lady_branwyn

Didn't want to heat up the oven to roast some beets, so I nuked them in a covered dish and made this. Used yogurt instead of sour cream or mayo and left out the prunes. Michael, who is not a fan of beets, said they did not taste bad.
Beet and Walnut Salad

[Poll #1796972]
Please leave other suggestions in the comments. Note that unless I make pie for these people, we will be forced to eat store-bought pie.

Lord Branwyn and I had a hobbit breakfast this morning at the local First Watch restaurant--sauteed mushrooms topped with cheese, eggs, hashbrown potatoes, and English muffins. Nom.

I was discussing "A Game of Thrones" with Lord Branwyn (who bought it in an airport years ago, started reading it and never finished). When I said the author's name, it came out something like "George Arrrarrrhh Martin" which made me laugh because I sounded like a pirate. Then Lord Branwyn pointed out that Martin's name was no funnier than "J. Arrrrarrrh Tolkien." Though those two initials are about all the two authors have in common. Martin is the anti-Tolkien.

Giant Eagle is not my favorite grocery story, but I do like their selection of "ethnic foods" and stop by once in awhile to stock up. Yesterday, I discovered that the foreign section spills over into another aisle--Britain and Germany are hiding across from the ice cream coolers. There were shelves of sweets that I want to try including some rude chocolate bar that is "not for girls!" British readers, feel free to explain what that is all about. But it was the squat, little yellow jars with the old-fashioned label that really caught my eye. I've read about the love/hate relationship between Britons and their Marmite and wanted to discover how bad it actually was.
I wasn't going to inflict this stuff on Lord Branwyn (who doesn't have my taste for weird pungent stuff), so tonight was a good night to experiment since he is out playing cards and won't be home for supper. I made some toast then opened the jar and stared in wonder at the gleaming black sludge within. It looked like something scraped up after an oil spill. According to the jar, a serving is only one 1/2 teaspoon, but you would have to spread it microscopically thin, so I used about a teaspoon per piece of toast. Because I didn't want to throw out two perfectly good pieces of bread, I increased the chances of edibility by sprinkling grated cheddar cheese on top and heating it in the microwave.
The taste was predominently salty and reminded me a little of soy sauce. At least when it was filtered through cheese, it tasted pretty good. What a surprise, lol...