Gumbo.

I've noticed that when I'm in a bit of a funk, I don't get excited about cooking, and I don't post pictures. I've been a bit down lately, but today I'm feeling more upbeat. So... I made a quick and simple gumbo for dinner. We learned the recipe in our cooking class in New Orleans, and it turned out OK. It was slightly insane to be cooking gumbo in the heat, but we had some leftover sausage from a BBQ that I wanted to use.
I made a cabbage-carrot-peanut salad with a ginger vinaigrette, and a corn and black bean salad. I'm trying to make side dishes that I can conveniently pack into my lunch box, because I'm spending more time at the library. Beans are a good way to give me energy to keep me going in the afternoon without dragging me down.