I’ve had a nasty chest cold with accompanying cough since early June, which means I’ve spent less time weeding than I should and more time on social media. All while crocheting, of course… I have learned a few worthwhile lessons.

As in: what new things can one do with green beans? They are cascading now. Hard to keep up with the excess.

I mentioned a pasta with fried zucchini and eggplant the other day. That was a doomscrolling idea. Then there was the Italian guy who tossed green beans into the boiling pasta. I’ll try anything once. I can never remember the exact recipe from my doomsday machine, so this is what I did:

I thin sliced the eggplant, spread on a dish towel and sprinkled with kosher salt. I prefer the long thin variety over the globe, but both were tasty. Thin sliced a zucchini. This time I used a yellow one. I prefer the green for this method. Squeezed excess water out of eggplant. Fried the veg until golden. Drained on paper towels. Removed excess oil. Sautéed chopped garlic until fragrant. Grated high acid tomatoes (we grow Early Girls.). Tossed in with the garlic along with a pinch of fennel seed, two thin sliced jalapeños, fresh marjoram and thyme, capers and a few anchovies. Salt to taste. I started boiling water at the beginning, but tossed the pasta into the salted water when my tomatoes stopped looking watery. Tossed green beans (both ends chopped off) in with pasta. Boiled for 6 minutes. Scooped pasta and beans from water directly into tomatoes and stirred to coat pasta. Michael grated me a mound of cheese. Used provolone and goat cheese last time; Parmesan and Gouda this time. Both great. Go wild with the cheese. Just don’t use pre-grated stuff. Sprinkled cheese on pasta. Mounded half the fried veg on top. More cheese. More veg. More cheese! A sprinkling of freshly chopped parsley. Allow to bubble a bit and melt that cheese. I don’t plate things well, so no final photo. But Michael loved the green beans (which aren’t his favorite).

My tech informed me this was a very nutritious meal, even if a bit light on protein. We will have leftovers tomorrow!

The other doomscrolling moment of enlightenment was a video showing someone making a top out of a fancy tablecloth. I didn’t have such an item (yet?) so I grabbed a scrap of cloth donated to my church. Measured my shoulder width and added some for sleeves. Trimmed to have even edges. Cut out a neck hole and tried it on. Trimmed to fit better. Looked like a poncho. Measured my hips and gave it an extra bit for comfort. Cut in for the arms, up from the waist, and then joined the two cuts with a curve. Used the fabric from that last step to make the facing for the neck. At this point it was one piece of fabric with a neck hole. Faced the neck, sewed the sides together, hemmed the sleeves and bottom and was done. Turned out ok! Sewing without a pattern but with techniques people are willing to share. I think I need to go and doomscroll some more.