MY HOUSE IS TRYING TO KILL ME. I'm serious. Last week, a piece of asparagus caught fire in the oven -- genuine chaos ensued in the efforts to get the cat safe, not get eyes clawed out by said cat, find the fire extinguisher, determine there isn't one (cool...), open doors to get the smoke out of the house, find a container for water to put fire out, remember that grease fires don't like water (oops), and miraculously NOT make things worse. That was fun. FOND MEMORIES in the making. The cat is still pretty upset about it, actually. Don't mention asparagus around her. Also, the ceiling fan in the TV Room mysteriously turns itself on. Which is really cute when you light a candle (fan decidedly OFF at this point), walk into the other room, and return to find the fan on GALE FORCE WIND setting, and the flame on the candle equivalent to a solar flare. Last night, the house decided for a stealthier plot --- carbon monoxide leak. Now, to clarify, i LOVE having a gas powered stove. All five glorious burners of it. To make it better, house reserved this trick for the moment a friend was over to cook. Liz and I were on a mission from God: make healthy delicious food. Agenda: Banana Muffins for a quick "grab on the go" breakfast (preventative measure to avoid frequent trips to Starbucks) Vanilla & Zucchini Cupcakes (truly brilliant recipe. seriously. yum) and Chicken Parmesan with Zucchini "pasta" Those of you that know me are probably thinking one of two things: 1. I didn't know she liked zucchini that much (neither did i. it is truly a wonderful thing, though) or 2. She doesn't ever bake. TRUTH. You see, inter webs, when I lived with Becky we had an unspoken contract agreement regarding the kitchen: I handled all raw meat, she baked. It worked wonderfully, and stuck with me. I just don't have the patience for baking. It takes precision, and delicacy. If i was interested in that, I would have taken up neurosurgery or ice-sculpting. However, I do enjoy baked goods, and found an AMAZING cook book that uses healthy things and makes super nutritious things. It seemed like an appropriate time to try being a real grown up. Agenda items 1 and 2 went quite well actuallly. By the time Chicken and Zucchini rolled around (note: i might have been deliriously tired to cooking and measuring at this point) things went awry. Liz Love was going above and beyond the call of friendship and playing kitchen assistant for me. As she patiently stirred the tomato sauce, ALL OF THE BURNERS STARTED CLICKING. As in, there wasn't enough gas in the kitchen to blow us up, so the stove had to get to work. SIGH. 20 Minutes of panic later, I gave up on this recipe and settled into a dinner of cupcakes and wine. I tried to be healthy, I promise. At least I still got eat some zucchini-- that counts, right?