white lasagne

Back when I made that cannelloni, I thought to myself: these crepes would be great in a lasagne too! So tonight I gave it a go.

I had in mind a different kind of lasagne. One with a white sauce instead of the traditional tomato based sort of ragu. And since we had meatballs last night (why yes, pretty much that same meal as a matter of fact) I felt like we should opt for a little less red meat. So ground turkey browned with some chopped up onion. I think white onions taste mellower than yellow which is what I used to always cook with. And kale sauteed up with some garlic and a splash of lemon juice to keep that bright green color. And a creamy beschamel which is basically just a white sauce but more fun to say.

It tasted good, but it didn't have the right consistency. I was sort of distracted when I layered the cannelloni crepes (made a little thicker for the purposes of a lasagne) with the sauce and the kale and the cheese and the turkey and after it was too late I thought to myself: I think I might have done that wrong. To make amends (and clear out my fridge) I tucked in a few slices of crisped prosciutto under the last layer of cheese+beschamel. I love prosciutto.

I realize now that the turkey would have benefited from being mixed into the beschamel. The ground turkey meat I bought was really lean so there was very little grease when I cooked it up. It wasn't dry per se, but like I said: it would have benefited from being mixed into the beschamel. The kale of course is to keep us honest nutrition-wise. M likes it when I incorporate a few extra leafy greens or vegetables into every meal. Makes him feel a little less guilty about eating a meatball sub when there's a side of braised garlic spinach. Or when he's digging into a creamy cheezy mac'n'cheese when it's studded with some organic broccoli. And if it doesn't adversely affect the taste, I'm all for it too.



And on the side I served a chopped salad reminiscent of the one we order from La Scala (they have a killer spaghetti bolognese that we get with it). They use iceberg lettuce in their chopped salad and are a little skimpy with the salami in my opinion. I got green leaf and romaine which I think are sturdier lettuces that hold up well to the chopping and dressing. I add to it a satisfying amount of salami, garbanzo beans, tomato and mozzarella cheese and I would have added some chopped up kalamata olives too, but I didn't have any in my fridge as I'd thought. The dressing is a drizzle of olive oil with a splash of white vinegar, salt and pepper.

It made for a filling and satisfying meal.

note to self: Reinaldo Arenas

Andres says this is a cuban writer worth checking out. Maybe in Spanish one day. When I learn Spanish.

I love VW buses

1. Short VW bus, 2. VW Bus, 3. Our VW Bus!, 4. lomo VW

CUTE!

we watch a lot of movies around here

[EDITED TO ADD: M noticed that I forgot to include *The Band's Visit on my list. It's a recommend and I thought it came out in 2007 which is why I forgot to include it here. It's a charming and unexpectedly good (like I thought it was going to be good, but it was even better than I thought, so... unexpected and even better) movie about an Egyptian police precinct band on a performance trip to Israel who get stranded in a remote town wondering if they will make their scheduled performance for an Egyptian embassy opening. I know that's a run-on sentence. Go watch it, you'll like it.

And also? I forgot that the Oscar nominations were being announced yesterday so my bitching about the Academy possibly overlooking Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei was unnecessary. They both got nominated. Yay!]

It's well into 2009, but since I have a lot of time on my hands I'm going to write up a list of all the movies we watched this year and this time just brief notes of my thoughts, maybe. Okay and stars next to the ones I recommend.

The Business of Being Born (interesting documentary, very biased)
In Bruges (interesting - not really the comedy it was advertised as being)
Charlie Bartlett (it was okay)
Be Kind, Rewind (awesome visuals! I would have loved to be on staff for the props and set department when making this movie. Too bad the story was just so-so.)

*Blindsight (documentary about a blind mountaineer (really) who undertakes an expedition to climb Mt. Everest with a group of blind Tibetan kids. Yes it's crazy inspiring but really I engaged with the people in the film more for their stories and not necessarily for what they accomplished as blind people. Very very good.)

The Hammer (Adam Corolla's movie. not bad. not really that good though)
Run, Fat Boy, Run (not worth it)
Shine A Light (the only way I'll ever afford to see a Rolling Stones concert. I'd recommend this if you like the Stones and concert films.)

*Young@Heart (loved it! not great as a documentary but the subject matter was so intriguing!)

*The Visitor (very strong performances-Richard Jenkins has become one of my favorite actors to look out for, compelling story, uplifting ending)

*Son of Rambow: A Home Movie (awesome! love the visuals-very creative! adorable kid actors (not in the saccharine way) and heartwarming story about friendship)

Iron Man (entertaining-I'd recommend it if you like explosion-laden summer blockbuster types)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (a sentimental favorite and entertaining for that reason but admittedly flawed)
The Foot Fist Way (thought this would be way funnier. it fell flat)
The Promotion (engaging enough of a concept, last bit sort of didn't make it for me. enough funny bits to keep you going)
The Incredible Hulk (Ed Norton is a better casting choice for the Bruce Banner role than (give me a break) Eric Bana ?? and there were plenty of fun explosions and such, but not a very good movie overall)

*WALL-E (very very good. I loved how the first half of the movie conveyed a very complete narration with nearly no dialogue. a touch preachy at the end but still very enjoyable)

Wanted (interesting ideas, tried too hard to force the comedy in, and the gore was unnecessary and over the top)
*Tell No One (French title:Ne Le Dis a Personne. Not bad, does a fine job of working within the genre. The music was a bit overwhelming and the end was just a touch unsatisfying but still quite entertaining. Not a top recommendation, but I guess I would recommend it.)
Hancock (the first half was good the second half sucked ass)
Batman: Gotham Knight (Heath Ledger was without a doubt magnificent in his interpretation of the Joker. the whole movie was about 30 minutes too long, they didn't seem to know how to end it. Better to have done the 2-face story as another movie than try to force it as an additional plot line into this one? I don't know. Something about it didn't work.)

*Kenny (still on my top 10 list for this year. I appreciate a movie that is very good and very funny and has a positive ending. It's so easy to kill off all the characters if you're stuck and don't know how to end your story. It's much harder to keep them alive and put a positive engaging spin on the end of the story of their journey.)

Transsiberian (interesting but flawed. Ben Kingsley isn't all that in this one)
Step Brothers (ridiculous but funny)
Man On Wire (french tightrope walker documentary. fascinating and sometimes beautiful, but I kept thinking to myself: what a crackpot!)

*Frozen River (this movie too remains on my top 10 list with similar thoughts as above about the ending as I had about Kenny)

In Search of Midnight Kiss (not worth it, I regret that I wasted those hours of my life)
The Pineapple Express (not as funny as I'd hoped and slightly ridiculous 'specially at the end, but still entertaining)
Tropic of Thunder (really bad)

*Burn After Reading (it's refreshing to watch an intelligent comedy. I enjoy the silly ones, but this one was even more enjoyable because it was smart and felt true and well acted. A fine ensemble cast.)

Ghost Town (disappointingly not that good considering the talent involved)
Rachel Getting Married (it was okay. Anne Hathaway was good in a dramatic indie role. And the wedding party scenes were my favorite visually, but the story didn't work for me. lots of loose ends, you know?)
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (cute idea, heard a promising review of it, but it wasn't that good. Charlie Bartlett was better)
Happy-Go-Lucky (very enjoyable character study of an amazing individual. I loved the trampoline scenes which I thought visually connected with the idea of joy and happy-go-luckiness (if you will). Not really a story as much as a slice of life, you know, something interesting happened once and here I'll tell you about it in a 90 minute film format. Eddie Marsan who plays the crabby driving school instructor (en rah-hah!) also gave a strong performance)
W. (made me feel sorry for him. felt like a too-long SNL sketch Josh Brolin does an amazing impersonation)
Synecdoche, New York (3 hours of my life that I'll never get back)
Role Models (not as funny as I thought it would be)
Slumdog Millionaire (unsatisfying story but pretty to look at and the music was good)
Wendy and Lucy (sweet, compelling and short story like)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (unsatisfying story but pretty people making out a lot and beautiful cinematography+art direction)

*The Wrestler (I cried a lot after this movie was over. I cried a fair share during it too. When I saw the trailers for it I had a very visceral reaction and I teared up a few times. His face is so amazing, there's so many stories in it. I hesitate to call it my #1 movie for this year, because I feel bad recommending a movie that's so sad. But it was very well written, fantastically performed and directed and I think what makes me most sad of all is how true it is. Mickey Rourke and Marissa Tomei will get totally overlooked by the academy for their roles in this movie which is a crime as far as I'm concerned.)

*Waltz With Bashir (animated full length feature of a lebanese war veteran dealing with his demons. I kept seeing the trailers for this one but didn't want to go see it. M saw it without me and what he told me now makes me want to see it. So this is a bit of a cheat to include it on this list, but there you go.)

From DVD:
*Billy the Kid (documentary about an amazing teenager)

I love this font that I just learned about

it's called Bradley Initial and I found it on FontShop while researching display fonts. Here's the uppercase alphabet, I mean come on, so awesome!!


I wish my name started with a Q so I could use this type treatment for myself. It's my favorite letter in the series. Heck I might just adopt it anyways.


I'm thinking the alphabet would look killer printed up as a poster just like this, in a big grid.


Or maybe just the littlest bits of color, a limited palette though.


Or I could do something interesting with our intials:

headers from the past

cannele

oh my god, I am so sick of being sick

and also, this is about french toast

As I lay limp and sicky last night on my couch, I suddenly thought of french toast. I told M that I wanted to make him stuffed french toast when I'm not sick anymore. Hopefully this weekend will be it.

I imagine buying a nice loaf of uncut sandwich bread and then cutting it into extra thick slices on my own at home. I'll have to cut a slit into each slice carefully on the thin side and then let all the slices sit out on a tray to get stale. That'll be for a few hours at the least. Usually I leave bread out overnight to stale that I intend to make into french toast (soaks up the custard better that way). Might be a good idea to put a spoon or something into the slit so that they open up a bit as they harden. That way the bread won't break/crumble when I try to stuff them.

Then the fillings.

For M, I'll sautee sliced pears in butter and add a splash of rum or brandy at the end. Maybe a little brown sugar too. Then I'll melt some nice dark chocolate and carefully fold the pears into it. Scoop up the pear+chocolate combo and gently stuff the sliced bread pouches. Add the stuffed slices of bread to the batter consisting of eggs, milk and a splash of vanilla. Gently turning the slice to coat each side. Add to a buttered hot pan to grill to perfection. Mmmmmm...

For me I'd like to experiment with a toasted pecan+brown sugar+cinnamon stuffing. Could also consider a peanut butter+chocolate or peanut butter+fruit preserve stuff as well. I would need to make a lot of coffee. Probably decaf.

Gods, I cannot wait to stop being sick so that I can get back in the kitchen.

pretty clothes

My wardrobe fantasy right now involves these outfits from Anthropologie.

Isn't this plaid summer dress pretty? I like the colors in the plaid and the ruffle collar.


I love how they paired this navy dress with the red shoes. What a great combination!


Here's another combo I like. If I owned these pieces of clothing, I don't know that it would ever occur to me to put these colors+textures together, they look so pretty together though.



I sign up for their email newsletter and I think that those are lovely too (from a graphic design perspective). I save screenshots of those in an inspiration folder on my computer for future reference.

jean beaumont

My french dad, Jean Beaumont a retired engineer keeps up a blog and recently posted a bunch of awesome photos from his childhood in the Loire Valley (and some of his courtship in Nantes). I've asked him to include more info under each photo since there aren't any at present. I've been able to glean some info with some of my favorites here:

Jean Beaumont with (I believe) his older sister Nicole. She is beautiful and has the most amazing eyes.


Nicole (?), cute dog and JeanB. I love their clothes and the way they are standing.


And speaking of cute clothes, aren't these costumes amazing?? I think this is JeanB and his sister Nicole again.


JeanB with two cousins?


Fast forward to the college years. JeanB with Jacqueline his future wife. Too bad this photo is blurry, it's probably my favorite. I love the lines of their clothes, her hair, the movement of the figures on the steps.


I *think* this is before they got married. JeanB and Jacqueline.

I'm sick today and it was a nice treat to look through these photos with inauguration coverage playing in the background. Check out more of my french dad's photos here.

anyone want a free shirt?

(If I didn't know any better, I'd say this gal looks rather demure. But I know better, I know better...)

I'm giving away this shirt. I made it in October thinking it would be nice to have a new long sleeved top to wear for my trip to New England. I didn't finish it in time. And when I got back from my trip, I tried it on again and realized that I made a mistake. The pattern is Simplicity 2854 for size 16. But I got into the idea of sewing this with french seams which I thought would be fun. It went fine. The french seams look rad (I should have taken a photo) (okay, I just did because I realized that I am being lazy and my camera and top are just right here). Don't they look nice? It just adds that extra touch to your garment, I think.

(Check out those rad french seams!)

Anyways. I just have the buttonholes/buttons to add and when I tried on the top again I realised that I had been sewing the entire thing as though it had 1/4" seam allowance when I'd cut out the pattern for 5/8" seam allowance. So the top is 1/4" too big. I thought I could get away with it, wearing it over another shirt or something, but I think it looks a little silly around the shoulders because it was meant to fit just so.


(Sometimes I think our bedroom looks a little like a cheap motel room.)

I thought about ripping the whole thing apart and cutting and re-sewing it with the proper attention to the seam allowance+my desire for french seams but dammitall. Here it is now January and I still haven't gotten around to it. I'm sort of over it now.

So. And so. If you would like to have a cute top for free, leave me a comment with your email address and I'll pick a name out of a hat (assuming that anyone reads this blog and is interested in a free top without buttons or buttonholes). And if you are one of my friends and you want this top tell me and of course you get first dibs. Sorry folks. I don't think my friends read this blog. Or are of the size to be able to wear this top. But in the off chance that they do and they are, I think it's only fair that they get first dibs.

(Here, I am rolling my eyes at my attempts at a edgy photoshoot.)

The fabric is 100% cotton navy with white polka dots from the big box store's cotton quilting section. It's a leetle stiff, but I think it's because it just needs another wash or so. I washed the fabric three times and ironed it before I started in on the project so there shouldn't be any shrinkage issues. It's been hanging on my dressform all this time so it's collected a bit of dust. I'll give it a good wash before I mail it off to you. It is missing buttons and buttonholes, so you'll need to add those yourself. The front features pintucks along the bodice with slight gathers under the bust. The sleeves bell a little at the wrist with gathers all around. The back is plain (no gathers or tucks). I added a contrasting aqua bias tape trim to the inside of the collar which I thought was a cute touch. You can see a little of it in the second photo.

my current favorite restaurant and also mashed sweet potatoes

[photo from the Tender Greens website]

I can't believe I've gone this long without mentioning my favorite restaurant Tender Greens. The one we go to is located in the (recently?) gentrified downtown neighborhood of Culver City about 20 minutes away. There's a discount movie theater down the street from it that m and I go to nearly every weekend and that's how we found out about this place.

At the base it's a salad place using fresh seasonal local ingredients for their salads with some dishes featuring grilled meats added on top. Or if you prefer, you can order a hot plate of the grilled meat with a small side salad and mashed potatoes. Or the grilled meat (or veggie) on a ciabatta bun with a small side salad. I'm making it sound like their menu items aren't terribly original, but that's just me lacking the ability to fully describe how awesome this food is (I'm going to blame the allergy attack I've been suffering from). I've been going down their menu trying each salad one by one and I've yet to find a clunker.They also feature a weekly special salad and soup. And all of this is very reasonably priced which makes it a win/win/win for us.

[photo from the Tender Greens website]

We were there recently and M ordered their special which was a hot plate instead of a salad. A slow cooked duck leg on a bed of mashed sweet potatoes with a small side salad. It was damn good. I particularly enjoyed the mashed sweet potatoes. They were creamy, lightly sweet and just that right porridge/pudding consistency that screams of comfort food.

[photo from the Tender Greens website]

So Friday night, my first night feeling up to cooking a meal, I decided to make some of those mashed sweet potatoes. I roasted two medium sized potatoes for about an hour (pricking the surface with a fork a few times) and then scraped the flesh from the skin into a medium sized bowl. I was a little worried about how maybe the oven roasting might have dried out the potatoes so I added about 1/4 cup of milk and a dollop of light cream cheese for flavor. This is the thing with mashed potatoes in my opinion, add a dollop of cream cheese before mixing/whipping and I think you'll find that it adds a little extra va-voom to your 'taters. Just a little extra creaminess, you won't be able to taste the cheese flavor at all. Try it, I think it'll change that way you make mashed potatoes. To the mashed sweet potatoes I didn't even add any salt or pepper or any of my other mashed potatoes seasonings (sometimes I add a dash of nutmeg or ground white pepper - I guess the secret's out now). And dudes, let me tell you it was out of this world!

Oh and I cooked honey glazed porkchops and garlic sauteed spinach to go with it.

note to self: pink

I think I want a pink tablecloth. Hot pink. Pink like the stuff you see in an Indian movie usually paired with saffron and mustard and gold. But in linen to spiff it up a notch.

And I am really into VW buses lately. A slighty dinged up one. Either baby blue or chalky white. The ones where you can put up curtains.

And a canoe. I've really been wanting a canoe. And if I dare to dream it: build a canoe of my own. Yipes!

That is all.

cuttin' up bunnies

I've been sick for the past week which really stinks. It's the kind of cold where you have just enough energy so you are restless and can't take any naps in the middle of the day. But you're wiped out from getting up to make some tea. Super-boredom-city! I'm just about done with it, but I guess the feeling is not as mutual.

What I'd rather be doing is working on this:


Back when my nieces little M and little A were visiting we were at the Hello Kitty store in Hollywood. Both girls had been given a bit of spending money by their auntie Colleen. Little M walked around the store trying to figure out what she could spend her money on. She saw a display of Hello Kitty plush dolls, there was also a rack of clothes that you could purchase to add to Kitty's wardrobe. Little M's eyes grew wide and she said excitedly: Maybe I should buy this!

I sort of rolled my eyes (she didn't see) because I felt like it wasn't that cute, the quality was definitely poor and it was a total rip-off pricewise. I kind of muttered: I could make you that.

And so of course Little M got really excited and said: Do it! Make it for me for my birthday! Or for Christmas, it's sooner!!

I got excited too. I didn't make it in time for Christmas, but her birthday's in February and it's what I've been working on lately.

I decided to make a bunny rag doll instead of directly copying the Hello Kitty doll. I like Hello Kitty, don't get me wrong. But I'd love my nieces to have something a little more original. What you see above is a few drafts in the making. I made one bunny last week and wondered if it might be too small. She's a little odd looking, but I grow to love her the more I see her around. I made a bigger version at about 19" from the tip of her ears to the soles of her feet and you know what? That was too big. So I'm sticking with the original which comes in about 15" from ears to feet. Right now I'm tweaking the design a bit. The arms are a little too short, I'd like for her to have ankles and toes instead of just pointy feet and if possible arms that hang a certain way. I'm picturing a kid holding a rag doll by one hand and the rest of the doll hanging from that position. In my mind it's a charming image. Right now bunnydoll's arms just don't hang that way. We'll see if my obsession with the charming image outlasts my patience for ripping seams.

Once done I'll make a second bunnydoll. The first is a prototype for me to keep (hee hee) and also, the fun part of all this is coming up with and making cute outfits for bunnydoll and Little M. So once I send off bunnydoll to live with Little M I'll need a model to work off of for future outfits. This is very important. I want to knit wee little socks and sweaters too. I'm totally getting obsessed with this. I'm okay with that.

eating local

I'm so excited about this that I had to write it up on my facebook page AND here on my blog.

I try very hard to eat as locally as possible. Living in southern California affords me with a lot of fresh produce to choose from. After reading Animal Vegetable Miracle I got really pumped on the idea of thoughtful eating - really thinking about my food and where it comes from and what might have gone into the production of it. M and I rarely eat fast food (and the times we do we're more apt to go to a local kebab shop or noodle bar instead of a global burger chain or taco joint) so I felt like we were off to a good start. But I'm guilty of buying strawberries in November because I want to have some dipped in chocolate after dinner. Or buying a tomato whenever I want a tomato salad. And it never occurred to me before Animal Vegetable Miracle why those fruits just tasted so-so.

So I set off to buy produce that was only in season, but my markets provided no clues. Year round, I can buy any fruit or vegetable that my heart pleases. I thought the farmers markets might be a better choice, but as M pointed out these farmers might be local to me, but they might also be shipping their goods across the country. So there was no way to know for sure that their produce wasn't 100% organic and pesticide/growth hormone free. A careful look at the booths confirmed that only a handful of the merchants posted signs boasting of 100% certified organic. Then again, as Barbara Kingsolver mentions in her book, the best organic farmer she purchased from wasn't certified as an organic farmer because (if I remember correctly) she couldn't afford the certification fees.

I have a point and here it is. I just read on Apartment Therapy's cooking blog that the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has a tool on their website where you can enter information like your location and time of year and they will provide you with a list of produce that are in season for the region and time of year(!). How awesome is that? It will also provide a list of what's fresh in bordering states so that you can find produce that might be grown just a little farther than your homestate while still staying local. Naturally for my area it lists northern California as the "bordering state."

Buying local organic produce isn't cheap and I know I am lucky that I live in an area that is condusive to this with a partner who agrees with my lifestyle practices. We pay a lot more money for our fruits and veggies and meats than your average joe because that's important to us. But we cut back on things like going out or mega-cable packages because those things aren't as important. If you have a chance to try out high quality whole foods maybe just once a week or so, I think you'll notice a difference in taste. Most of the time when I cook I don't make any special sauces or use any fancy seasoning. I think the food I cook tastes good because the ingredients I use are good. So there's no need to do anything to my squash soup because the squash is so darned tasty.


Okay, enough of my soapbox. I just wanted to tell you about the NRDC website is all. Use it if you choose it.

note to self: Harold+Maude

Watch Harold and Maude again. Take photos of the costumes and interior design like you did with that amazing apartment in The Breakup.

Joshua Tree

M and I took a drive down to Joshua Tree National Park yesterday. It's something we've always talked about doing, but never got around to. Until now!

The drive eastward over the 10 freeway was pretty boring having been on that road before. It was a bit gusty too, but things got a little more interesting when we tipped upward on the 29 Palms highway.

The mountains got rockier and there were Joshua Trees as far as the eye could see. I love the freaky Dr. Seuss-like shapes of these trees.

Since we got off to a late start leaving L.A. we were only able to do two short hikes. But that's my favorite time of day to snap photos outdoors. The lighting just can't be beat.


As we headed back to our car, I turned and saw the moon coming up. I pointed it out to m and we stood in awe of the strange dusky light, the crazy sculptural joshua trees and that beautiful moon. It pains me how meager this photo looks in comparison to what we saw. My puny camera and my puny photographic skills would never have been able to capture the awe.

This is definitely a place that we'll have to come back to.

Tons more photos here.

meatballs

Speaking of comfort foods, I made meatballs for the first time. I've been having cravings for at least a few weeks. I'd planned to whip up something like the meatballs I enjoyed at a SuperBowl party last year (turkey+pork I believe, with an incredible sweet/tart/savory sauce) but I opted to go tradish for my first try.

I based my meatballs off of this recipe with a few changes. I didn't like the way the sauce read in the recipe. Seemed a little insubstantial. Discarding the drippings and browned bits from the meat is a crime in my kitchen. It makes the best sauces and gravies and such. If you can help it, never throw out those drippings!

So I turned the order of the recipe around and made the meatballs first and used the same skillet to make the sauce so that those yummy bits didn't go to waste. I think it made for a richer hearty sauce.

Also, since I used ground lamb instead of ground veal, I feel like there is a strong lamb flavour in the sauce (strangely though, not as much in the meatballs) which I sometimes minded and sometimes didn't (we've been eating meatballs pretty much all week alternating with cannelloni and other left-over meals). I'm mulling over how I might wrestle that flavor down so that it's savory and not overpowerful. Maybe a sprig of fresh rosemary in the sauce while it simmers? Or mix up the lamb on its own with some cumin+chopped rosemary and let it set for a day in the fridge before combining up with the rest of the meats? Problem is, I don't want the spices/herbs to overpower the rest of the flavours in the meatballs. They should just taste like meatballs not like I'm trying to mask the lamby flavour. I guess I could also try omitting lamb and using ground veal as I'd originally intended. Moving on.

I served the meatballs over a creamy polenta with some vegetables on the side. The photo above was from today's lunch so only the meatball and polenta and the sauce. Damn that sauce was good. I could get religious over it.

Jean's Meatballs
1/2 lb each of ground beef, pork and lamb (I'd like to try ground veal too one day as the original recipe called for. But since my grocer didn't carry any ground veal at the time, I went for lamb. Also, I'd recommend buying the best quality meat you can afford. I bought organic grassfed meats with a very low fat percentage and I do believe that it makes a difference in the taste. And the better quality lower fat meat is better for you.)
1/4 cup of a finely chopped onion (Next time, I'll try grating it as the original recipe recommends.)
1 16 oz can of chopped tomatoes
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
1 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup fine fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
5 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

In a small bowl stir together bread crumbs and milk and let stand 5 minutes. A thick paste will form. In a large mixing bowl combine meat, onion, 3 tablespoons parsley, the breadcrumb paste and a teaspoon salt and blend with your hands until just combined well (do not overmix). Form 2-tablespoon amounts into meatballs (about 20) and lay them on a baking sheet while working the rest of the meat mixture.

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté meatballs in 2 batches, turning occasionally, until well browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer as browned with a slotted spoon to bowl.

Add a little more oil to the skillet and add the chopped garlic stirring until it softens. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir with a wooden spoon loosening up the bits of browned meat stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add the oregano, basil and the last two tablespoons of fresh parsely. Cook until the dried herbs have hydrated in the sauce and the flavors have married. Pour the sauce into a blender and pulse until smooth (I used a big bowl and a stick (immersion) blender). Pour the sauce back into the pan adding the meatballs. Let simmer over a low heat until the meatballs have cooked through about 5 minutes. Serve over pasta or creamy polenta like we did.

comfort

Have I mentioned yet my idea for a restaurant? This is separate from the Avogadro's project with my friends.

One day I would like to open a restaurant, maybe more like a bistro-cafe. I'd call it comfort and it would feature high quality freshly made comfort foods from local seasonal ingredients. It goes without saying that the chairs would be comfortable and the general ambiance would exude coziness. I'm also imagining a sparkling white kitchen with gleaming white subway tiles. Lots of natural lighting in the dining area and a menu filled with all my favorite comfort foods.

Truth is, most of my comfort foods are sort of gross. Or I think most folks would find them gross. That's the problem with comfort foods. They appeal to you because they are a part of your childhood not necessarily because they are universally delicious. Spam figures largely in a lot of my childhood comfort dishes. And a variety of dishes combining Korean sticky rice with all sorts of processed foods.

So I've been conducting an informal survey of what people think of when they think comfort food. It can be food you find comforting or food that you think would be on a universal list of comfort foods. What do you say? Let's hear some examples.

So far I've got:
bread pudding
mac'n'cheese
jell-o
grilled cheese
tomato soup
chicken noodle soup
chili
rice pudding
oatmeal
pie
mashed potatoes
potpie

cannelloni dinner

I made cannelloni's for dinner last night. They were mighty tasty. A few weeks ago, m and I had dinner at Maggiano's at The Grove. I'd been there a few times for lunch since I used to work in the area and I remembered the food being just okay. I guess we got a little lucky that night because we both ended up loving what we ordered. I got a chicken+spinach cannelloni in alfredo sauce. M ordered the brasciole. I've been craving more cannelloni ever since.

I used this recipe for reference with a few changes. I didn't have any proscuitto on hand and I made up a sauce based on the ingredients I had in the house. I think what makes this type of cannelloni so good is the crepe like shells that you make from scratch. I read a few of the reviews on Epicurious.com who spoke well of the recipe but mentioned that they bought store bought shells to make it go faster. Blasphemy! Strangely enough, they were happy with the results. Oh foolish convenience cookers! How much happier would you have been with the crepe shells!! I feel sorry for you, I really do.

This crepe batter is different from the one I use for making sweet crepes. I got that recipe from my buddy Ludovic who is from Les Landes. He got the recipe from his mother who is a farmer's wife. I can't remember if she is from Bretagne (where crepes originate) but I've had consistent success with her recipe. The crepe recipe from Epicurious makes a heavier batter. This is sort of relative since my sweet crepe batter is super delicate. But all told, I'm mighty pleased with epicurious's crepe recipe.


I served this last night with grilled asparagus that I roasted under the broiler first drizzled with olive oil and then sprinkled with salt+pepper. And then to give it a little twist, I drizzled some balsamic vinegar reduction on it right before serving. If I had been thinking ahead, I might have toasted some pine nuts and tossed a few on the asparagus too. I think that would have made a nice combination.

The balsamic vinegar reduction is super easy to make and I love how it kicks up a steak or lambchops or veggies. I basically took a whole bottle of balsamic vinegar and let it come to a boil in a saucepan, turned the temperature down to low and let the vinegar reduce to about half. Then pour into a mason jar and keep refridgerated. Once reduced it's about the consistencey of maple syrup (the real kind, y'all. not the stuff that is high fructose corn syrup with food coloring) and sweet with a little tart kick at the end. I love the stuff.

Next up, I'm going to talk about the meatballs I made on Sunday. I want to remember some of the things I did that were different from the recipe I got.

I wish Google would come up with a drag and drop feature for gmail

And for the chat.

For instance, say you are writing a quick note to someone (via chat) and you want to show them a small image. It would be nice to drag that image from your desktop or folder into the chat window and the person on the other end could see it.

Or, if this could be done in gmail instead of having to attach a file. Make it so that you can drag and drop an image into the composition window, just something at screen resolution so that you can "show" someone a quick pic.

now that we're rested...

Wow. That was a pretty vulgar amount of loafing back there at the end of 2008. I'm ready to get back to work and try and get some sort of regularity to my day. I took a bunch of photos of my goings-on, but man they are pretty crappy. Poladroid to the rescue! Now they look edgy and artsy and vintage-y.

During the holidays, I knit (even after I was done with the Christmas gifts). I finished this scarf for M that I started about a year ago (Better photo to come, this one is of the scarf mid-progress). Pekoe is enjoying the fruits of my labor.

A scarf-in-progress for a nap-in-progress.

I cooked a fancy Christmas dinner for the two of us to gorge out on.

My first time cooking a rack of lamb - crown or otherwise. I watched a lot of Food Network shows while I was knitting (M started to complain that he was kinda getting sick of t.v. I knew then that hell had definitely (if briefly) frozen over). Alton Brown made cooking a lamb crown roast look easy. So I gave it a go. It was so tasty. Tender, juicy, mmmm... For sides, I cooked smothered cabbage with sausage (I had a craving) and cornbread stuffing that I made up on the fly. There might have been a salad too. I can't remember. It rained hard that night. It was cozy. Our neighbors across the way were having a party with singing and dancing and occasional shouts of "Opa!" Even though it wasn't our party, that was sort of cozy too.

The weekend after Christmas we had a special guest appearance by our friend Nathan! N was in town for a friend's wedding and he drove up to see us and stay over a night. He came bearing gifts.

Homemade peach and blueberry preserves (!) and a generous bag of cookies that he calls rocks (!!). The recipe for the rocks came with his great grandmother from Germany over a hundred years ago. That rocks (yuk, yuk). They say that the rocks only get better as they age and harden. I am sad to report that I have not been able to confirm this as all the rocks are gone. I had the last two just now with a cup of joe while I was noodling around with my computer. Damn they were good.

Sadly this is probably the best photo of Nathan that I took while he was here. Maybe one more of his face on my flickr. Poladroided. But blurry. I mean artsy.

Naturally he wears cool socks.

New year's eve was quiet as well. I got sick after Nathan left. I've been blaming it on him as I've not been around anyone else except him and M. M just thinks I need to get out more.

New year's day we had a nice breakast with the preserves from N and some baking powder biscuits. I made a batch to go with a southern chicken dinner one night and decided to freeze most of the unbaked biscuits instead of having a a few dozen laying around the house that you feel compelled to eat so they don't go bad and hey, what a waste of fresh homemade biscuits. I am happy to report that they hold up well to a freezing. I just popped them into the oven right out of the freezer at 350 for about 20 minutes and they were wonderful. 'Specially with some homemade fruit preserves to enjoy them with.

I'm really going to try and do a post of some of the sewing I've done lately. It's mostly stuff that I've been experimenting on and I haven't moved forward with the work. Hopefully putting it up here for public consumption will prod me into moving forward. We'll see.

Happy new year, everyone!