A Bookish Life

Days 3 and 4

Days 3 and 4 in the Make Something Everyday Challenge have been culinary creations. I am working on drafting a maternity top, but so far all I've made is a mess out of a piece of gorgeous red-brown wool knit. It's not lost, however, and I hope to show you a successful project finished someday soon.

However, even though sewing is running slightly off course, I made a Lentil Soup (day 3) and Pizza Dough (day 4) to round things out.

Lentil Soup:
Sautee one red onion, 3 chopped carrots, and some chopped sausage in 1 cup white wine and a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
Add 10 cups veg stock and water. Add 2 cups french green lentils.
Simmer 2 hours or more.

So easy, but so good too. The natural spicy, woodiness of the lentils really gets to come through and they get marvelously mushy.

Today I made pizza dough- just my regular Martha Stewart recipe, but with the added challenge of using my lovely new birthday present that arrived yesterday afternoon. It was glorious and easy- worth every bit of the wait for sure. I am overcome by the gentle whirring of the dough hook and the way the mixer keeps working... even when I walk away! The plan is to make baguettes tomorrow using the mixer and my new baguette pan. My house will smell like Paris streets yet.

Before the day is through I also need to make dinner for my brother and his wife, dessert, and finish cleaning the house. My second trimester energy is slowly giving way to trimester three sleepiness and I find myself struggling more and more to make it through each day without a significant nap.

Pear Galette

This little morsel made me late for work this morning. But it was worth every minute.

Allow me to introduce the Pear Galette, good for breakfast or dessert and great for using extra pears. We received 10 pears in our organic co-op this week, so there are at least two of these in our future. 

Simply thaw a pie crust (or make your own, foodie) and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel 5 ripe pears and cut into pieces. Mix the pears with 1T lemon juice, 3T flour, and 1/4 C brown sugar. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese on the pie crust. I've used parmesan, cheddar, and a provolone/mozzarella mix. All were good, so be creative! Create a mound on the pie crust and fold the edges up. Cook for 30 minutes. 

I did make something this weekend.

I have a mission to make the most perfect cranberry muffins. These, while good, were not yet them.

Across the internet on this Monday morning there seems to be a promise that Christmas is coming. It echoes my own nervous breakdown this weekend. I realized in a fit of anxiety that I normally have all my Christmas gifts purchased by the start of November, but this year I do not have a single gift. I don't even have a gift ready for the birthday party we're going to tonight.

Gifts are something that Brian and I try to take very seriously. We came into our marriage with deeply seated views- his was to buy the one perfect thing after much thoughtfulness and inquiry, and mine was to buy as abundantly as possible in the hopes that something might pan out in the end.

Wishing for Fall Already

Here is a picture of our organic yield from co-op visit #1:

There's broccoli, mangos, peaches, apples, celery, baby carrots, honeydew, cauliflower, avocados, lettuce, chard, tomatoes, corn, and onions. Brian tried a peach for breakfast and proclaimed it delicious. I think we have some Cauliflower soup in our future.

I've also been working on a new quilt and finished the top last weekend.

It's mostly reds broken up with some black, some brown, and some green. This quilt will go straight to it's new owner's home on completion.

The size is a little shy of a king. I like to think of it as a large queen because I hate having to sleepily tug and tug at a quilt because it gets hung up on the other side.

There is more in the works. I hope to finish up a few things this afternoon, before my big date this evening!

Ambassadors

Last night Brian and I went to a beer tasting at a wine shop on the square. The beer represented were from the New Belgium brewery. We tasted Skinny Dip, Sunshine Wheat (my new favorite), Fat Tire, Abbey, Blue Paddle (my least favorite), and they ran out of 1554 before we could get to it. Which was honestly okay, since we have several in the fridge at home already.

I am surprised that I turned out to be a woman who knows something about beer. It doesn't seem to fit my profile at all, but a dark creamy Guiness or a Negro Modelo ends up seeming incredibly romantic. I wonder if beer, like cheese or even chocolate, ends up representing whatever area of the world it comes from in my mind. For instance, I may not go to Italy ever (that was extremely difficult to type and I hope it isn't true), but a fine parmesan gets me one step closer to foreign soil.  I can taste a bit of the snowy alps in some amazing Swiss chocolate.  I may not go to Ireland again, but a Guiness reminds me of that pub in Galway where I tasted my first sip!   

For the weekend, I find myself hoping that I can read and read and read some more. I have a few projects I'm working on like Emily's birthday present, the navy dress, a new shirt, and Allison's special order!

Cafe Tu Tu Tango

Tonight I ate in the fun-loving, bohemian, artistic restaurant Cafe Tu Tu Tango.

Inside the place was strung with lights and the walls were lined with artwork. Jewelry makers and painters set up shop while people mixed and mingled. The poles were decorated with pictures torn from magazines and the food was incredible.

The tapas ranged from duck quesadillas (I'm not that brave) to fancy cheese pizza (I actually AM that boring) with a tower of chocolate ice cream and oatmeal cookie to finish it off. The recipe for the sangria was rumored to come from Barcelona and declared "award-winning."

On top of all this our group of 5 co-workers dined around a coffee table and sat on couches. The music was fun and nostalgic. The waiters were friendly in the good way. I felt like the atmosphere aided in a deep plane of relaxation after an extremely taxing day's work. And despite the fact that I spilled coffee, ice cream, and tapas on my co-worker Tom, I think that a good time was had by all.