Blueberry Orange Mug Cake

I think I just might be obssessed with these little cakes.  They are so quick and easy to make, and it's fun to experiment with different flavor and ingredient combinations.  This time I was inspired by my morning smoothie, an oatmeal, blueberry and orange juice combination. It was delicious, which got me to thinking of how the flavor combination might work in one of these quick cakes.

Quick Delicious Corn on the Cob

Sometimes the simplest way is the best. Take this recipe for instance, if you can even truly call it a recipe. To me it just simple, delicious, and something I've been doing for years. In all the years that I have made corn this way I have just never let Quirky help. Why I don't know, maybe because it was simple that I did it without even thinking about. Oh well...whatever the reason for not doing it in the past, today was a perfect day for us try this recipe together.

Chipotle Black Bean Hummus

Summer, unfortunately for us, is one of Dork's busiest times. However, one of the benefits to his job is that Quirky and I can stop by and visit with him and the people he works with just about anytime. This is a good thing because a few days of long hours and barely seeing each, I start to go stir crazy. The little things that Quirky does begin to aggravate, the everyday sounds around the house begin to annoy. I admit it...I need Dork. The other day was one of those days. I needed to see his face just as much as needed to hear his voice. So Quirky and I decided to make Dork and the people he works with a treat for them to snack on. We decided on homemade bread and a Chipotle Black Bean Hummus. The bread was made from my basic go to recipe that I have made for years, but the hummus was something that we made up as we went along. If the way Dork and the guys gobbled it up is any indication then I think it might have been pretty good. Here is what we did:

Single Serving Peanut Butter Banana Bread

This little bread was moist and delicious, and it was made in the microwave. Yep...I told you I would be revisiting the whole mug cake in the microwave concept. For some reason today,  that I'm beyond comprehending, my fever addled brain kept telling my stomach that it wanted banana bread. Since I am battling the dreaded summer cold, and quite frankly don't feel like standing up long enough to make "real" banana bread, I decided to revisit the mug cake concept. So with a handful of ingredients and less than five minutes I managed to calm the craving. This is what I did:

Field Trip to the Chrysler Museum of Art

The third day of our trip Dork finished up early and we were all able to go to the Chrysler Museum of Art. It was awesome...ok I thought it was awesome. Dork and Quirky are of the same mind sight when it comes to art museums..."look its another really old piece art by another dead guy." I find this so surprising, because Quirky is such a blossoming artist herself. Oh well...I can be thankful that I had the opportunity to expose her to such wonderful pieces of art and that I myself was able to see paintings that I had always loved but thought I would never see beyond the pages of a book. Paintings by artists that I have admired from the first time that I realized that there was something called art history, which combines two of my favorite things.

Field Trip to the Norfolk Zoo

The second day of our trip we ventured over to the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk. It was a zoo on the smallish side. We saw a variety of animals from hippos to red pandas, most of which were curled up asleep. We did get a chance however to see the Asiatic Bears horsing around and playing with each other, which was fascinating to Quirky. We were also lucky enough to be standing in the right spot when a giraffe walked right up and started eating just a few feet in front of us. Otherwise we saw a lot of curled up asleep animals, whether do to the heat or the noise, who knows.

Field Trip to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens

Recently Quirky and I were able to visit the Virginia Beach and Norfolk, Virginia area with Dork. Dork was busy most of the day with work so that just left Quirky and I to entertain ourselves. The beach was way too crowded for Quirky or my taste, but lucky for us there were some great fieldtrip opportunities nearby. The first morning we were there we went to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens.