Stuffed Tomatoes

I will admit that I've never really thought that stuffed tomatoes looked very appetizing. But lately, I've been trying to eat better and that mostly means eating more veggies and fewer carbs (I LOVE carbs!).

My friend Mike at work brought me in several tomatoes and a fresh peach from his garden. I ate the peach at lunch - it was perfect. I brought the 3 tomatoes home, not knowing what I'd do with them. I've never been a huge tomato fan, but I've been enjoying them more as I've gotten older.

With my limited supplies (grocery shopping tomorrow is a must), I decided to make baked, stuffed tomatoes. From what I could tell by looking at other recipes online, stuffed tomatoes can contain anything you want. I saw some with ground beef, but I was looking for something simpler.

I used a 7 grain rice blend, crushed red pepper, basil, fresh garlic and cheese.

They were juicy, flavorful and filling. A vegetarian dinner that was delicious and satisfying.

Say what you want about me, but don't mess with my grill.

The homeowners' association sent me a letter this weekend. Telling me to remove my grill from the property.

I'm pretty sure they're in the wrong, and cannot require me to remove the grill, but can make me remove the propane tanks (fine, I understand). And I am removing them.

But the thing that pisses me off is that I am pretty sure the HOA is retaliating against me for writing a letter for a neighbor. This particular neighbor is a disabled American and she needs to try to regain some of her small motor skills. One thing her doctor suggested was to garden. So, she had a little garden when I moved in last year. One day, she comes and tells me that she had to remove it all because the HOA sent her a letter stating that she couldn't have it. The garden was pretty cute, too.

So, the local office for disabled Americans told her that the HOA was violating her rights and interfering with treatment prescribed by her physician. So, the HOA lady (it's just one lady out to get people) finally relents and tells her she can put her plant stand back out front if it's okay with her neighbor...hence my letter. BUT then, after she sends my letter, she's told that she can't put any plants on it.

And about 2 months later, I get a notice about my grill. Mind you, I'm on the second floor and you can hardly see my grill. And, other people on the first floor have grills sitting on their patios. Ugh. I hate it when someone has no life and has to go about making others as miserable as possible.

Bee-otch.

Now, I'm waiting on my local fire department to get back to me so that I can confirm I'm in the right and send a written response. And, I think I'm going to have to start telling ALL of my neighbors about her tactics. I heard a rumor that another neighbor actually DID get rid of her grill when the HOA told her she had to. If I can help it, that will be the last person to make that mistake!