The Weekend

On Friday evening, I went on a catamaran trip with my Network for Women in Science group. The Hakuna Matata (Lion King anyone?!) catamaran left from Riveria Beach area and went around Peanut Island. There were snacks and drinks, but I think we were the best behaved group of passengers that the crew has hosted since it was a work-related function. I didn't get any photos of the boat, but I did snap a few photos of a very unusual flying machine. We saw a dingy boat hooked up to a glider and airboat fan flying through the air. The passengers of this flying machine were rather nice and waved at us as they zipped by a couple times. It reminded me of something my cousin built - a go-cart style frame with an airboat fan and a parachute. We flew it once out in a field back home, flying higher than a radio tower nearby.








After the boat ride, I came home to eat dinner before going to a farewell party for a friend hosted at Duffy's. I wasn't in the mood for their black bean burger with fries, so I decided to make something at home. I made the Moroccan chickpeas with zucchini dish from Appetite for Reduction. It called for canned chickpeas, but I instead opted to buy dried chickpeas. If soaked overnight, they can cook within 3 hours in a slow cooker on high! (That's much faster than most beans!) I had cooked the chickpeas in advance, so they were ready to throw into the recipe when I got home from the boat trip. The chickpeas were much better than canned, because they didn't have a ton of added salt. I served this over quinoa, because I didn't have whole wheat couscous (the suggested grain in the book).





Now, I have to find something to do with the leftover mint...