A post in which it is again ridiculously hot

And we were out in it like morons.  I'm just sayin'.

I got up this morning and just got up because I felt like it.  Russ is kind of a flea market person, but not really.  He wanted me to be at this house about 10am.  Of course it's about all over by then, but since I was going as much for company as anything else, it was fine.

Since I had so much time, I started futzing around in the kitchen.  I made some breakfast and cleaned up after that.

One thing that Friday had taught me was that I really needed to make my own freakin pasta salad.  To that end, I had gone and bought orzo and oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (I've never used them, but I've heard that the oil-packed ones have more flavor) yesterday.  Those are two of the main ingredients in the Adam's pasta salad.  This morning I started prepping my tomatoes.  The key element in their salad is how flavorful the pasta is - there doesn't seem to be a lot of dressing. 

Since I figured that the oil in the tomatoes would be (natch) like an infused oil, I drained it off, then chopped up the tomatoes.  Then I whizzed it in my little counter food processor with a couple of cloves of fresh garlic.  Then I mixed the tomatoes back in and bunged the whole thing in the fridge to get yummy. 

I made some brown rice to go with the rest of the peanut sauce veggie stir fry I made last weekend.  That made two lunches for next week.  But just as my rice started to boil I realized that it was 9:50am!  I had to hustle to make it to Russ's on time.  I just turned off my rice and left it in the cooker. 

Russ and I went to Barnyard today in Greer.  Of course by the time we got moving, and stopped for coffee (I had iced coffee) and all it was 10:30-10:45 by the time we got there, and already it was brutally hot.  It was a little better under the awnings (Barnyard is mostly covered), but not much.  Russ was under instructions to bring back some Kirby cucumbers (which I had never heard of).  In our meanderings, we ran across a woman selling some kind of Japanese cucumbers.  They looked very similar to English cucumbers, but were skinnier and twisty.  The woman selling the was apparently growing them for herself, and just had some extras (she wasn't a produce dealer).  After some discussion and a call to Billy, Russ worked out a good deal for some.   

I picked up some beautiful Ruby Red tumblers for a good price.  I had one already and just couldn't resist these four.  As I was paying the man, I said "Ordinarily I would dicker with you on the price, but as hot as it is, I figure if you've made any money on these, you deserve it!"  He was a really nice guy, and although he told me he wouldn't have given on the price anyway (they were 4 for $12) he would throw in a free church key (bottle opener) I found that was interesting looking.  The top of it looked like a ship's wheel. 

Anchor Hocking Ruby Red or Royal Ruby 4" tumbler - I've seen the pattern called "Block Base" and "Windsor" online, but I don't think that can be right.  I couldn't find dates on them, although I know they are vintage.  They are pretty though, aren't they?

We looked at the produce, and I picked up some cantalopues and tomatoes that were supposed to be locally grown.  And then we headed for the CAR.  There was fresh corn on offer, and Russ was like "Don't you want to look at this corn?"  To which I replied "All I want is air conditioning!!"  And I meant it.

We got back to the house and went for Chinese troughet after some discussion.  Billy won't usually eat that, but it was close to the house, and they were expecting the delivery of their new mattress today so they needed to be close to home.  The sushi I had at lunch today was better than any we ate last night.  And this from a buffet. 

I headed home after lunch.  I had stuff to do, and I'd had a call from Dana earlier to come see them when we got in.  I finished up my rice, which turned out surprisingly acceptable, considering it had been sitting half-cooked in water all morning.  I was glad I didn't have to serve it to a Chopped judge, but it was fine.  I packed my lunches and put in a call to Dana.  No answer.

So I cut the cantaloupes, cleaned up the kitchen, and decided to run to the store for ricotta salata cheese, another key ingredient in the pasta salad I was trying to make.  The only place to buy it in town is the Fresh Market, and I don't usually go in there (although I love it) because the prices are pretty high.  I also picked up some fresh basil for the salad and a couple of other odds and ends.  I just can't resist their pimento cheese - it is the best I have ever eaten.  I hadn't intended to buy any but I ended up doing it anyway.  I was in a great mood in the cool, and giving random compliments to people in the store just to brighten both our days :)

I got home, put everything away, and was just about to put my pasta in to boil when Dana called me back.  I promptly put it all down, turned off my water, and headed to their place to visit.  It's always good to see Miss Kat and Dana.  They were having taco night tonight, so I carried a tomato with me so I could have tomato sandwiches or whatever, but I ended up just eating fixin's.  I made a nice taco salad with some greens they had, and had a delicious supper.  We had a nice visit, and then I went home to turn in.  I have the month to close in the morning.