Sesame Pasta Chicken Salad and Updates

So it was announced on Tuesday that we have two people transferring from our branch. One of whom is B, my supervisor. :( I'm really bummed, things just aren't going to be the same without him there. But I am happy for him -he's leaving because he's been promoted to Assistant Branch Manager, which is really great. His last day is tomorrow, and luckily I'll be working. It's going to be a bittersweet day, I'm sure.

On Wednesday, we had a going away luncheon for him and the other girl who is leaving (she also got a promotion, yay!). I don't work on Wednesdays, but I went in anyway for the luncheon because I wanted to be there, and brought a pasta salad. When my co-worker who was in charge of putting the event together told me to bring a pasta salad I was like... "uh... I've never made one of those, but okay!" (I associate pasta salads with mayonnaise, which I can't stand.) So I checked my favorite recipe site and found a recipe for a "Sesame Pasta Chicken Salad." Here's the link to the original, but here it is with the alterations I made:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1 (16 ounce) package bow tie pasta
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast meat
• 1/3 cup chopped green onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 cup julienne carrots

Directions:

1. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sesame seeds, and cook stirring frequently until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain pasta, and rinse under cold water until cool. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine vegetable oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, sesame seeds, ginger, and pepper. Shake well.
4. Pour sesame dressing over pasta, and toss to coat evenly. Gently mix in chicken and vegetables.

It was so good, and definitely gets better the longer it's refrigerated so the flavors can meld together.

I'm so looking forward to people's participation in the SRP now, especially after getting your comments on my last post! And 2 people have already filled out the form! Yay! I also got to fill it out for the first time, because I finished Charlaine Harris's latest, Dead Reckoning, today before work (review to follow soon)!

Work was rather bizarre today... the storms threw everyone off I think. We lost power briefly, and the lights kept flickering enough to shut the computers off a couple of times. It was crazy to watch out in the parking lot with the rain just pouring down and the trees been blown practically sideways. Someone also managed to drive their mini van up on the sidewalk when they were trying to leave. We had a leak inside the building.

And, when I was on my break and sitting in the breakroom, I noticed this woman walk slowly by the opening, but I couldn't see her very well at all so I just ignored it because she went into the staff bathroom. Then, as she was leaving, I got a better look at her and it was a mom with a walking toddler and a baby in a stroller. And it was a "huh, that's weird, she shouldn't be back here but maybe she was sent back here for some reason," moment, and then I heard one of my co-workers say, "Ma'am?" When she was confronted about it, she said she had seen the sign for the bathroom, when the sign clearly says "STAFF ONLY." And then she went on to just shrug it off and ask if she could check books out off the cart. T, my co-worker, said she was clearly not all there, and the first time she had seen her that night she was just hanging out on the floor next to our hold shelves. Go figure.

The last day of school is tomorrow! That means no more after school special. And, we're only open until 3 because it is a Friday, so it'll be a short one!