Over the rainbow

So, I'm sitting in my living room with my roommate Erin and she all of a sudden shouts, "OH MY GOD A RAINBOW" and lo and behold, I adjust my position and take a gander at the biggest rainbow I've ever seen right outside. Seriously, we could see both ends of it--stretching all the way down to the street! And then another one showed up, and it was like a rainbow party over here. I like to think that this is a sign that Spring is finallly on its way. That and the fact that I saw 6 burgundy cars in a row just now--which is obviously a sign. Right? I'm pretty sick of cloudy and cold weather (like every other person on the planet), so I'll look for signs wherever I can. Where is that freakin groundhog, anyway? He is facing some serious loathing from me if he doesn't see his shadow on Feb. 2!

Anyway, that story is totally irrelevant to this post. I just thought that the rainbow was super awesome.

So, I went home this weekend, under the guise of visiting my parents, but really I just wanted to go to Trader Joe's...kidding! That was just an added bonus ;) Right. So. I think that the only reason my parents tell me to come home all the time is because I cook for them. Actually, I don't think that, I know it because they tell me. Harsh, no? Geez. I didn't snap pictures of everything I made, but here are a few bits of photographic evidence in case you were concerned.
Fudge babies! I turned these suckers into a dessert by adding a bit of almond extract, a generous spoonful of dark chocolate cocoa powder, coconut and rolling them in more cocoa powder...and drizzling some melty cocoa on top...so good. I love making them at home because my parents actually have a food processor, which means I don't have to dig out date goop from the evil clutches of my crappy blender's blade. That usually ends up with at lease one fudge baby stuck in the bottom, and me trying to fish it out with my fingers (I wouldn't advise this)--not a pretty sight.
Also, applesauce. FOR AN ARMY. That pot on the left is the size of your average, everyday stock pot. The behemoth on the right is roughly the size of a small house. The third one in the back is just a regular ol' pot...and all of them were filled to the brim with apples. I think we spent about $27 on apples, and they were $.69 a pound so you do the math. That is a LOT of apples to peel and core. But fortunately, once you do that, the work is practically done. All they require is some time and a bit of cinnamon and you have enough applesauce to feed my family for at least the next six months. We thought about canning it, but ultimately decided to bag it and freeze it, though I think next time we should opt for the canning because it lasts forever and there's no need to thaw.

While home, I also exposed my parents to the awesomeness that is to be found in a big bowl of blended oatmeal for breakfast. I think they thought I was crazy (surprise, surprise) but it is seriously my favorite way to start the day. Don't you dare judge me!

So now I'm back in my cozy apartment and procrastinating working out/reading Shakespeare and noshing on this yummy-licious delight...

A green apple (from the international foods store at home where they are dirt cheap, so I stocked up) mixed with some PBU made from my favorite Trader Joe's peanut butter (creamy, unsalted) and some chocolate Almond Breeze. Did I mention that Trader Joe's is the happiest place on earth? Because it is. I got loads of peanut butter, a jar of their raw almond butter, whole grain milk (never heard of this before, so I'm hoping it will be awesome) and tons of other awesome things.

Now that I've spent waaay too long doing this, I should probably go do something productive now. Like make dinner.