i came across a recipe for "english breakfast cups" that looked intriguing. baked in a muffin tray, it consisted of a bottom layer of hash brown, then top with baked beans, sausages, eggs, and cheese. so last night i defrosted a package of hash browns in the refrigerator. they were still a bit frozen this morning, so when i packed them into the muffin tray, they sort of crumbled. i baked the hash browns in the oven for 20 minutes. what came out wasn't exactly golden crispy, but i moved on to the next step. i spooned some baked beans into each cup, followed by cubes of beef kielbasa sausages, then poured eggs into each cup, topped with mexican cheese. into the oven it went for another 10 minutes. i figured the hash browns would form a greased layer but each breakfast cups was stuck and i ended up having to spoon them up which broke them apart.

as for the taste, the beans added a sweetness, while the kielbasa and cheese the saltiness. the hash browns unfortunately tasted a bit of soggy. tips for next time: grease the muffin trays, get better quality hash browns, and maybe change of the ingredients. i didn't care much for the beans and the kielbasa was a bit overpowering. i shouldn't have used mexican cheese either, it shifted everything a bit tex-mex. i ended up eating 6 cups, which was the equivalent of a big breakfast.

i went to the north cambridge city paint to get some paint for the house: benjamin moore woodstock tan (HC-20) and hot apple spice (2005-20). actually, i only needed woodstock tan for the front porch, and the hot apple spice was only for steve's new back porch door, but i decided to get both. even though we split the cost for everything we do around the house, i decided to pay for everything because back during the spring paul did a lot of backyard work and i never paid for any of those supplies. however, i wasn't expecting a quart of paint to be so expensive: i figured around $10, but it was actually $20 per can (total: $40+). steve did ask me how much he owed me but i told him no bother. i got it in smooth gloss finish for both, which i later discovered is also called satin finish.

i gone the whole weekend without visiting the community garden and since there was no rain, i was due for a visit. instead of going home, i made a detour via the motorcycle. my eggplants are developing, but they have a weird shape with vertical ridges, not the smooth skin i'm used to with eggplants. maybe they'll fill out once they fully mature. i also collected a container of cherry tomatoes with a sprinkle of thai chili peppers.

i left the can of hot apple spice paint on steve's backyard porch before leaving for belmont. i watered the backyard garden. none of the delphiniums nor hollyhock seeds i sprinkled onto bare dirt patches have germinated. although i thought the foxgloves were biennials, i've noticed after they finished flowering that they started producing a lot more leaves, which makes me think they're preparing for the winter and might come back next season like proper perennials. the lupines have also been producing more leaves.

i helped my parents lower their cable bill. they pay $116/month for verizon FIOS. currently they're under a 2 year contract, which is due to expire mid-october. but in the meantime, i was seeing if i could reduce how much they pay, and decided to cancel their HBO which they never watch but get charged $20/month for it. i also tried to see if comcast had a better price, but they're actually more expensive, so my parents will probably continue using verizon.

my father really wants to get a ductless cooling/heating system for my parents' house, even though i'm totally against the idea. i just think it looks ugly, those wall-mounted units that resemble flattened air conditioners. my father wanted me to help him do some research, but i was hesitant. then we found some online mitsubishi product brochures showing a ductless unit that can hide in the ceilings. maybe those might be better.