Kohlrabi

I have never heard of this.

But eating it raw is like a mild cabbage, but in take-to-work portions. I did not notice that it tasted of apple, as some people have suggested.

As a follow-up, I roasted some with cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, olive oil and curry spices ---- they tasted exactly the same. Hmm.

But I like 'em!

Baked Mac & Cheese

While still only halfway through the work day, Simon announced that he had bought this cheese at a local gourmet food shop (snobs, snobs, snobs). It was called Tintern, and is an aged cheddar cheese made by Welsh monks that is stuck all over with chives and shallots.

While 1/2 pound of pasta (we used gemelli) is cooking, melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. When it's smooth, whisk in:

3 tbsp flour

1 tbsp mustard powder

and move around for a few minutes. Then add:

3 c. milk

1/2 c. onion, diced

some paprika

Simmer for 10 minutes.

Then, have your beloved boyfriend

dice up tons of cheese (the chive-filled, and some sharp cheddar); 12 oz. total:

(and do not forget to sample it)

And add 8 ounces to the milk mixture. Mix in the cooked pasta, throw it in a dish, and top it with the rest of the cheese.

And bake at 350 degrees for half an hour; add bread crumbs. We thought it would be more solid, and afterwards I felt as if I were being dragged down by an inordinate amount of mass, but....it was pretty good.

Mushroom Wonton Crisps (?)

What to do for dinner? In a tiny (tiny!) saucepan, I sauteed:

olive oil

mushrooms

thai curry spice mix

fresh cilantro

chopped onion

and then I added some water and a freakin' ton of chopped mushrooms. These simmered while I cleaned the entire kitchen and sang along to the radio to my heart's content. Bean, meanwhile, was simultaneously brewing up some arancini for the household.

And then I divvied them up between some giant wonton wrappers we had in the fridge. One of my troubles is that I have a strange desire to use up whatever happens to be in the refrigerator. A bowl of olives? gone! A string of slightly-gone asparagus? GONE!

And so it was with these wontons. I was really in the mood for tomatoes tonight, but my brain urged me to do otherwise.

Spoon mixture onto triangled wonton wrappers (large), and fold and fold; and bake at varying temperatures (sprayed with olive oil) until they appear delightfully crispy and brown. Then forget about them for eons while you socialize and blabber, and they will have crisped up on their own!

I was surprisingly pleased.

Stuffed Tomatoes

Simon had determined to go to a Magic the Gathering tournament (you heard me) tonight, and consequently I had planned to take my sketchbook and find someplace that served delectable sushi in which to spend the dinner hours.

However!

As was foreseen, Simes wimped out, so we made separate suppers again at home. I was in fact quite excited about this one. We went to the grocery first, where I acquired tomatoes, and a bottle of vermouth in a simply beautiful bottle.

So:

1. Saute spinach and parsley in olive oil.

2. Scoop into a hollowed-out tomato (unripe!) or two.

3. Crack an egg on top.

4. Top with feta cheese!

Bake in the oven (400 degrees) for about 1/2 hour. Mine was still a bit shaky when it came out, but I did not want to upset the balance of disgustingly-burnt yolk to runny whites.

Here's a view of the half-eaten blob. It was better than I expected it to be; a very simple and satisfying combination of tastes.

We tried to bake.

Bean made Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins, and I attempted to use up some ingredients that I will otherwise never get rid of.

So! We embarked on a simultaneous baking adventure.

For mine, I used a sugar cookie recipe and added in some shit. The final recipe was as follows:

3/4 cup butter

1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp milk

1 tbsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1 package instant pistachio pudding mix

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 bar chopped white chocolate

1/2 cup dried cranberries

For chocolate, I used the rest of the bar Hannah had brought back as a souvenir from her trip to Israel.

First, cream butter and sugar, and then add in milk and vanilla until it's fluffy. Then blend in the beaten egg, and then the dry ingredients. Finally, stir in the cranberries and white chocolate.

Bake on greased sheet at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Bean's came out delicious, and he put mint-chocolate on the top of half of them for a nice flavor. But! Mine were flat and undercooked. I combined the first batch into a meal, and the second batch into one giant cookie, and even though at least half of it got eaten by various household members, it was still considered a failure (it is important to consider the fact that Jesse will eat anything).