Well, school is back with full, mind-blowing force for Sean and me. Grad school is about what I expected — a 9-5 job with classes. Luckily I can get most of my homework done during the day.
My first homework assignment of the semester…
Anyway, I also did some rearranging around the house. I like this set-up better because it defines the living room a little bit more. Anything to make Old Town feel like home is a good thing.
Don’t worry, guests, I always wash my table before you come over.
I don’t have many adventures to report about. If you take two very busy people and put them together, the result is not more time. So here is a quick weeknight recipe that contains a lot of one very brain-boosting food: broccoli. Funny that it looks like a brain, too, right? I realize the broccoli rotini looks a lot like a previous recipe, but it tastes quite different.
Ra-ra-rotini.
Creamy Whole Wheat Broccoli Rotini
Inspired by this Smitten Kitchen recipe.
1 large broccoli crown
1 yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
12 oz plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tbsp lemon juice
12 oz whole wheat rotini
1. In a medium saucepan fitted with a steamer, steam the broccoli until a fork goes through it easily but it is still green. It took my stove about 15 minutes. You can also microwave the broccoli in a covered dish with a little water on the bottom for 5-7 minutes.
2. While the broccoli steams, dice your onion and mince your garlic. Then, if the broccoli is not close to being done, grate your parmesan.
3. Heat up the olive oil and butter in a Dutch oven and sauté the onions until soft. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic.
4. By now, your broccoli should be done. Add the broccoli and stir, mashing with your stirring implement. Using a fork may also help.
5. Add more water to your steaming saucepan and cook the pasta according to directions.
6. While the pasta cooks, add the cherry tomatoes to your broccoli slurry. When they are soft and puckered, removed the Dutch oven from heat. Add the parmesan, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. When the mixture has cooled slightly, stir in the Greek yogurt.
7. When the pasta is done, pour a few tablespoons of broccoli pasta water into the broccoli slurry and then drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the now-wetter broccoli slurry and stir until everything resembles a big, greenish mass.
8. Serve with more parmesan cheese.
Fland-Made 
You have such a beautiful window to let in chilly air in your apartment! I like your blue coffee table too.
Yeah, high ceilings + big windows = cold. But the windows are covered in plastic now, and the heat actually works now, and I don’t pay for heat, so it’s actually quite pleasant : ) I painted that coffee table. It used to be dusty and covered in bumper stickers.