Easy artichoke pasta salad - soy free.

From what I've read there are lots of reasons to eat soy, and lots of reasons to NOT eat soy. I've decided to stop eating as much of it as possible - but its mostly because, well... my body doesn't like it :P So I've been kind of bummed because I've been unable to eat one of my favorite summer time foods, artichoke salad. Until now. I found a recipe for mayo-free artichoke salad and I added to it. I not only added FRESH basil & parsley, but I also added a tiny bit of thyme & oregano (or is it marjoram?!) ALL FROM MY GARDEN!! I also diced up a few radishes and tossed them in. I used the tri-color rotini pasta. It is AWESOME. Honest! I'd be posting a picture but once again have misplaced my camera cord. So you'll just have to believe me for now (or make it!). The colors are beautiful and it would add a bit of flair to just about any meal. :) GO TRY IT!

Brr! Its cold out!

One benefit to moving "down south" was the short and sweet winters...

Well, someone decided to play a cruel joke this winter! I demand a refund, a full refund... including the cost of my coat.

Anyway, some amount of months bad I came across this wonderful looking recipe for raw avocado/spinach soup and have been anxious to make it since then. Well, Aldi's had a wonderful sale on their avocados 49 cents each!!!!! So Michael's mom bought 4. Then a friend gave me another one... all five went ripe all at once! So, we exhausted pretty much every avocado recipe we knew (short of guac) and we still have left overs. Which is when I pulled out that awesome recipe...

It is awesome.

I made half a batch out of fear of being repulsed by it... I'd never had capers before, and apple seemed a weird addition. I also used fresh thyme straight from the garden but perhaps could have used just a little more. I still think its awesome. I also think there could be a few ways to adjust it to make other equally wonderful soups.