Reading: I am about a quarter of the way through Undaunted Courage and am enjoying it, learning more about Merriwether Lewis and Thomas Jefferson. Funny story--when I was younger, I always thought Thomas Jefferson was black. I was surprised when I discovered he was not. For years I have been trying to figure out what made me think he was. I now think it is because of George Jefferson, of "The Jeffersons".

Eating: Last night's dinner is today's recipe: Thai Chicken and Noodles. I don't know how authentic this recipe is (can't imagine they use spaghetti in Thailand) but it is good and easy. It comes from a cookbook that is apparently created by Kraft. The book was a shower gift. 1 C. Oriental salad dressing (I made mine from Betty Crocker's recipe, which I will post below--would be even easier if you buy some premade but I have not found any), 1lb chicken sliced into thin strips, 2 T. peanut butter, 2 T honey, 1/2 t. crushed red (cayenne) pepper, 8 oz spaghetti cooked, 1/2 C. shredded carrots. Marinate the chicken for 1 hour (or however long you have--I did for about 15 minutes) in 1/3 C. of the dressing. Stir together the remaining dressing, peanut butter, honey and red pepper. Cook the chicken until no longer pink. Stir together the chicken, spaghetti, carrots and peanut butter mixture and serve immediately. You can top with chopped green onions or chopped peanuts. It is a little spicy and you can adjust the amount of red pepper to taste.

Betty's Oriental Dressing--1/3 C. rice wine vinegar (whatever! I use whatever vinegar I have--red wine or plain old white vinegar), 1/4 C. oil, 1 T. sesame seeds, 3 T. soy sauce, 1/4 t. ground ginger. Place all ingrediants in a small jar and shake well.

I think Betty Crocker is the greatest ever.