1 cup Arborio rice (or other short-grain white rice)
4-5 ripe but firm large tomatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper (to taste)
1 garlic clove, mined
3 tablespoons chopped, fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped, fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Cook the rice in a medium saucepan of boiling water, until cooked through.
Preheat oven to 350 degreed F.
Cut off tops of tomatoes (about 1/5 inch thick slices) and set aside.
Cut and scoop out seeds, pulp and drain juice into a bowl, set aside.
Oil the bottom of an 8 by 8 inch baking dish.
Toss rice with 1/4 of remaining tomato pulp/juices, garlic, basil, parsley, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper a 1/4 a teaspoon of olive oil.
Spoon rice mixture into the hollowed tomatoes mounding slightly, place in the oiled baking dish and place tops on top of rice mixture.
Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Let stand for 5 minutes, then serve!
I went see Langhorne Slim at the Grog Shop with my friend and his girlfriend back in January. Before the show his girlfriend made these for us and they were delicious! I decided to give it a try! They are very filling, so I didn't even make a side dish.
I would like to introduce you to my ex-boyfriends dog Penny (Short for Penelope.)
Penny is a 3-year-old, rescued Pit Bull (you know, the "vicious" breed that mauls off babies faces.) Before Kyle adopted her, she was abused. Her previous owner had bred her a couple of times before she was even a year old (which apparently is very unhealthy for dogs,) took her puppies, and tied her to a tree. She was left outside through harsh weather conditions, and after he was arrested, she was left without food. Out of desperation she broke free of the yard, and as the person who rescued her told my ex, laid down on the sidewalk to die. She was taken in, nursed back to a health and was posted in an add on Craigslist. This is when Kyle found her, and upon meeting her it was love at first site.
Penny is a big, lovable baby. She loves to cuddle, bark at the cat, she howls at you when you come home from work and showers you with doggy kisses. She NEVER once hurt another living thing.
I have met several pit bulls, all of them are well behaved and loving. So why the bad reputation? IT'S NOT THE DOG! IT'S HUMAN BEINGS!! Any dog can be trained to be violent, even your grandmothers shih tzu.
In the big scheme of things, Penny's abuse was not that severe. Some dogs endure the most horrific pain. For perspective please check out Noah's Ark Resuce. (Warning: The images on that site are very graphic, I do not suggest reading it if you have a weak stomach.) For those of you that have decided to investigate further, and followed the link... Tell me, do you think an animal would ever subject it's self to something so awful on it's on accord? No, domesticated dogs will fight to defend themselves, and honestly... even when abused by their owners, most will lie down and take it. They are a lot like children, they love unconditionally.
Here's the kicker... even though a lot of these dogs become violent through abuse and conditioning by humans, the state of Ohio passed laws labeling the breed it's self as vicious, instead of creating harsher punishments for animal cruelty. To me, this is the same thing as racial profiling. You wouldn't go around calling African Americans the "N" word and talking about how they are all ill educated criminals, would you? Well some of you would, and shame on you.
For years pit bull owners in Ohio had to relocate to cities where the breed was permitted to reside, buy extremely expensive insurance policies and muzzle their dogs any time they left their homes.
A couple days ago, this changed. The state of Ohio passed OB 14, which removed the state wide classification of pit bulls as a dangerous breed.
There are now three classifications for ANY breed:
Nuisance Dog: A dog that while off its owner’s property threatens, menaces or attempts to bite a person.
Dangerous Dog: One that has caused an injury to a person, killed another dog or had 3 violations as a nuisance dog. Once a dog is classified as dangerous, the owner must register the dog, purchase liability insurance, microchip the dog and afix a tag to its collar.
A Vicious Dog: Is one that has caused serious injury to a person through a bite.
Local governments can still enact BSL (breed specific legislation) laws as they see fit, but this paves the way for change. It gives a cities citizens a chance to stand up, and speak for creatures that do not have their own voice.
Sleeping has always been a bit of an adventure: insomnia, sleep paralysis and vivid dreaming have plagued me for many years.
Insomnia: Inability to obtain sufficient sleep. Difficulty in falling or staying asleep; sleeplessness.
I have awful sleeping habits, liking drinking soda before bed or deciding that it's a great idea to troll the internet until 5:00 in the morning, but sometimes I straight up can't fall asleep. More often than not I find myself watching whatever TV show I happen to be into at the time on Netflix (This is currently Law & Order: SVU. Also see: Brutal nightmares about being kidnapped and raped.) For those of you that have not experienced insomnia for yourself, let me tell you... it's an interesting experience. After awhile you start to feel like you're inebriated, one minute you're on cloud nine and the next minute the smallest thing will send you into a homicidal rage (Roar!) I have taken prescription sleep aids and over the counter supplements, and while they definitely help you fall asleep, they also give you intense dreams (At least for me. Nicotine patches also had this effect.) Working out during the day seems to help me find sleep more easily, but the majority of the time I have to reach the point of complete physical and mental exhaustion.
Sleep Paralysis: A condition in which, upon waking, a person is aware of their surroundings but is unable to move.
Imagine this: you are warm and cozy in your bed, you flutter your eyes open and try to move your arms but nothing happens. Actually, you can't feel or move a single part of your body. Panicked, you try to call out to someone, that doesn't work either. There is also this strange sensation like someone is pressing on your chest. Your mind starts to go to weird places, and you begin to fear for yourself. Half asleep you is convinced there is something evil just out of your line of sight. After a few minutes you regain control of your body, you fling the blankets off, jump out of bed and attempt to compose yourself. Sounds awful right? It is, back in the olden days people believed it was caused by demon trickery. I had this more as a child, but a couple months ago it happened again (for the first time in years.)
Vivid: Presenting the appearance, freshness, spirit, etc., of life; realistic. Dreaming: A succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep.
I have always had extremely vivid dreams. I went through a phase once where I would have dreams that I was asleep. My cell phone would ding (letting me know I had a text message) and I'd wake up. I'd proceed to read said message/s and decide I'd wait until morning to answer, then it was back to slumber land. When I would ACTUALLY wake up, I'd pick up my phone and the messages I very clearly remembered getting were not there. The first couple times it happened I came to the conclusion that I was deleting them while half asleep. It wasn't until I asked a friend about one of these messages, that I put two and two together and figured out it wasn't really happening. These types of dreams can be rather fantastic when the content is right: spending time with loved ones, fighting off hoards of zombies, having sex, lightsaber battles, etc... Sometimes though, you have a vivid nightmare! I've actually had a number of these throughout my life, sometimes they are so bad that the idea of going back to sleep, and having the same dream again, is terrifying. A few months back I started a dream journal, when I wake up I write down everything I can remember about a particular dream. My conclusion is that I have a fucked up/over active imagination.
I like to tell myself that sleeping is overrated, even thought it is something essential to my health...
Most of us make a resolution at the beginning of every year: lose weight, quit smoking, go back to school, etc... However, it seems to me that no one ever fully commits to the changes they so desperately want in their lives. The truth is, most people are just too lazy and set in their ways.
I've decided to set some goals for myself, and by golly I am going to follow through! If I don't, well... we are all going to die during the zombie apocalypse of 2012 anyway, so I guess I won't feel too bad.
Goals:
1.) STAY SINGLE: I have always been one of those people in a relationship. Thinking back on it, since I've started dating I don't think I have ever been single longer than six or seven months at a time. Usually when I meet a "potential someone," I rush in without really getting to know them. Then I act all surprised when I discover that they are a giant tool. I don't really need to "find myself" or anything like that, I just feel burnt out and need some "me time." Once I am back in the game, there are a few things I want to avoid...
Guys that have slept with 95% of the local population: I don't know how I manage to do it, but I always end up dating dudes that have been with a ridiculous amount of women. It isn't a jealous issue or anything, it's just uncomfortable going out with your boyfriend and knowing that he's slept with almost every girl at the party.
Guys that wear girl pants: Yeah, I know... you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, and I am sure there are some really nice men out there that wear ladies jeans... However, MOST of the people I have been with that wear girls pants are self-centered hipster assholes. Besides, it leaves more to the imagination when I can't see the outline of your peep through your denim.
Guys with kids: Now, I actually feel kind bad about this one. My last boyfriend had a child and he wasn't an awful human being. The thing is, I have dated two men with kids and it's all the drama I can't handle. Both times the exs were insane, and I very often wanted to pull my hair out over it. I am a very relaxed person and GREATLY enjoy having a peaceful life, when some crazy bitch is blowing up your phone and sending you e-mails, serenity is hard to achieve. I am young enough that I can very easily find someone without children (I feel like this gets harder the older you get.)
Guys from my home town: In the city I grew up in, everyone is pretty familiar with each other. Even if you don't know someone personally, you seem to know all of their business. Within my circle of peers, we have all dated one another. This causes a HUGE disruption in the force. It's time to meet new people... from a different city.
2.) GET HEALTHY: This is some what out of my control as I have two incurable diseases (Crohn's & Colitis) but there are steps I should be taking to keep myself as "healthy" as possible.
I am by no means fat (I am 95lbs and 5ft tall) or even "chubby" but I could be in way better shape then I am. I went from going to the gym three to four times a week, to not exercising at all. I've recently started working out again, and let me tell you it sucks. It's exhausting, I hurt everywhere, I'm sore everyday and all I want to do is sleep... but I know eventually it wont be so terrible, and I'm already feeling the mental benefits. (I've code named this "Operation Get Sexy" awesome I know.)
I know I have said it before, but I am going to quit smoking this year. We all know how bad smoking is, it causes cancer, labored breathing, coughing fits, premature aging etc... but it is especially bad for me. It dramatically increases the frequency of my Crohn's flare ups. I've already had three major surgeries, I don't really have too much left to take out. I owe it to myself to make sure I live the longest, and most enjoyable possible.
I eat pretty healthy meals for the most part, I very rarely eat fast food or frozen meals, I drink tons of water, eat plenty of fresh veggies and fruit. But soda, I love the stuff... in fact I crave it sometimes. I've done a good job at cutting back, but trying to quit drinking soda is like trying to quit smoking crack. Another thing I need to do is stop eating things that irritate my disease, why does popcorn have to be so delicious!?
I am VERY bad at taking my medications at the same time everyday. Honestly, sometimes I miss a dose all together. This is just plain bad, and honestly there is no excuse for it... I am an adult. My solution? I have started to set alarms on my phone for each dose. and I guess my last major goal for this year is...
3.) GET OUT OF DEBT: Between medical bills and some bad decisions over the last couple of years, I have managed to rack up a decent amount of debt. It is manageable but no matter how much money you owe, it always sucks paying it back.
So here's to bettering myself!
"I think I can, I think I can."
