Saturday Breakfast

How I miss the days of long hours at a cafe, with homework and books, coffee and quiet, and time to think.

Portabella Caps

I've always wanted to try these. Today, Bean craved french toast, and I wanted to use the plethora of mushrooms that resided in the refrigerator. Ironically enough I bought more of them while we were shopping for wine and bread and things...and stuffed them with:

spinach

mushroom innards

lil' butternut squash (how is it still good?!)

parsley

olive oil

cabernet sauvignon (days old)

and after I'd steamed all of those for a bit, I stuck them in the oven with some mozzarella cheese, and it was SCRUMPSH!

Reunion

A series of pictures from our college reunion, which involved friends, spicy (sort of) food, alcohol, and rock band.

Inluding:

1. Rum & Merlot Sangria (Boodle)

2. Cinnamon & cocoa coookies -- more of an appetizer than a dessert... (Boodle)

3. Spicy rice with so many wonderful vegetables -- and disgusting fake meat, for Bethers' sake (Ry)

4. Delicious from-scratch cornbread (Bethers)

Everything was satisfying, and the gathering was quite nice, even with the snow-laden traffic and buggers on the highway.

Can we do it again?

Mushroom Crostini (?)

Here's just a couple o' lil' crostinis --

1. Freshly baked sourdough bread, thanks to Beansie...

2. Mushrooms simmered in red wine & parsley & olive oil

3. Tomato

4. Mozzarella cheese

Bread came out; workers assembled, re-toasted, and eaten.

Mushroom Tarts

I truly love moseying about the kitchen, with ideas a-spew and an apertif in hand, concocting and mulling and all that follows. It's a time to grab Bean and to chat with Ma'am about various goings-on, and definitely a time to rewind from the workday (which is not all that strenuous, truth be told). The problem occurs as I bring the manicured meal upstairs to our bedroom, where my small workspace is set up. There, I become quickly engrossed in paper, the computer, puzzle...and the carefully prepared meal seems that much less necessary.

It is under these circumstances, therefore, that I yearn to go out for dinner more regularly. It's not because I loathe cooking (the contrary...!) or because I dread staying in with just "the family". I love all of those things. It's because at a restaurant, I am forced to realize that now is the time for consuming dinner and there are no two ways about it. So!

It has come to my mind that dining out keeps me in a state of nutritional happiness.

Not only that, but it eating out is a time to talk to your lover face to face; more than the usual banter or necessary life-planning. A quiet respite, but perhaps a necessary one.

Crust:

1/2 c. bread flour

some water

a sprinkle of yeast

a few dollops butter

Filling (simmered):

1 c. mushrooms

olive oil

sprig of fresh parsley

chunk o' chopped onion

thyme

cabernet sauvignon

I spread the dough into two (well) greased muffin cups, filled them, and topped 'em with some (1/4 c.?) grated mozzarella cheese. This baked for approximately 30 minutes; I removed it when the cheese was bubbling and the crust had browned beautifully.

Winter Soup

It snowed all day, and rained and froze all night. The drive home from work was slippery and slow, but Bean and I still ventured out afterward to purchase some soup ingredients. What's the use in being comforted by a hot broth if you don't get a little frosty first?

This loaf is one that Bean made while I was away dancing my heart out this weekend, so I cannot divulge the recipe; however, it was sourdough, and it turned out deliciously.

The ingredients were something like:

bouillon

two large tomatoes

some butternut squash

some beet

some carrot

some mushroom

some

some

some

...you get the idea. I also added fresh parsley, thai curry sauce (an interesting debut), and salt and pepper o' course. It simmered while we waited for the bread to bake, and everything became ready in a glorious moment of supper harmony.

Paired with some cheapish-but-good Cabernet Sauvignon that we got at Hannaford's, it made quite a tasty bit.

Just Another Freakin' Pizza

Tomato Soup

Bean is obsessed with soup, and I'm rarely in the mood. Today, though, I'd determined to make something I liked, and so when I got home from work I was ready to whip off to the store for some tomatoes in order to make something creeeeeamy and delicious. Much to my surprise, I found a box o' chopped tomatoes sitting tantalizingly on the countertop!

And look at the amazing ingredients!!

Into the pot went:

2 cups chopped tomatoes

1 tsp lobster bouillon (not so bad!)

2 mushrooms

stalk o' celery

chopped onion

bits o' pasta

thyme

basil

oregano

salt

pepper

and I let it all boil for what seemed like eons -- the smell of spices finding their way pleasingly into my nose as I slowly sipped a slightly-sour wine.

And when it was done, I did not forget about dinner! It went beautifully with our homemade thyme-bread from yesterday. Mmm...

Sourdough Pizza

Two friends got married last night, and there was lots of much-needed happy dancing with friendly people. Lots of imbibing as well -- which prompted us to go out this morning for coffee and around-town musings. On a whim, we stopped at the bakery to wonder whether they'd sell us some of their sourdough starter. Bean expected quite a fight to be put up, but they easily parted with a coffee-cup full for $1.00. So we set to work!

The end result of much fighting with the dough was this: a glorious sourdough pizza. We were going to make it into bread and have it with fried eggs for dinner, but it didn't rise nearly enough. Stubborn little sonuva. But this came out wonderfully.

Bread!

A freshly-baked loaf of french bread, with some thyme sprinkled in. Tastes as good as it smells, luckily.

2011's First Pizza

(one of many, I presume...)