks.
I totally agree. I seriously consider going cable- and power-less every time I move. Who needs it, right?
oh my! this definitely got bookmarked!=0)
good luck with the early wakeup call! eeeeeks!
OMG your dinner looks amazing!!!
WOW that looks very yummy!! I would be going for thirds! ha ha
Moving is such a pain, but from my experience, it’s well worth it
Good luck getting to sleep right now! I’m sure 3am will come early!
That is such a great dinner. Perfect for summer.
That dinner looks vegi-licious!! Yum!
I can relate to the moving experience. My dad was military so were hopping around all the time! Hang in there!
That gratin looks awesome, and is making me quite hungry.
A la “Good Eats” (I think…or maybe America’s Test Kitchen), try salting the veggies and letting them sit on a wire rack for a while (the salt will break down the cell walls and give the water loss) then rinse & pat dry with paper towel. That should solve the excess water problem. You could probably make a nice sauce out of the “drainage” (you know, except it will have a lot of salt in it).
This is just what I was going to say–anytime I’m cooking with tomatoes/eggplant/squash and am making something that isn’t supposed to be liquidy, I salt the veggies and set them on paper towels. If you’re concerned about sodium, you can rinse them off under water afterward (seems like it would defeat the purpose, but what the salt does is draw the water out from INSIDE the veggies, so you can rinse and towel dry and be good to go. I usually just salt them with whatever salt would have gone into the recipe, though. Works great with pizza toppings!
oooooh what a tasty tasty dinner!!! Great job!
My dinner tonight was SUPER similar! Weird! It was a Cooking Light recipe and they called it Tian but it basically had the same ingredients!
http://leftoversforlunch.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/monday-funk/
Oh! And not watery at all!
oh dear, i hate all the setting up stuff with moving!!!
It’s so frustrating when you have to call customer service numbers like that… I feel like I always get the run-around! Good luck with everything
Hey-
Love your blog! I’m a silent fan, but I’m also a first-time marathoner training in a new city with no running pals to pose these questions to!
I am currently training for my first marathon and I cannot eat enough food to feed the beast that is my stomach. Then, in my attempts to fill the void, I tend to overeat and feel crappy! Seriously, all I do is eat… Also, I’m running more than a half marathon each weekend and three training runs a week and have gained about 3-5 lbs since starting training. Its kind of a bummer.
That being said, I know my fitness goals are more important than any number but I feel like I’m really going about eating the wrong way. So, my question is, what can I eat that will both fill up and that is healthy and nourishing?
Any tips would be MUCH appreciated!!
Thanks!!
Katie,
I would make sure you’re getting enough carbohydrates since that’s what the body needs for fuel. Bread is nice!!
I’ve googled and googled, but can’t find the answer. Are simple beans the same as pinto beans? If so, I love me some pinto beans
Not sure!
I think if you’re asking if there is actually a bean called “simple beans” then you misunderstood Kath. She was referring to the cooking method as being simple aka easy.
Desert looks good!
Good tip on the beans. Are you getting up that early?
That gratin looks DELICIOUS. care to share the recipe?
The gratin looks fabulous – I want to give it a go.
And installation fees are the WORST. That is the one thing that I dislike most about moving, I think – paying to have everything installed!
Dinner is so colorful! It looks amazing!
What a delicious cheesy-vegetable recipe! I’ve never been that keen on pasta, so this looks like an awesome faux-lasagne recipe to me!
3am baker’s alarm?? Sheesh, it’s 8.20 here…that means you’r already up!
Wow, that’s a lot of phoning around. Glad you topped off a tough day of admin with a nice home cooked meal.
That ziti looks amazing!! So fresh. Holy early wakeup call! Good luck, girl!
Ahhh productive days. Not fun but so satisfying after. Today I already faxed my schedule to the registrar and am now off to take a stray to the shelter.
I hate customer service calls. They’re so annoying! Your gratin looks delicious, though. I bet it made you feel better!! I’ve never thought of simmering beans in broth- I’ll have to try it!
that gratin looks amazing! i’ll be making that this week…with TONS of fresh veggies
holy goodness that veggie bake looks amazing. for some reason, i LOVE raw tomatoes, but am not a fan of cooked/warm! i can even eat them if they’ve been cooked and cooled, but do you think i could make this casserole without them?
Yeah, def. Just use other veggies.
That gratin looks awesome! Mmmm!
Thanks for the tip about simmering the beans in chicken broth! Sounds good!
P.S. In case you or any of your readers are interested, I have a giveaway on my blog for NuNaturals Stevia Products!
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Thanks!
What a beautiful SIAJ!
And I love using chicken broth to cook brown rice and quinoa — next I’ll have to try beans cooked in chicken broth.
I always use vegetable broth when making rice, but never thought about using it in beans. I’ll bet that would be amazing!
That gratin looks amazing! Did you drain the tomatoes before adding them to the rest of the veggies? Just a suggestion…might help eliminate some of the excess moisture.
BTW, I grew up eating lingonberries (my family is Norwegian- we actually call them “tyttebaer” which is their native Norwegian name) and they’re so good, I usually just eat a blob of them plain! (or on Swedish pancakes…yummm) If you need to replenish your supply before you make it to IKEA again you can usually find the Felix brand at most grocery stores (either in the jam or ethnic foods aisle) and it’s very good.
That gratin looks really good! Like a cross between ratatouille and vegetable lasagna!
I’ve been cooking my beans from scratch lately, but I haven’t cooked any in chicken broth. Perhaps I’ll try that!
The gratin looks amazing!!!
WOW lots of phonecalls…congrats for getting through them all in one peice!!!! xx
looks like a great meal!