Harvest Moon

Prepare for the Super Harvest Moon! For the first time in two decades, the Sun will sink as the full Moon rises exactly opposite to it on the day the summer ends, creating a strange 360-degree twilight show.
If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, today is the autumnal equinox and a Super Harvest Moon will cross the sky after almost 20 years since the last time it happened. When the Sun starts to set on the Western horizon, a full moon will rise opposite to it on the East, reflecting the light of our home star.
Being close to the horizon, the orange Moon will be gigantic thanks to a psychological effect called the Moon illusion. The sky will be illuminated by the Sun and the Moon at the same time, creating a weird 360-degree effect that is rarely seen.
You don't need to do anything special to enjoy the show, just get ready for the sunset. Make sure to have a clear view to both East and West.
In NYC, the event will happen at 6:54pm. You can check the time in your city here.
And as an added bonus, when the summer ends at 11:09pm Eastern Time, Jupiter will appear right next to the Moon.
Remember to take photos and send them to jesus@gizmodo.com. [NASA]

Send an email to Jesus Diaz, the author of this post, at jesus@gizmodo.com.

This week's featured item

Handprinted Bamboo Pillow Sham

Description

This is hand printed from a linoleum block.

All our items are designed
and made in Idaho.

Each item is a functional and unique work of art. 

$25.00

http://www.etsy.com/listing/16820547/handprinted-bamboo-pillow-sham

Monday musings

I made the lasagna over the weekend and is did not turn out that great. There wasn't enough sauce. So I opened up a jar of sauce and added it to the bottom and top of 2 casseroles. Then I added some more shredded cheese to the top. Microwaved some for lunch today and it tasted great.

Time for Lasagna

It's going to be a rainy weekend so I think a hearty lasagna is in the works. I was checking online and found a healthy version. This only has 315 calories per serving.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces lasagna noodles, preferably whole-wheat (see Ingredient note)
• 1 pound lean spicy Italian turkey sausage, casings removed (see Variation)
• 4 cups sliced mushrooms (10 ounces)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 pound frozen spinach, thawed
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably chunky
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 pound part-skim ricotta cheese (2 cups)
• 8 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 2 cups), divided

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Put a large pot of water on to boil.
Cook noodles in the boiling water until not quite al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package directions. Drain; return the noodles to the pot, cover with cool water and set aside.
Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and water; cook, stirring occasionally and crumbling the sausage more, until the sausage is cooked through, the water has evaporated and the mushrooms are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Squeeze spinach to remove excess water, then stir into the pan; remove from heat.
Mix tomatoes with basil, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
To assemble lasagna: Spread 1/2 cup of the tomatoes in the prepared baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, trimming to fit if necessary. Evenly dollop half the ricotta over the noodles. Top with half the sausage mixture, one-third of the remaining tomatoes and one-third of the mozzarella. Continue with another layer of noodles, the remaining ricotta, the remaining sausage, half the remaining tomatoes and half the remaining mozzarella. Top with a third layer of noodles and the remaining tomatoes.
Cover the lasagna with foil and bake until bubbling and heated through, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on the lasagna. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is just melted but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Ingredient note: Whole-wheat lasagna noodles are higher in fiber than white noodles. They can be found in health-food stores and some large supermarkets. Variation: For vegetarians, use a sausage-style soy product, such as Gimme Lean, or simply omit the sausage altogether.

I will probably add onions and peppers to the recipe above. I'll let you know next week how it turned out.

Tonight is meatloaf

Today my other half is cooking dinner. Must have been the mention that we're having salad tonight. And yesterday after getting up at 4:45 a.m. so I can do my 2 miles on the treadmill, make breakfast, get my lunch ready and get to work on time, then go shopping after work. Well, I come home and no dinner is on the stove, in the oven, anywhere. . .So I made some chicken quesadillas with guacamole. Turned out great but I was tired.


So my SO tells me he's making meatloaf tonight and it usually turns out pretty good. Since after work I head to the gym it will be nice to have dinner ready when I get home.

Did I mention too he also does the dishes. I guess I have it pretty good.

Repeat of last Wednesday's post

Here is what I posted on my wordpress blog. I'm putting it here since I am going to be continuing this blog and not the other one.

I am going to write about one of my loves—food. Since signing up for satellite TV I have been addicted to the Food Network. When my significant other says can we just have some normal food instead of always —as he puts it “going Giada on me.” As in Giada DeLaurentis. Our Food nicknames for each other are I’m “Giada” and he is “Bobby Flay.” As you may tell we like food. We enjoy cooking at home and are very discriminating when we go our since if we don’t say so ourselves we’re pretty good cooks.
So, I think I will share some of our favorite food stories and recipes here as well as some of my arts and crafts.

A little while back I tried making baked onion rings—a recipe from Rocco Dispirito. They turned out great. My SO thought I’d baked them from a frozen bag and when I told them they were from scratch he was impressed. They were easy to do. Dip onion slices (sweet ones work best) in buttermilk, then panko crumbs, bake in 400° oven for 15-20 minutes, turning once. I use the non stick foil and usually give them a quick spray of oil. Yum!

Tuesday Ramblings

Featured item of the day is my Sunflower tote bag. This is a hand printed linoleum cut print on a heavy weight canvas bag. Then I paint additional colors for a unique work of art and a useful item all in one. This is available for purchase on my Etsy site. http://www.etsy.com/listing/55672877/sunflower-tote-bag

Welcome to my New Blog

Yesterday I tried a new recipe and it was a success. Found it in our local paper. Pork chops with peaches. Very easy and healthy. Makes enough for 4 if you use 4 pork chops. I made it for 2 and cooked 3 pork chops and we had one left over.
Here’s the recipe:  Preheat oven to 400°. Heat skillet to medium high. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Salt and pepper pork chops and brown for 3-5 minutes on each side. (I used 1″ chops)
Take off skillet and sauteed 1/2 cup sliced, chopped onions and 2 sliced peaches or nectarines (I used one of each) for about a minute in drippings of pan with 3 tablespoons of vinegar – either apple or red wine.
Add pork shops back in and bake in 400° oven for 810 minutes until done. Take out of oven and add 1/4 – 1/2 cup chopped basil, stir and serve. Salt and pepper to taste.
I served with steamed broccoli and carrots for a healthy and colorful meal. You could add some rice or couscous if you wanted to add a starch.
Very good.