...and guess who's back to being lazy.

Duh. Don't act like you didn't see that coming 'cause I sure did.

Accomplished nothing in the kitchen all week. If anyone comes over to watch Downton I'm going to feed them takeout from the Thai place on the corner. I may not even vacuum my floor.

I made madelines last Sunday but they were really sticky so weren't photo worthy as most of them got stuck to the fluted pan. Bastards. I think my recipe has too much sugar, which (tragically) in this case, is a bad thing. Taste good but don't look pretty. Anyone have recipe that doesn't stick???

And though I couldn't eat it, the only thing I've done in the kitchen this weekend is work on The Cabinet

The  Plan was to sand the chipping paint off the top and put a nice stain on it. Of course that was a crap plan as there are several layers of old paint on it so sanding (by hand) just made it smooth. Not un-painted. So now I'm either going to strip it with chemicals or just re-paint it. Woot.

I did put some stinkin' cute shelf paper in though! So cuuuuute!!!

Now excuse me, I have to go finish eating my pudding cup.

I'm Back in the Kitchen Again

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a confession to make. Other than making cookies I really haven't cooked anything since November. December is just too hectic with work for any culinary adventures, I basically survived on poached eggs with swiss chard, pasta, bagels, and food other people made for me.
I suppose that explains why in the last week I've gone completely apeshit in my kitchen.

Last Sunday it was the chicken and rosemary dish from back in November for my Lady Friends who came over for Downton Abbey (which I assume you all are watching).

On Monday these baked sweet potatoes with sage.

Friday was Brussels Sprouts and Apples (Choux de Bruxelles aux Pommes) from my new cookbook, When French Women Cook, which was a present from Miss A. Dick. An interesting dish, not entirely sure I'll do it again, but who knows! I think I still prefer sprouts roasted to any other way of preparation.

Saturday, pasta with Pepper and Tomato Puree (Pates a la Fondue de Poivrons), again from the French Women book. It's delicious, but the directions to allow the 8 juliened peppers to cook down until the skins fall off, then fish all the skins out is a bit ridiculous. Do you know how longs it takes for peppers to reduce to pulp? A long ass time that's what. And then picking out 1/4" slices of pepper skin? After three hours, it was 8 PM, I was starving, the skins were still on the peppers and so I just put the damn stuff in my blender and pureed it. An old French woman may be spinning in her grave but hey, I was hungry!

Yesterday Miss Ashley came over to watch Downton and we feasted on rosemary and potato pizza...

...with a salad of blood oranges, red onion, walnuts and white balsamic vinaigrette. Swedish chocolate crisp cookies and biscuits for tea.

Today, I threw together some of Molly's scones for breakfast as I took down my wee tinsel tree. I didn't have lemons to zest so I doubled the amount of crystalized ginger and added 2 Tbs of marmalade. They're as good as when Miss Linda makes scones. Well almost as good...her mere presence adds 5 bonus points.

I also changed around my kitchen a bit, I moved the clock from the rack to above my new cabinet. And this little guy, Consul the Educated Monkey, came home with me from Ohio and now can do my calculations for me!

Why yes Consul! 3x11 is 33! He was a Christmas present (last year) from the Aunties!

And my 1900's poster has been relocated to above my stove where it gaily watches over my kettle. Boil kettle! Boil!

We finally got some proper snow, 6"-8"! And after walking about in a thin shirt last Friday it was nice to wear winter appropriate clothes again!

It called for some Serious Boots to be bought. I've had waaay too much fun splashing through puddles of slush and clambering over snowdrifts in these suckers. 

You know it's cold when the condensation from the radiator freezes as the outside of the metal window is so cold! But I'm cozy and warm inside with tons of food and hot tea. Huzzah!

(Of course I have so many left-overs in my fridge I don't have to make food again until Friday, so who knows what I'll have to talk about next week!)

New Years Rulin's

As much as I love being back in my city, part of me wishes I was sitting here on this stool in my parent's house.

I had a delightful Christmas, lots of good things from Santa, and of course lots of food with family and friends!

Bacon on pancakes with maple syrup.

D-Mon ate his with a side of chocolate reindeer.

Tea with my Darling Lizbeth (and again later with the Delightful Amy!).

It took half a week to eat all the leftovers from our big Christmas dinner but on my last night Miss Linda asked if I had any requests. And all I wanted was spaghetti and meatballs!

Oh, and in this house, you grate your own damn cheese.

Other than eating and visiting old friends I spent most of my week home here, on the couch.

Finishing this.

Drinking lots and lots of tea out of my favorite mug.

Watching other people do things for me (I miss that sometimes!). Like make me food. And bring it to me. And take away the dishes. AND WASH THEM!

Miss Linda joined me on the couch in the evening for snuggling and watching of holiday movies.

Each night I slept up in the attic, which was my bedroom for many years, snug under layers of quilts. Jupiter was bright in the sky and I stared at it through the skylight before falling asleep. So lovely.

After a beautiful week, despite many offers by Miss Linda to kidnap me, I was back on a bus heading north leaving Ohio behind. I dove right into my city girl life side-stepping tourists, taking a cab up to my apartment from downtown, and getting take-out for dinner.

Of course this was all over a week ago. Last year! And half of my reindeer has been eaten. :-(

I keep thinking about Resolutions. Everyone seems to be doing it. I'm typically not a big fan as it requires effort, but then I stumbled upon some of Woody Guthrie's from 1942.

Dr Karl and I have decided to live this year like Woody says (he was a seriously cool guy): 

-Wash Teeth If Any 

-Take Bath

-Eat Good-Fruit-Vegetables-Milk

-Read Lots Good Books

-Learn People Better

-Don't Get Lonesome

-Stay Glad

-Keep Hoping Machine Alive

-Dream Good

-Save Dough

-Have Company But Don't Waste Time

-Dance Better

-Make Up Your Mind

-Wake Up And Fight

-Love Everybody!

So far so good, Happy New Year everyone!

Gnomeageddon.

The evening started off innocently enough. Some friends, big and small, were invited over for dinner and gnome gingerbread man decorating.

Cute right?

Then things got a little weird. Dr. Karl took it into his head to make a gnome in a boat (the corracle made of the delicious Banana Maple Walnut muffins Miss Linda made earlier that day whose recipe I am  SO stealing).

And then the impaling began...

It was an all out blood bath.

No one was spared. No one.

Mangled gnomes and blood and gore littered the parchment paper . It was horrible.

But delicious.

Happy 2012 Folks!!

A Few (Little) Things to Share

Last Saturday.

Ready and waiting.

Behold! My first properly soft-boiled eggs. (About time!)

A simple thing, which has multiple times eluded me. Finally a success! I need to do it again before I get too cocky but I am terribly excited!

And another exciting thing to share! It's Pepperkakor time.

Dala Horses! A whole herd!

A few gimpy ones...

I doubled the ginger, added black pepper and rolled them thinner. Quite a success. We have a lot of family cookies Miss Linda whips up every year (peanut butter blossoms, gingersnap gnomes with red iced hats, russian tea cakes/kourabiedes that my Dad calls Swedish Nut Balls etc etc) but these are my first Very Own holiday cookies. Special cookie cutter and everything!

And I bought a toaster! No more sitting on the floor watching bread toast! (or constantly burning it...)

I also bought a fat bottomed pasta pot to match my big stock pot (seen in action awaiting eggs for poaching with sauteed swiss chard on the side)

And the most A-dorable heat pillow which sits on my radiator soaking up heat and making my pillow smell like lavender. Soooo cozy.  I keep cuddling up in my blanket with it hugging my poor work worn neck as I read Jane Eyre.

And I completed my Three Day Band Ring class at Lillstreet Art Center! This was my first, a simple 22 gage sterling silver band that I punched the constellation of Orion onto.

This one was the most challenging, and I was very displeased with it for a bit. I put a sheaf of wheat through a press but the rubber cement I used to hold it in place marred the delicate impression. (I was pissed for a day.) Then I attacked it with my hack saw and punched in lines from my favorite W. Whitman poem:

"...Loafe with me on the grass-loose the stop from your throat; Not words, no music or rhyme I want-not custom or lecture, not even the best; Only the lull I like, the hum of your valved voice..." Song of Myself Pt. 5 from Leaves of Grass

I'm quite pleased with the results now, which serves me right for having an artistic hissy fit!

As that ring took 1.5 classes to complete my last project was a quick wee pinky ring made of 12 gage half-round sterling. I had actually asked for just such a ring for Christmas last year (I have a pinky ring problem.) and now have one I made myself! My camera was having a hard time focusing on something so small though. Sorry!

Not a hand model. At least you can't see my wrist which is sporting a lovely wee bruise from where I whacked it (twice) with the rubber mallet while punching holes in straps last week!

I'm home in Ohio for the Holidays but I have an Epic post coming up you will not want to miss: Gnomeageddon 2011.  Merry Christmas everybody!