Can This Wait?

I've got a call coming in.

Eat Your Greens!

I know that leafy greens are some kind of magical power food that we're supposed to eat every day for the rest of our lives, but let's face it, unless you're a rabbit, greens are pretty boring and some of them (KALE!) are downright tough and nasty.

I decided that I had to try to like them a couple of years ago, and I looked for healthy recipes, but the health nuts only want you to gently steam or saute the greens, maybe with a little garlic and ginger, leaving them still bitter, tough and nasty (and boring).

Well I had an AHA moment last night when we ordered in some Indian food. I always get some kind of saag dish because what better way to eat greens than cooked to mush in butter. MMMMMMMMMMMMM.

Oh Hey! I could totally make this at home. :)

So here's my chicken saag-ish recipe:

1 5-lb chicken, quartered and brined (soak the chicken parts in salty water in the fridge for at least 3 hours before cooking. This tenderizes the meat and helps it retain some moisture), or use 2 breasts, 2 thighs, and 2 drumsticks on the bone.
2 Tablespoons virgin coconut fat (get the unrefined stuff if you can find it)
1 inch ginger peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 cloves garlic minced
2 bunches of greens, chopped (I used chard, but spinach, kale, collards, mustard greens, etc., would probably taste good too. Also, I only used one bunch, but I would use more next time.)
1 cup chicken broth
1 summer squash, chopped (I found a yellow zucchini that gave the dish some nice color.)
1 large tomato, peeled, cored, and diced
1 teaspoon garam masala (or whatever curry powder you have around)
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 Tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon salt (to taste)

1. Remove the chicken parts from the brine and dry thoroughly, leaving the skin on.

2. In a wide, deep pan heat the coconut fat over medium-high, and brown the chicken parts on all sides in the fat. Remove the chicken and set aside.

3. saute the ginger and garlic in the fat for a couple of minutes, then add the greens and saute until wilted.

4. Add the broth, squash, tomato, spices, and butter, and bring to a boil.

5. Put the chicken back into the pan, nestled among the vegetables.

6. Cover the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

7. Once the chicken is done (about 30 minutes), remove it from the pan, remove the skin, and debone the meat. Cut the meat into bite sized pieces and set aside.

While you're working with the meat, turn the heat up high and boil the vegetables to reduce the liquid in the pan until thickened into a sauce.

8. Once you have the sauce reduced to the desired level, add the chunks of meat to the pan and stir to heat it thoroughly. Correct the flavor with salt if needed.

This goes great with basmati rice, and we had some leftover naan from the Indian food last night. This would probably be good with other meats like chunks of lamb or beef that were previously braised in another recipe.

Nap Time

Please Pass the Steak

Mr M. frequently sits next to the table waiting for a scrap. Or he's hiding in one of the pushed in chairs waiting for an opportunity to surprise us. Last night he was trying to behave like a proper dinner guest. Maybe he thinks we won't notice he's a cat and give him a plate too?

Went back to Square Cafe for breakfast this morning. We love this place.

Nom Nom Nom

Jackie has nearly destroyed her favorite feather toy over the last 3 months. This afternoon I finally found a pet supply store that sells these things in a town only 7 miles away.

On that trip I stopped in at Hooters for lunch. I've never been to Hooters, and I might never have been curious, but an intelligent, liberated female friend of mine said she liked to go to a Hooters in every city she visited because the food was good. So, what the hell.

It turns out that the women working at Hooters aren't wearing tops any more daring than I might wear myself. The real eyebrow-lifter is the micro mini skirts reminiscent of tiny cheerleader uniforms that reveal a LOT of ass cheek. I was expecting the orange short shorts shown in the ads, but I guess this franchise has its own dress code. No cellulite-bearer need apply within! And please wear clean underwear!

The person who recommended this place to me is clearly insane. The food wasn't all that great either. I probably won't be back.

Last night Dave and I went to Ali Baba for dinner. We're still trying to find the Pittsburgh version of Afghani House or Kabul, or even the crazy Rose Market bbq stand, but this place isn't it either. The menu looks really good, and the price looks right, but the portions are very small, and the grilled meats are unmarinated and dry.

Hard At Work

Mr. Moustache likes to sit on my lap while I'm working, so I can't type or reach my coffee cup.

Lunch today was at the Murray Ave Grill for a Cobb salad. It was a pretty good meal, and now that it's non-smoking I can picture going there regularly.

Dave was busy Monday night grading his first test. On my own for dinner, I decided to wander the streets and see what grabbed my eye. I have passed Mr. Willy's BBQ several times, but there's never anyone in there so it can't be any good can it?

Only one way to know for sure. I ordered the 1/2 chicken with sauce, and I wanted the greens, but they were out, so I settled on broccoli cheddar casserole. They threw in a slice of corn bread, too. Since it was completely empty, I didn't feel like eating at the restaurant, so I had them pack it to go.


The meat wasn't bad, but a little on the dry side. The sauce was quite good, but I would not recommend the broccoli cheese stuff. And the cornbread? Well, nobody makes cornbread like my mama does, so I was not expecting to like it, and I was not surprised when I didn't.

I made it back to the CMU gym again yesterday and today. I swam on Tuesday for 20 minutes again, and I didn't have to stop and tread water as much or for as long to bring my heart rate down from heart attack threshold.

This morning I decided to see what's what in the weight room. I wasn't shocked to find that there wasn't an extensive free weights area, but I was a little surprised to find no barbells, only dumbbells.

I tried to do deadlifts with the 30lb dumbbells but it's hard not to bang those into your shins. I found that I could still bench press with the 25lb dumbbells so I have not regressed so badly in strength as I feared.

My cardiovascular fitness is another story altogether. It does not take much work to get me winded and sweaty. This I need to work on.

I'm here to file a complaint!

The Neighbors

I can always tell when the neighbor cats are spying on us, because Jackie goes nuts and starts clawing at the screen.

Political and Stuff

Last week I joined the Obama volunteer effort in my neighborhood, so now I'm entering canvassing and phone bank data into the big PA voter database. I'm doing this mainly because I'm not too keen on canvassing or phoning the good citizens of Squirrel Hill myself. It's kind of exciting to be part of a political movement, and doing this also helps me feel more like a member of the community.

In my quest for community, I also signed up to be an East End Food Co-op volunteer, and my first opportunity came this Sunday at Art Harvest, a co-op sponsored arts and crafts bazaar. That morning I helped the artists unload their wares and display stands from their vehicles for a couple of hours, and I learned how to use an old fashioned popcorn machine (like the ones you see at old movie theaters). I sufficiently impressed the volunteer coordinator, so she's going to put me to work in the produce section some select mornings so I can learn all about where the food comes from.

Saturday afternoon, Dave and I decided to check out the Robinson mall. It's a pretty decent mall with Macy's and JCPenny, and plenty of decent stores for clothes. Lots of teenybopper clothing stores but no shoe stores. We had an nice relaxing time just strolling up and down the corridors, stopping in to browse here and there (Spencer's Gifts was a fun distraction). Here I am enjoying some Starbucks and a card game with the photographer:



Saturday night was the first meeting of the book club. For this meeting we read Lopsided: How Having Breast Cancer Can Be Really Distracting, by Meredith Norton. It was very funny in a David Sedaris kind of way. In between the harrowing details of her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, Norton tells hilarious (and sometimes disturbing) stories about her French husband, his family, and her own family in California. This story leaves the reader wondering if it is the French culture or the state of French socialized medicine that took Norton to the edge of sanity.

Friday night we ate at Chaya, a Japanese restaurant in Squirrel Hill. I had a combo of sashimi and sushi, and everything was wonderful. I haven't had sushi since early June, so I was bouncing in my seat until the fish came out. Dave was not as excited about his beef and soba soup, so I have the feeling I'll be visiting this place on my own with the occasional sushi lover.

Cat Clings to Childhood

When the new sofa was delivered we had to find a new spot for the futon. I thought it could go in the attic as a spare bed (just in case), but Dave suggested we should try it in the study first since there's no comfortable seating in there (and we'd have to heave it up fewer flights of steps).

Since I callously left their favorite shredded armchair and ottoman on a curb in California the week we moved, this was the only remaining piece of furniture the cats had grown up with from our previous home (they are very attached to the furniture--sometimes quite literally). So now that it is in the office I can usually find one of them curled up between the cushions while I'm working in there.

Cat Pic of the Day

Cats are cute and furry, and often amusing, so I want to be sure to properly document our cats. I'll try to capture them doing something cat-like or stupid (typical) each day. Today they are both sleeping on the bed:

Swimmingly

I finally used my "sponsored" CMU ID card to go to the fitness center this morning. The only morning open swim time is 7am-8am, so I had to get all my gear ready the night before and jump out of bed this morning. Wanting to pack light, I decided to leave my hairdryer and towel here thinking that of course they have towels and hairdryers!

I got to the parking lot at 6:55, and noted that the meters are only enforced after 8am. Surely I wouldn't be swimming longer than 30 minutes, considering I haven't done any prolonged exercise in well over 4 months. So I didn't feed the meter and kept an eye on my watch. BTW--there is a ton of parking on campus at 7am!

At the front desk I signed in and was given an armband that you have to wear while you're there. Also, I discovered that I could only have 1 crappy little towel, and the desk clerk did not give in to my sad face and pleas for a second one. ARGH! Not too awful, but next time I'll bring my own spare.

The women's locker room is pretty big, but it smells awful, and the carpet feels kinda gritty. The day use lockers are plenty big and have lots of hooks, but you have to bring your own lock. Fortunately I remembered to bring one, but it is a key padlock so I had to carry a key around, and when all you're wearing is a swimsuit and a watch that's no easy feat, so I put it on my watch band which is not as convenient as it sounds.

I was worried the pool would be packed, but there was only one other person there at 7:05. So I commenced swimming. Boy! when I haven't done any serious exercise in 4 months I get out of breath pretty fast! My heart rate immediately shot up over 170bpm (180 at one point) so I had to tread water after each lap to bring my heart rate back down. I did this for 20 minutes, and seriously that was all I could take.

I went off to shower with my one little towel. The showers are completely open in one big room next to the whirlpool, so that was embarrassing. The towel hooks are on the end of the shower room, so you can't even remain covered until the last possible moment. The soap was quite caustic so next time I'll need to bring some of that too.

Afterward I went in search of the hair dryers. There are no hairdryers, although thankfully there are lots of mirrors and outlets everywhere. Another thing to pack next time.

I got on the waiting list for a personal locker so I'd have someplace to store all this crap, and I was told that could take several months. I got back to the car well before 8. Fortunately it was not too cold out this morning or my wet hair would have been a big problem. I'll come fully prepared next time!

Puck, Porcinis, Pumpkin, and (Damned) Phlebotomists

Dave thinks the neighbors' cats are much cuter than ours. They are pretty cute! Most mornings they are tethered to a big tree in the backyard next to ours. This is Puck:


Last week a foodie friend from California sent me the amazing cookbook, The Art of Simple Food, by Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame. It's a beautiful book that gets my creative juices flowing.

Sunday was a grilling night cause it was too hot in the house to use the stove. The gas grill came with the house, and I'm so thankful for it on these hot days. Here we have a grass-fed porterhouse steak and skewers of porcini mushrooms marinated, using Alice Waters' recommended method, in fresh oregano and rosemary on the grill:


The little pumpkin flower that I reported on last time died and fell off, but I found a little pumpkin under another leaf that was apparently pollinated when I wasn't paying attention. GROW GROW!


And for the morbidly curious, here is the giant bruise on my arm from the brutal treatment I received at the hands of the phlebotomist and the emergency room nurse last Thursday. It's more green than purple now but it still hurts!

Two Great Tastes

We've had really good luck with restaurants recently!

First was Spice Island Tea House in Oakland on Wednesday night. Parking is really a bitch in these parts because it's right next to Univeristy of Pittsburgh (aka Pitt). There are a few places on Atwood Street worth visiting, so unless you are willing to take a bus, plan on a 20 minute tour of the neighborhood to find parking.

The ambiance reminds me of San Francisco cafes, or the old location of the Winds Cafe in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The restaurant is a single large room filled with mismatched tables and chairs, and the darkness makes it feel cozy and private. The menu is a blend of south east Asian cuisines. Dave had the lemon grass beef curry, and I had the Burmese barbequed chicken. The servings are not large, but they are generous with the meats, making it a nice light savory meal.

Our second find was the Square Cafe in Regent Square on Saturday morning. We went expecting a sad dingy old-school diner with surly waitresses, and it was sort of retro 50s, but bright, shiny and clean, and the wait staff were very friendly.

Dave had the challah french toast which he loved, and I had the veggie overload omlette with brie, which was delicious. We also enjoyed some excellent coffee drinks which were served in large interesting stoneware mugs. We're definitely going to be there often, even though it's not a cheap place.

ER Visit

Thursday, September 11
Last week my course assistants politely informed me they'd rather I wasn't in class for recitations. So, this week I spent recitation time pacing around aimlessly, feeling useless as my own class proceeded without me. A friend accused me of suffering from separation anxiety.

Then, at 1:20pm, I got a call from an unknown local number on my cell phone. Normally I don't answer these, but I was just sitting in my office doing nothing, so I picked up the call. "It's me," said a very weak voice. It was Virg. She was at the endocrinologist's office, and when they tried to draw blood from her, she fainted. She sounded fairly incoherent, but she clearly wanted me to come pick her up. The problem was that she had the car.

She gave me an address, and I decided I'd better call a taxi so I could get over there quickly. Standing at the street where the cab was to pick me up, I called Virg's cell to let her know I was on the way, but she still wasn't making much sense. I had her put her doctor on the phone. From him, I learned that they'd had a hard time reviving her after she fainted, and since she was still very weak, he thought I'd better get her to the emergency room. Remembering the last couple of times something like this had happened, I knew Virg would need fluids, electrolytes, and food. I asked if the doctor had given her electrolytes or anything, and he said he was only giving her water. I told him this sort of thing had happened before, and that I was kind of hoping an endocrinologist would be able to figure out what was going on. Ugh. I went to the nearby vending machine for Gatorade and discovered it only took coins, and I was 3 quarters short. So I resorted to begging for change, and luckily someone walked in soon who was able to give me change of a dollar.

Armed with my Gatorade, I waited for the taxi. After 20 minutes passed, I called the taxi company and waited on hold for several minutes. Several calls later and still unable to get through, I tried calling other companies until eventually I got one who said they could pick me up in 10 minutes. I waited. 10 minutes went by. Then my cell phone rang. It was the taxi asking for directions. Here's a professional Pittsburgh driver who expects some guy who has lived here for two months to give him directions to CMU. I guessed road names and did the best I could. He told me he could be there in 10 more minutes. 10 more minutes went by. Then another 5 minutes. At this point it had been over an hour, and I could easily have walked to the doctor's office by then. Finally, a taxi emerged. In the cab, the driver asked me for directions to the address Virg had given me--a major street in Pittsburgh--and again, I guessed how to get there. Then he told me how terrible taxi service is in Pittsburgh. No kidding. We neared the address only to discover that the major street was closed. Typical Pittsburgh. I got out of the cab and ran the rest of the way, which turned out not to be that far.

I found Virg lying down in an examining room, and she looked terrible. I gave her the Gatorade and waited to speak to her doctor. There were lots of nurses standing around looking helpless and worried. I had a nurse wheel Virg to the curb while I went off to find the car and bring it around front. When Virg was safely in the car, I asked the nurse how to get to the hospital. Go two lights and turn right. Was it that big hospital-looking building that we could see a couple blocks away? Yes. I haven't even started driving, and we're basically already halfway there. At this point these nurses had spent nearly two hours worrying about Virg, and somehow no one had thought to just wheel her a couple blocks to the hospital.

Outside the ER, I found someone who could wheel Virg inside, and I passed them the note from her endocrinologist. After parking the car, I saw Virg get admitted, and I stayed in the eerily silent ER waiting room to answer questions about Virg. The woman there asked me for Virg's address, phone number, employer, and at some point she asks, "Religion?" I answer, "No," wondering why would they need to know that. The woman was clearly confused by my answer, and it took her a moment to resume collecting Virg's info. Eventually, she had me forge Virg's signature on three documents, which seemed pretty sketchy to me.

Inside with Virg. She was still very weak. It was 3:30pm, and she still hadn't been able to eat lunch. I got permission from the doctor to finally get her some food. She started feeling a lot better after that, and Virg believes it was the chance to eat that really helped--more than the Gatorade and IV and anything her doctors did. Before we left, though, they performed a lot of tests on her, including a CAT scan. At one point a couple of technicians asked me to leave as they started setting up some equipment. Virg found the strength to ask what they were doing, and when they said they were giving her a chest x-ray, she demanded to know why and sent them away. And of course she was right--her doctor hadn't ordered it. Go West Penn Hospital.

The room they put Virg in was intolerable--so small that the doctor and I couldn't really fit in the room at the same time. There was a thin curtain separating our side of the room from the old man lying in the next bed. Throughout the hours we spent in that room, the man continuously called out incoherent obscenities and threatened to f'ing punch various nurses and doctors. Virg used my iPod to shut out the noise.

In the end, none of the tests revealed anything, and Virg was feeling better, so we went home, having not really learned anything from the whole scary experience--except maybe that it's important to eat more before having your blood drawn. Oh, and not to call a taxi in Pittsburgh.

Te Quiero Barcelona

Friday it was too hot to cook so I drove over to CMU to pick up Dave and we walked over to Joe Mama's in Oakland. It doesn't look like much on the outside so we did not have great expectations, but the menu was much more extensive than I imagined, and we were both pleased with our meals (Dave had the gnocchi and I had the Crispy Chicken Milanese).

The sauces were tasty and the portions were generous. The salad was weak (served us a big bowl with a tiny amount of salad, dressing on the side in the Pittsburgh fashion), but the waitress offered to bring us more with no prompting when we finished the first bowl. The only really bad part of the meal was the 1/2 lb. meatball which was not very hot and kinda too dense and chewy. The weekend brunch menu looks good so I think we'll be back for that.

Question for you Pittsburghers: Is dressing on the side a Pittsburgh thing? Even when I request it tossed in I still get it on the side, usually in a plastic container.

Saturday we breakfasted at Kazansky's, but I think this was the last chance we're giving them. The weak french toast ensures that Dave will not want to come back, but the bagel, lox, and eggs breakfast was great.

We went to the Fair in the Park over at Mellon Park. It was the usual arts and crafts village of tiny white tents, just like a smaller Castro Street Mountain View art and wine fest with the same pottery, photos, hippie skirts, and jewelry. The thing that made it pleasurable was the musical performance, Cellofourte, which we are so glad we got to hear while strolling around the aisles of tie-dye scarves and hand-woven tea cozies.

We stopped for lunch at Point Brugges where we have been to dinner before. It was very busy so we understood that it would take some time to get seating, but once we were seated it took 30 minutes to get water. The food was good and we'll be back, but the service was very sloooooow.

Not willing to take any more risks, we went to dinner at Alladin's. We just can't go wrong there.

Afterwards we saw "Vicky Christina Barcelona" at the little theater on Murray. It was enjoyable but not very thought provoking or memorable. The acting was odd and stilted most of the time, but Penelope Cruz stole the show as the crazy murderous ex-wife.

Of course it wouldn't be a Woody Allen film without some annoying song running through the whole show. Thankfully there were plenty of beautiful classical guitar songs throughout the movie, but the "te quiero Barcelona" line from the annoying song is the one stuck in my head today.

Well that's the stuff that happens around here. Today is a boring day of chores and errands. I'm making chicken broth and planning the week's dinner menus. Soon I will start the laundry and nag Dave into vacuuming.

Food, Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co., Furniture, Fusion, and Flowers

This week was another adventure in Pittsburgh cuisine, hanging with friends, gardening miracles, and our new couch and bedroom furniture finally arrived.

Last weekend we went to the Mediterranean Grill on Forbes in Squirrel Hill. It's hidden in a basement, and the street level sign is very small, so we'd missed it before. The food was very plain and overpriced for what it is, so we think Aladdin's Eatery is waaaay better.

On Tuesday evening one of Dave's friends invited us to her apartment for dinner and games. We decided on Settlers of Catan since none of us had played it before. We set up the beginner layout and read the Almanac to learn the rules. It took hours to finish the game (Dave won in a shocking comeback when he took my Largest Army card), but it was interesting.

On Wednesday our new couch arrived. It's bigger than I thought it would be:


It totally dominates the room.

The cats wouldn't sit directly on it for a couple of days (although they would sit on ME on it, or on a blanket). Today Jackie had a breakthrough moment and gave herself a bath on the chaise lounge.

Wednesday night we went to Walnut Grill in Shadyside. We meant to try Doc's Place because they advertised 1/2-price entrees on Wednesdays, but realized that it was just a bar on two levels and didn't look like a pleasant place to dine what with all the smoking. So we went across the street and found the Walnut Grill, which I think will become our go-to restaurant for casual dining.

Today the bedroom furniture I ordered 2 months ago finally arrived.



I haven't attached the drawer pulls yet.

I found a fantastic massage therapist in Squirrel Hill who really knows what he's doing: Jack Schmitt of Fusion Massage Therapy on Murray Ave. This is no mamby-pamby aromatherapy relaxation to the sounds of Enya massage. Jack goes right for the tight sore spots and releases the trigger points causing headaches and backaches. Turns out he and his wife are also co-op members, and they produce the organic plant starters for the store so we had a lot of Pittsburgh food activism news to talk about during my therapy.

In gardening news, the pumpkin vines are about 6 feet long now, and there's a tiny female pumpkin blossom beginning to form on one of them.


One day this tiny bump will become a great pumpkin!

Movies: From Dumb To Very Smart

Virg and I saw three movies worth blogging about recently. Today, against my better judgment, Virg dragged me out to see Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder. Rated 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, I was sure I'd be that 1-in-6 person who hates it. But I have to say, this movie is that rare dumb comedy that transcends its genre and pokes fun at dumb movies. A true meta-dumb movie. Virg and I laughed a lot. But don't get me wrong: It's pretty dumb.

(movie poster stolen from Wikipedia)

We also watched V For Vendetta couple days ago on DVD. It's a very cool movie. The story is sort of a 1984-totalitarian-government meets a charming-but-dark-knight. I'd tell you more, but I think we're the last people on earth to have seen it.

V and Evey, as seen by V and me

When Ravi was here a few weeks ago, he told me I had to see a movie called Primer, and that the less I knew about the movie beforehand the better. So, Virg and I finally watched it last week. First of all, it's only 78 minutes long. It was made on a budget of $7000 largely by just one guy, Shane Carruth, who wrote, directed, produced, starred in, edited, and composed the music for it. 15 minutes into the movie we were pretty unimpressed by it. The dialogue was so hard to catch that we had a hard time picking up on a plot to follow.

scene from Primer

But an hour later we were completely blown away by it. That's an hour later in movie time, but probably 2 hours of actual time if you take into account all the pausing to figure out what was happening. The plot turned out to be a puzzle as rich as movies like Memento or Usual Suspects, and no one could have understood this movie in one viewing. I've now watched it three times, and I think I understand most of it now. The movie is rated 72% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the reviews are sharply divided between the ones who understood it ("one of the best science fiction films") and the ones who just gave up ("one of the most wilfully obscure sci-fi movies ever made"). I will warn that this movie is not for the faint of brain, but that's what's so good about it. Although you're probably better off catching it on DVD, it turns out you can watch the movie online for free right now at:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3909854615539675694

Cooking With Fire

I finally got up the nerve to try the gas grill yesterday. The house we're renting has a nice little BBQ grill in the back, but I've never used one of these things, and I found it a bit intimidating. Also I'm afraid of blowing things up.

Last night my first attempt was lamb burgers and grilled eggplant. I found local pasture raised ground lamb at the East End Co-op. I made the patties with an adaptation of the keftedakia (meatballs) recipe in my Greek cookbook. It has lots of fresh parsley, mint, and a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg which smells and tastes fantastic. I kinda winged it with the eggplant, cutting them into discs, weeping them for awhile, then dousing them in balsamic vinegar, garlic and olive oil. I burned the patties a bit, learning that once the grill is hot you have to turn the gas down to low for the cooking, esp when the lid is closed. Oops!

Tonight I cut up a whole chicken, rubbed olive oil into the skin, and threw the pieces on the grill. I also sliced up a zucchini and halved some tomatoes that were gifted from our neighbor's garden, sprinkled them with salt, balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and placed those on once the chicken was up to 100 degrees. Next time I'll try marinating the chicken ahead of time to keep it from getting so tough, and put some grated parmesan on the tomatoes just before the meat's done.

This grilling thing is awesome for keeping the house cool in the summer. I hate to cook when it's hot, and normally I would insist on going out to a restaurant any time it's over 79 degrees indoors, but the grill takes away that excuse. Also things cook way fast. I really need to get a wireless meat thermometer so I don't have to keep going out back every 5 minutes to check on the temp.