Last name.

This one isn't an easy one to write. Not because it was a difficult decision, but because I know there's sometimes pretty harsh judgment with this particular choice. It's an intensely personal one, and this is a pretty public way to go about distributing the information. I'm putting it out there in hopes of explaining why I chose to go this route, and I hope you understand. Here goes...

I'm not changing my name when we get married.

Here are a few random points, in no particular order, to explain where my head's at.

1) I'm totally supportive of anyone who chooses to change their name whether they are getting married or not (e.g., if they decide they want to be officially recognized as Miley instead of Destiny). Your name is your own thing to change or keep as you wish.

2) This won't make me any less part of the (hislastname) clan. I feel like I've been part of their family without a ring or a name change for the last five years anyway.

3) Clay's supportive of this choice. He said, "It's your choice; it's your name." (Reason #459 why I love this man.)

4) Our hypothetical offspring will totally have his last name, just like the bitches do. (Although, I gotta say, my ass was pretty chapped when the vet arbitrarily changed Miss Claire's last name to hislastname a few years ago. I got over it. Nina has always been a hislastname.)

5) I won't get offended if people assume I changed it. I'll correct them, but I won't be mad or anything. It's a common thing to do, and I realize I'm in the minority.

So there it is. I hope you understand.

Refrigerator clean-out quiche.

I like cooking. A lot. So much, in fact, that I regularly joke about starting up a food truck when the grant expires. I'm lucky to live with a guy who will eat just about anything I attempt to make. He'll tell me it's good even when it's not. He's a supportive, adventurous eater, but honestly, he's likely just hungry. Tonight I'm taking a risk though...

I make quiches probably once every two weeks, but I usually use the same ingredients: some combo of ham bits, mushrooms, spinach, onions, eggs, and cheese. Sometimes I make a crust, but we've been attempting to eat more healthy, so crustless quiche (while waaay less enjoyable) is the way we go. Today, I've got some really wild stuff in the fridge thanks to the farm share and a blissful early morning visit to Whole Foods a few weeks back. Some of that shit's about to expire, so I'm cleaning it out before it turns. So welcome to "refrigerator clean-out quiche." I rarely use recipes, and I hardly ever measure.

Here's what I used:

• beet greens
• a few mustard greens
• a yellow onion
• 4 eggs
• about 1/4 c milk
• about 1/2 c of shredded sharp cheddar
• a brick of spicy tempeh
• one stray granny smith apple
• pepper, tony's, nutmeg 

So yeah, I'm turning it into a meal.
First, I put a bit of olive oil in a skillet, and cooked the onions a little. I cut the tempeh into some small cubes, and threw it in w/ the onions. 

I chopped the beet greens and mustard greens together, and cooked them up with the sliced apple, some Tony Chachere's, and some pepper.

There wasn't enough of either to just go with one of them. The beet greens turned everything else pink. Remind me of that tomorrow when I think I'm dying. Next step was to grease a pie dish and toss in everything I cooked so far. I sprinkled some cheese, some more pepper, and some nutmeg on top, and it looked like this.

I whisked the 4 eggs with a little bit of milk (cream is advisable, but I didn't have any). I poured that on top of everything and put it in a 375 degree oven. I guess it baked for about 25 minutes. I forgot to look at the clock when I put it in. I just cook it until the cheese starts to brown. Now it looks like this. Time to eat.