First, a meme thingy, or skip to the nutty recipes listed below.

Kalyn and Jaay kindly included me in two similar memes currently going around. I’m meme-averse–I always wonder, “Who cares what I think?”–but here goes. Kalyn’s meme asks for four things and Jaay’s requests seven, so how about a range?

Four - Seven Things To Do Before I Die:
1. Become fluent in Spanish.
2. Get down to a size 8 again.
3. Have a huge garden with bird feeders and bird baths and bird houses.
4. Be a better listener.
5. Learn to live in the moment.
6. Get over my shyness.

Four - Seven Things I Cannot Do:
1. Buy clothes at full price (Hi, Mom!).
2. Cook from a recipe without changing it to my mood.
3. Understand the allure of Matthew McConaughey.
4. See the problem with gay marriage. Love is good!
5. Blow up a balloon.
6. Have much energy before 4 p.m.

Four - Seven Things That Attract Me to Blogging:
1. Writing.
3. Researching.
3. Learning.
4. Meeting similarly strange people.

Four - Seven Books I Love:
I don’t read books–haven’t for six years. My daughter was born six years ago–you figure it out. Now, I only read magazines, but my favorites are Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple, Cooking Light and Cook’s Illustrated. The only novel I’ve ever liked is The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. Now you think I’m horribly pedestrian and not well-read at all, don’t you?

Four - Seven Favorite Movies:
1. The Shawshank Redemption
2. Anne of Green Gables
3. Anne of Avonlea
4. Sense & Sensibility
5. Little Women
6. Ocean’s Eleven
7. Waiting for Guffman

Four - Seven Places You’ve Lived:
1. Alabama
2. California
3. Florida
4. Illinois
5. Texas
Guess in the comments which was worst and which was best. First person to get it right gets a prize of some sort.

Four - Seven TV Shows You Love To Watch:
1. Arrested Development
2. The Office (American)
3. Firefly (cancelled)
4. Curb Your Enthusiasm
5. Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Four - Seven Albums You Can’t Live Without
Any Indigo Girls album

Four - Seven Places You’d Rather Be:
Nowhere!

And now I tag anyone who wants to participate!

Round-up of Nut Recipes Elsewhere on the Web

From Kalyn at Kalyn’s Kitchen:
Curried Cashew Chicken Salad with Quinoa and Baby Peas
Leftover Chicken Asian Chopped Salad (with cashews)

From Lou at One Whole Clove:
Walnut Chicken Strips
Dried Mango, Coconut and Macadamia Nut Cookies
Pear, Cranberry, Fig, Hazelnut and Pecan Cookies or The Everything Cookie

From Amy at Beauty Joy Food:
Christmas Spiced Pralines

From Alice at My Adventures in the Breadbox:
Almond Puff Loaf
Caramelized Pistachio, Walnut and Almond Tart
Chocolate Custard Tartlets in Almond Cookie Crust with Saffron Ice Cream
Harvest Sweet Potato Pecan Pie Tarts
Pecan Delights
Cardamom Banana Bread with Pistachios

From Joe at Desert Culinary:
Cashew-Caramel Cookies
Pumpkin-Walnut Focaccia with Gruyère
Cornmeal Maple Walnut Twists
Cream Cheese-Walnut Cookies
Fresh Cranberry-Pecan/Pistachio Tassies
Double Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti
Quinoa Salad with Toasted Pistachios & Dried Pineapple
Mixed Salad With Vanilla-Pear Vinaigrette & Toasted Walnuts