Corn in the microwave and biking in the rain

So how do you cook an ear of corn when you don't have a pot wider that about 6 inches? I contrived and it turns out that one ear of corn will cook just fine in a Pyrex pan in the microwave with a little bit of water around it. Of course that leads you to the question, "What corn?" Well here is the tale of my adventures this afternoon.

This morning I braved the DMV and got my DC drivers license. Conveniently the service center for this quadrant of the city is located just down the road, inconveniently they had long lines even at 8:15 in the morning. I got out at 10:00 so it took more than an hour just waiting. I'm so spoiled by the Baker DMV...they never have a line at all! But I got it done so now I can be an official DC resident. I get to complain about taxation without representation. I can't wait!

After that I made the call to switch over my rented Comcast modem to the one I bought (so I don't have to keep paying $7/month rent), and then I mapped out the route to bike up to the Comcast service center on NE Michigan Avenue to return the old one. Fortunately I planned ahead and wore running clothes because it looked like possible rain. (The running clothes work well because they dry fast.) It did indeed rain on me but it was warm enough that it almost felt good. The toe shoes work well for biking too and stay comfortable when wet. 

So all in all it was another nice ride up the Metro Branch Trail and I didn't get very lost trying to find the place. It's close to the Catholic University of America which has some amusing architecture including a "National Basilica" with a really big spire.

On the way home I went through Columbia Heights and found the international market that was suggested as a source for Lizano. They did indeed stock it and $6 later I had my very own bottle. Yay! I actually already cooked a little pan of black beans (and ate most of them without it) so now I can make proper gallo pinto. Here's a picture of my new garage sale shelves with the bottle sitting on them:

After the market I went by the Thursday evening farmers market on Vermont Street "by the White House." It was a fairly small market but they had some good things and it wasn't too busy so it was easy to navigate. I got:

• One ear of fresh corn
• Three tomatoes 
• Six peaches (the varieties were several that I wasn't familiar with so I don't remember them except for the "Mango peach")
• Three nectarines

Then I had to pack it all home in my backpack. It worked fairly well and I only destroyed one of the peaches. I find it interesting that one peach gets bruised into drippiness and the others come out fine. I ate the squashed one for dessert and it was tasty. I'm afraid I don't have any pictures of the ride since I didn't take my camera. I could claim that I thought ahead and avoided carrying electronics into a rainstorm but really I just didn't think of it at all.

Here is a picture of the sunset out my balcony this evening though. I fear in the winter that the sun may set behind the tree instead of straight down the street behind Arena Stage, but right now I have a great view of the sunset.

 

You can even see an airplane heading in to National airport against the cloud. 

Breaking news: It appears that we may get considerable dregs from the fringes of Hurricane Irene. They have canceled the MKL Memorial dedication for Sunday due to fear of the weather causing considerable problems when combined with the expected crowds. That is really too bad because I bet a lot of people from out of town made plans and reservations a long time ago. 

What I long post this is. Go me! [Well we all know it wouldn't be long for Nicole, but it is long for me.]

-Sarah