Whip It.

Tired of the same ol' same ol', I decided to be exotic and try something new: stuffed bell peppers. Here's the recipe I used for any interested parties. I'd never had them before and figured now is as good a time as any. Most of the stuff I make is more on the vegan side, hence there isn't much cooking involved. This was a new foray for me. My kitchen looks like a can of refried beans exploded in it. Made a few observations:

1) Not all rules are made to be broken; "guesstimates" don't always cut it. Those little suggestions called "measurements"? Yeah, they're kinda important.

2) That said, there is a HUGE difference between dry weight and cooked weight (Though I still don't understand how in the world I ended up with 1.5 lbs LEFTOVER of cracked bulgar wheat. ??)

3) Coring bell peppers is a bitch (and my right ring finger will thoroughly agree)

4) Pay attention to what parts need to be cooked first so you don't have 3 pots going (two at twice the temperature) trying to play catch up

Got some blood in the bell peppers, but that's okay. They're red anyway, I'm a universal donor, and I don't have cooties. Sharing is caring :)

While I was cooking the guts (the part you're supposed to stuff), I kept spilling stuff under the grill plate on my oven. This of course set off the smoke alarm. I opened the door to let the smoke out and found my neighbor knocking to make sure I was okay (thanks, Nick) Put them in the oven for about 25 minutes per the instructions.

While they were baking, I started washing dishes furiously (I HATE a messy kitchen) and I was splashing water everywhere. My poor cat was hollering like a banshee because her food dish is by the sink and she was getting wet while she was trying to eat. I expect some retribution later this evening. I've already hidden my top hat.

(**Speaking of which, I had to halt production on it for a while. I got a little too zealous with the super glue & rhinestones and ended up gluing my tweezers together. I've got some Detachol so it'll all work out...)

Despite the hell I went through to make them they turned out pretty good. Once I was done I put on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I needed something to lighten the mood because the state of my kitchen made me want to cry (it may have to be cleaned in shifts) and now all is right in the world...

that is if I only had some ether... ;)