Remember that one time when we followed a bike race around northern Italy, when we walked through vineyards and drank wine in the glorious rolling landscape? I thought about it on Sunday when we drove through the hills of Green Bluff, walked through apple orchards with spiked hot cider in hand and stood by bonfires as we waited for the men on their bikes to ascend the hill in a cyclocross race. There needs to be a word for when these kinds of experiences, separated by six months and thousands of miles in this case, come together in your mind. It's a little bit magical.
 |
| Indulgent breakfast |
Recipes
I failed to mention last week that Joel had a specialty meat product shipped to our door from Salume in Seattle. Christmas came early when he opened the box containing guanciale, the fatty pig jowl that provides the most authentic flavor to his Roman pasta sauces. Last week he made pasta carbonara, and this week it was pasta all'amatriciana.
Meanwhile, I experimented a little too far and created what might have been a good combination of veggies and chicken sausage had I given it more thought, but this was one case where just putting a bunch of stuff from your fridge into a pan didn't pay off: shredded Brussels sprouts, celery, onion, garlic, and cremini mushrooms sauteed together with sliced Italian chicken sausage. It was kinda gross. I'm not sure what went wrong but I wasn't a fan. Eaten cold, for lunch, it was a little better. Next time I'll consult a cookbook or two.
I started subscribing to the NYT Cooking site's weekly meal plan, and on Friday we tried one of the dishes, which turned out pretty darn good, and it came together in 30 minutes: Rice noodles with seared pork
On Saturday, I provided a few dishes for a dear friend's 40th birthday party, two of which were from Deb Perelman's first Smitten Kitchen cookbook. First up was a honey and harissa farro salad with mint and feta and roasted carrots. Next was a sugar snap pea and cabbage (and radishes!) salad with a sesame-miso dressing (someone posted the recipe here). I loved them both! I also made stuffed mushrooms from my Choosing Sides cookbook, which was the first time I'd ever done so. I'm assuming they tasted good (I still have some filling left) since they disappeared pretty quickly.
Reading
Which Food Magazine Has the Best Thanksgiving Cover? I love the commentary.
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang: This is pretty much a steamy romance novel with a twist: the love interest has autism.
Watching
I caved and signed us up for HBO. I'm telling myself it's temporary, until the My Brilliant Friend miniseries is over. But I can already tell it will be hard to give it up. We have spent the last three nights catching up on the last season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Making
I made liquid dish soap. I believe most things in the world can be cleaned with Sal Suds (or castile soap), vinegar, baking soda and Bar Keeper's friend, and this recipe helps make my point. 1/2 c. distilled water, 1/2 c. Sal Suds, 1/2 c. vinegar, essential oil (optional, but I added jojoba, which I had because I use it on my face) and salt is all you need. Here's the recipe I used. I love Sal Suds because it has a fresh, pine-y scent. But you could easily add in other essential oils for a different aroma. I put it in a weird but effectively shaped olive oil bottle made by the Rachael Ray people.
Meanwhile, I experimented a little too far and created what might have been a good combination of veggies and chicken sausage had I given it more thought, but this was one case where just putting a bunch of stuff from your fridge into a pan didn't pay off: shredded Brussels sprouts, celery, onion, garlic, and cremini mushrooms sauteed together with sliced Italian chicken sausage. It was kinda gross. I'm not sure what went wrong but I wasn't a fan. Eaten cold, for lunch, it was a little better. Next time I'll consult a cookbook or two.
 |
| This was delicious |
I started subscribing to the NYT Cooking site's weekly meal plan, and on Friday we tried one of the dishes, which turned out pretty darn good, and it came together in 30 minutes: Rice noodles with seared pork
On Saturday, I provided a few dishes for a dear friend's 40th birthday party, two of which were from Deb Perelman's first Smitten Kitchen cookbook. First up was a honey and harissa farro salad with mint and feta and roasted carrots. Next was a sugar snap pea and cabbage (and radishes!) salad with a sesame-miso dressing (someone posted the recipe here). I loved them both! I also made stuffed mushrooms from my Choosing Sides cookbook, which was the first time I'd ever done so. I'm assuming they tasted good (I still have some filling left) since they disappeared pretty quickly.
 |
| Farro salad |
 |
| Sesame-miso dressing |
Reading
Which Food Magazine Has the Best Thanksgiving Cover? I love the commentary.
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang: This is pretty much a steamy romance novel with a twist: the love interest has autism.
Watching
I caved and signed us up for HBO. I'm telling myself it's temporary, until the My Brilliant Friend miniseries is over. But I can already tell it will be hard to give it up. We have spent the last three nights catching up on the last season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Making
I made liquid dish soap. I believe most things in the world can be cleaned with Sal Suds (or castile soap), vinegar, baking soda and Bar Keeper's friend, and this recipe helps make my point. 1/2 c. distilled water, 1/2 c. Sal Suds, 1/2 c. vinegar, essential oil (optional, but I added jojoba, which I had because I use it on my face) and salt is all you need. Here's the recipe I used. I love Sal Suds because it has a fresh, pine-y scent. But you could easily add in other essential oils for a different aroma. I put it in a weird but effectively shaped olive oil bottle made by the Rachael Ray people.
No comments:
Post a Comment