Duly Noted

At last! A real dinner with wine, place mats, and my favorite dinner partner returned home from weeks of late night sound design rehearsals! Sharing meals with loved ones improves food satisfaction immensely. Further, the best meals are made by four hands or more; a belief I've held since my days at Slide Ranch, or as far back as the Macalester veggie coop. Here's our Saturday night menu: crusty brown bread with olive oil, fresh mozzarella, & heirloom tomatoes whole wheat spaghetti with smoked prosciutto, fire-roasted red pepper, peas, & fresh basil a glass or two of Chianti chocolate macaroons A trick we tried with the red-pepper: On a gas stove, turn over the iron burner so that it rests on top of the flame. Place half of a red pepper directly on the burner. Let it rest there until the ends have become burnt. When it looks pretty charred, remove from the burner and wrap in paper towel. After the pepper cools a bit, rub the paper towel against the pepper to rem...

I love to cook on a sunny yet cool Saturday afternoon. Especially after a long run and a hot shower. If the conditions are right, the food reflects that. I am trying to develop perspective though, so that dreary-messy-bad-day food tastes good too. I need to work on that. Here's a pizza I made last weekend with heirloom tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, and mozzarella. I do believe I haven't cooked (well, cooked significantly) since. I blame the weather. The sun finally came out this morning after a rainy, sleepy weekend. Ray Ray and I went for an early morning jog. She was so happy...just pulled me along. Now she's fast asleep, and I can truly appreciate being a dog owner.

After an unproductive, lazy Friday, I woke up decidedly early this morning. With Ray Ray by my side and the sun shining, I headed to the midtown farmer's market. In the middle of buying some colorful heirlooms from a farmer friend, market authorities informed me that barking Ray Ray must be removed from the premises. I was disgruntled; a couple heirlooms scattered as Rachel knocked off my sunglasses. As I rearranged my bags, I was approached a second time. This time, the authorities didn't have the opportunity to mutter much. "I'm leaving!" I said. "Don't worry!" I was a bad mother. I looked longingly at the bread stand; the bakers' actually had some good looking loaves left! Usually, the bread baskets are empty by the time I arrive. As banished Ray Ray and I exited the market, a nice iron gate caught my eye. I'll tie her up! Brilliant! Defiant, I marched back into the market and bought my bread! Home, I toasted the "kitch...

Wednesday afternoon I made a pot of split pea soup. Boy, it was delicious. There is nothing better than homemade soup, crusty bread (though I long for a decent bread shop as you well know), cheese, and apple slices. I could eat this three times a day, all fall long. I may regret these words as soup is one staple my grad student budget can afford. Coming to think of it, I remember one miserable experience involving too much asparagus porridge. If you haven't experienced the affects of mass asparagus consumption, ask me or my fellow farmer friend about it. Oh dear. Still, I will appreciate mugs of homemade soup for as long as I can. Pair 'em with thick wool socks, MPR, and a cuddly dog to lap up your bowl's remains...perfect.