Happy Trails

Mais Oui!

I am 1/4 French Canadian. (I know, I know, not necessarily something to brag about (I'm also Polish--doh!)...but it's a true statement, and is relevant to today's featured cuisine). When it comes to French cooking, especially quiches, I really love to dig in and go all out. There's no doot aboot it! That's why, when I saw this recipe, my mouth began to water, and it went on the list of things that had to be created this weekend. Voila!

Now, it must be noted, despite how easy Deb makes it sound on her site, this recipe is NOT for the faint of heart. It took a really long time. The onions take 40 minutes to caramelize, the crust has to chill for 30 minutes, and the bake time noted in the recipe is a joke--it took this bad boy an hour to bake and firm up, and even then, I think we pulled it out to soon. But, by that time, we were HUNGRY, dude! I would recommend upping the oven temp to 375.

T'was absolutely delicious. The crust was an interesting venture--I've never made pastry before. I did in the food processor, which was super easy, but I had a hard time rolling it out--it didn't really want to stay together. I think my egg was on the smaller side, which likely had something to do with it. Tasted great, though.

Oh, and since it's been a million years since there was some knitting content on this blog 'o' mine, here's a progress shot of my GYC. I'm hoping to get beyond the waist shaping today, and I think this rainy weather and Harry Potter will help me do just that!

There's also an FO post on its way, just as soon as we get some weather nice enough to take a few shots of it...Happy Sunday! 

Ghoulishly Good

This was our first Halloween in the new neighborhood, and both of us were feeling pretty festive. I decided there were a few pumpkin recipes that I needed to try out, and I'm glad I did. First up? Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. After checking this out over at Cosmicpluto, we had to give them a go.

I have not enjoyed something this tasty (dessert-wise) in a long, long time. They are light, fluffy, cakey, and delicious. Initially we were going to hand them out to parents as an adult treat, but after taste testing one of the smaller ones, Salmaan begged to keep them just for us. I didn't tell him at the time, but I felt the same way. You HAVE to make these. About five seconds after we tasted them, we each locked eyes and said, our mouths full, "We've GOT to make these for Thanksgiving."

Next up we baked these Pumpkin Muffins. They made the house smell amazing, and we gave away half a dozen to our neighbors who very kindly helped us dispatch the fallen tree. 

I'm waiting to try these tomorrow morning with a steaming cup of coffee. 

While I was inside baking, Salmaan decorated the outside with some lights we had leftover from our pumpkin carving party a few years ago.

We were the only house illuminated to the hilt, and I think it was fun for the kids to approach for candy. 

Dinner this evening was a fast affair, I basically wolfed it down in one gulp, only to discover afterwards that I'm not sure I even liked it that much. We made Black Bean Pumpkin Soup--a recipe that I got off of the Smitten Kitchen. 

A few notes on this soup--it wasn't at ALL orange (the photos on Deb's site are electric), and I didn't taste the pumpkin. Not even a little bit. Not even at all. Additionally, I found the overall flavor to be a bit sour, and I think that was due in large part to the sherry wine the recipe called for--I think it could have done without that entirely, and instead of finishing it off with sherry vinegar, I believe a bit of red wine vinegar would have done the trick. It did, however, introduce us to one of the most wonderful ingredients--pre-cooked ham. It came in this huge chunk, and was smokey and delicious. I plan to use it in a quiche tomorrow, and probably make a club salad later this week complete with beets and other numerous accoutrement. There might even be a ham salad sandwich in our future. (This is a big deal. I very rarely do any sort of meat salad. They tend to make me barf. But, this ham has non-barfing saladish potential. Very cool.)

All in all, the evening was a bit anticlimactic. We met a few neighbors that we hadn't seen before, so that was nice, but all in all, only SIX children darkened out door to trick or treat. One of them had so many food allergies that his parents went by to every house beforehand to drop off a gift to give him instead of candy. I threw in a glow stick for him as well. Not like the kid who is allergic to everything under the sun needs to glow in the dark, but hey, they're cool!

When Gluten Kid and his family were walking away, the kids asked the parents, "Hey, can we go trick or treat at that house over there?" [referencing our neighbors that live across the street] The mother promptly responded, "No, their porch light is out, see? That's the universal sign to stay away. That family never comes out. Not even for Christmas. That's why we call them the Vampire Family." I. Laughed. My. Ass. Off. And then I thought it was kind of inappropriate that they said that within earshot of us, which of course, theoretically meant they were in earshot of the Vampire Family. Suburbia? You are FASCINATING.

In any event, Happy Halloween, everyone! And if you find yourself with a sweet tooth this evening, come on by. We have about $30 left of unclaimed candy. 

Soup's On!

There has been a lot of this going on here at Chez K. the last few weeks.

A few weeks ago on Columbus day, I made homemade Chicken Soup for the first time (using the FANTASTIC recipe out of Food to Live By) and it changed my life. While I have made many a batch of potato leek soup over the years, I've never been a big homemade soup fan. I always thought it took too long, and was a lot of work for something that never ended up being very satisfying. I have been converted.

All in all, it took about 4.5 hours from start to finish, and the house smelled tremendously good. The aroma brought back memories for me: late mornings on Saturday; Dad would be sitting at the kitchen table with his notebook--wearing jeans and a ratty old sweatshirt. His curly hair would be wiry and tousled, not having showered yet that day. He would watch cooking shows for hours, taking notes and writing out recipes (this was YEARS before the internet, food network, etc.). Meanwhile, a homemade soup would be simmering on the stove, with a lemony bunch of parsley from the garden sitting on the wooden cutting board, ready to be thrown in at the very end. I never really appreciated the hard work of it all until this month--or the quick comfort that can be achieved from a savory spoonful. That was one memory, and the other, my Granny. Nothing specific...just a home filled with earthy slow-cooked goodness. That was my Granny. Good things.

Last weekend I made up a batch of Mexican Albondigas soup (again, another recipe out of Food to Live By). I had made this previously last year (albondigas are mexican meatballs), but had used ground turkey. This go round I substituted ground sirloin, and the difference was marked. From now on, I'm going beef all the way with this soup. 

We shared this meal with a co-worker who stopped by to haul away that tree that busted our deck. Turns out, it made him very happy to have free firewood. The next day, we tried a new recipe out of Fine Cooking--French Onion Soup. It was time-consuming to caramelize the onions (and honestly, they could have steamed a bit longer), but the time and watery eyes were WELL worth the wait. Gorgeous.

Next up was Parker's Beef Stew out of one of Ina's cookbooks. Salmaan took the lead on this one, as he normally does whenever wine, beef, and potatoes are involved. This was an incredibly hearty stew, and although many of the same components were present, I felt it was totally different from the bourguignon we made a few weeks ago. The presence of the potatoes and peas were wonderful, and there was a richness to this dish that was completely different from the other.

And last, but definitely not least, we enjoyed this wonderful concoction this evening. Amy is often posting about dishes she's tried from Smitten Kitchen, and so I finally visited and checked it out. I will be back again, and again...and...well, you get the idea. This soup was excellent, and truly fit the bill for what was in the pantry. We used the acorn squash we purchased at the orchard a few weeks ago, and surprisingly, had just about everything else on hand. It's strange how your staples as a cook change as you evolve. Lately, mine have been butter, cream, french baguette, gruyere, and chicken stock. Perhaps this new trend would account for the extra pounds I have been carrying around the last few months. ;-)

At any rate, grab a great recipe, and get to simmering. It does a body (and soul) good. Soup's on!

October: When Festivals Abound

Last weekend, we enjoyed what I believe will be a new yearly tradition: the Fall Festival at Carter Mountain Orchard, outside of Charlottesville, VA. 

Even though I lived in C'ville for four years, we never made it out to the orchard. Having driven past it many times on our trips wine tasting, we knew we wanted to check it out this season. Saturday morning we got up early, took River for a long walk so she'd be set for the day at home, and we headed out. It was very, very crowded, but the view was stunning.

These are shots from both sides of the mountain. This last one is from the slope where we picked our apples--we chose to focus primarily on Golden Delicious and Jonagolds. The GD were incredible--they tasted as though they were basted in honey, and were firm and juicy. We picked about ten pounds of those. The Jonagolds ended up going into an apple crisp (I thought they would be good baking apples--but they ended up turning into something much more akin to apple SAUCE). 

Even so, they look pretty beautiful on the branch, don't they?

We stayed for a while, enjoying the views and the plinkety plink of a bluegrass band. There is also a vast vineyard on the top of the mountain, and while I wish I could have walked through the vines, the electric fencing served as a successful deterrent.

In addition to the apple picking, there was also a nice selection of mums from local greenhouses, and other types of organic produce from local farms. We picked up some acorn squash that I'm hoping to stuff with something delicious very soon, and a pint of homemade apple cider. The pièce de résistance if you will, was the apple cider doughnut--OH. MY. GOD. We were eating them on our way back to the car, and the ecstasy must have shown on our faces--a complete stranger came up, jabbed me in the arm and said, "Like a little piece of heaven, ain't it?". Oh yes. Divine. 

This weekend we met up with my parents at a local eatery in Waynesboro, VA, and checked out the Fall Festival there. I'd like to say we enjoyed browsing leisurely among booths filled with unique and beautiful art, but alas, we were kicked out! One block in, we were approached by a local police officer, who looked at us like were were dumbasses, saying, "Um, I'm not sure if you've seen the signs, but we aren't allowing dogs at this event." Well, maybe he was on point, because I was pretty damned dumbfounded. It's an outdoor event, a FESTIVAL for God's sake, in VIRGINIA!!!!! And you're not allowing DOGS!?!?!?! And of course we didn't see the sign, we were busy looking at the booths--it isn't a SIGN festival bub, it's a CRAFTS festival. *deep breath*. I was peeved. And River felt bad, I know she did. We left. But not before a very nice lady came up and said, "I think it's RIDICULOUS they're not allowing dogs this year, especially one as gorgeous and well behaved as she is!" Lady? I don't know who you are, but I like you. Power to the dog people!

In keeping with the autumnal festivities, here is a WIP that I've enjoyed knitting to and from these fun events--I'm calling it Fall Festival.

Hopefully it will be done by the end of this month, so I can wear it while the leaves are still on the trees. I better hurry.

Fall is Here

I'm loving October, although I have no idea where September went. It slipped by so fast, but I'm determined to enjoy this month to its fullest. 

We've done a bit of seasonal decorating, which has been a blast! The mums are planted, and there are little touches of autumn all over the house. The smell of pumpkin spice, orange and red decorations...I'm even enjoying the way the light comes into the house. This is our first fall here. 

 

Nothing says autumn like good homemade soup. This is a Tuscan White Bean soup, a new recipe that I tried out of Food to Live By. I've mentioned this cookbook before--it's truly a staple, as is this soup. I couldn't find dried cannellini beans, but the great northern beans I used worked out really well, and the soup made the house smell wonderful.

Speaking of wonderful smells--yesterday was full of them. I baked these corn muffins for brunch, and dang--SO GOOD. I think we'll be having these with thanksgiving dinner. I followed the recipe exactly, the only difference was that I subbed "I can't believe it's not butter" baking sticks for the real butter called for. I couldn't tell a difference, so go for it! They were moist and delicious.

We also had goat cheese scrambled eggs and hash-browns for brunch. I have to say, I haven't mastered hash-browns yet, and I really want to. They always end up being raw, or in the alternative, get totally starchy and disintegrate. I'm hoping to master them by the end of the season. As for the eggs? No goat cheese in the morning, thanks. We'll reserve that particular dairy product for after 5 p.m. only. 

Last weekend we saw Julie & Julia, and it was SUCH a good movie. Of course, yesterday we had to cook boeuf bourguignon in honor of Julia. This was how it looked before it spent 3 hours in the oven.

As it cooked, we saw on the front porch and enjoyed the gorgeous weather. Me with my knitting, Salmaan with a new novel. He had just finished cutting the grass, so the breeze was full of that smell, so reminiscent of summertime, and then every once in a while, we'd get a whiff of the beef stew. I couldn't stop smiling, it smelled so good.

Speaking of knitting, it is high time for an update on my GYC KAL progress. The Rooster has been so amazing at cataloging her progress, it has been quite motivating for me. Friday night I finished the yoke portion, and yesterday I began to work on getting through to the divide. 

I'm using Jo Sharp DK Tweed on #7 needles. I had a difficult time getting gauge, but I think I finally managed it. I love the flecks of red and purple, and the yarn, while a little twiggy in some sections, is soft and easy to work with. The colorway is Granary.

For someone who normally knits with bright colors, I'm enjoying the muted earthiness of this yarn. I think it'll look fabulous with jeans!

Here was dinner.

I can't describe how delicious this was. Instead of using the pearl onions (which I'm not such a huge fan of), we used the sliced onions recommended in the master recipe, but still added the traditional sauteed mushrooms at the end, with the butter/flour thickening agent. The thyme was fresh out of the garden, and the beef became incredibly tender. There are plenty of leftovers that I can't wait to devour. 

Today we're heading west to the mountains to enjoy a fall festival at an orchard. We'll come home to a marinated pork tenderloin ready for grilling, and a new recipe for roasted butternut squash. Apple crisp, anyone? Happy Fall!

Aw HELLZ Yeah!

Okay, so it probably isn't a secret at this point that I LOVE Indian food. It's just so savory, nuanced, and beautiful--it's a cuisine that makes a point of tantalizing all of the senses. It's ALSO not a big secret that for the most part, my personal attempts to reproduce the dishes we love have been unsuccessful. As in, inedible. Of course, we've had the rogue success--Lamb Curry, for example, or Chana Saag (disappointingly, the post which gets the most hits on my blog--although I'm sure plenty of knitters who enjoy expertly simmered creamed spinach are delighted to stumble upon my trail of happy knitting...yeah?)--but these are the exception, not the rule. Until......this evening. 

Check. These. Out.

These, dear friends, are Lamb Koftas, from this recipe book (which, based solely on these two dishes tonight, I would urge you to purchase, immediately). 

Salmaan LOVES koftas--it's a dish from his childhood that is associated with happy memories, and we were both thrilled that we were able to reproduce that ourselves. These were made from ground lamb, and were SUPER soft and sticky--it was really difficult to form them into balls. While that didn't bode well at first, the aroma of the spice blend seemed to make up for it. Salmaan made the curry paste, and the dish ended up tasting really wonderful--the meatballs were moist and tender, and the sauce was friggin' awesome.

We also made a vegetarian dish to accompany the lamb:

Sauteed Bhindi (or okra)--this was really fun, especially since we don't really ever have okra. This was sauteed up with some onions and choice spices, and the result was fresh and delicious. This meal even looked patriotically Indian!

Salmaan's exceptional basmati and raita accompanied these two beautiful dishes, and a little white wine made it all come together. I'm just so friggin' THRILLED--we got it right, on the FIRST TRY, and we would definitely make both dishes again. Oh, but a note: I would recommend using HALF of the vegetable oil that the author calls for--we didn't for the Koftas, and ended up spooning out a TON--we halved her recommendation for the Bhindi dish, and it ended up being just right. Can I get a HELLZ YEAH?!?!?!?! My tummy is full, and it's time for bed. Goodnight.

Mmmmmm....

Very good dinner tonight. Broiled tilapia with fresh herbs from the garden (dill and parsley), with a veggie medley of fresh zucchini, sauteed onions, and cherry tomatoes with basil and parsley. The starch is a boxed deal, but still good. A little freshly grated parmesan topped off the garden side. 

The salad also included garden bounty--the cukes are coming in faster than I can pick them, and these were our first cherry tomatoes. The yellow ones are so sweet! Green Goddess has been our favorite dressing this month--Mmmm, so good.

We topped it off with a quality rose purchased this weekend. Happy Monday!

New Creations

It's a rainy day here at Chez Sherando, which means a lot of things:

1) I'm on my third cup of coffee, it's nearly noon, and we had an incredible breakfast. 

2) muffins will be made today

3) some cleaning will get done

4) there will be general laziness (punctuated by fervent knitting), as well as a visit to the gym to be concluded with a soak in the hot tub. 

Here's the new breakfast creation:

That's a toasted slice of whole wheat boule topped with homemade herb mayonnaise, bacon, a deliciously ripe avocado, sliced romas, and two fried eggs. It was incredibly good. I love avocados. I'll have to think of what to call this, because it will be showing up on the menu again...

Yesterday was a good day--we had planned to go kayaking, but I got on a roll on my BGM Ulmus, and Salmaan was kind enough to be cool with me knitting all day until it was done. And, it is! Here's a shot of it blocking last night.

This photo doesn't do the colors justice, which is why I'll be waiting for a sunny day to post FO pictures of this. It's dry now, and is hanging over the back of my knitting chair. I can't stop looking at it. You know that feeling you get when you make a new recipe, and the finished product ends up looking as good or better than the photo in the cookbook? I'm feeling that kind of pride right now. It's a cool thing. 

Here are some pics I took yesterday of progress in the garden.

I harvested the last of the beets. These will be roasted up on a weeknight this week. We're going to have them with goat cheese stuffed chicken breasts. 

the peppers are coming in.

And of course, we're practically swimming in squash and zucchini right now.

Salmaan made some delicious raita with cukes out of the garden on Friday night--we had it with the Indian lamb meal that we love. That raita was so good, I could have eaten it by itself by the spoonful. 

Hope your Sunday is relaxing, and punctuated by the gentle patter of rain on the windowsill.

Suggested tunes:

Long Time Traveller by The Wailin' Jennys

Living in Twilight by The Weepies

Goodbye, Apathy by OneRepublic

Lately.

It has been pretty quiet lately, here at Happy Trails. June was a "big ball of suck" as far as relaxing is concerned, and I just haven't found the time or inspiration to sit and write. However, many exciting things have come to pass at work, in the kitchen and garden, as well as on the needles. Projects are nearing completion, and while I don't normally post about WIPs, I can't resist sharing some photos of projects that I am truly ecstatic about.

Awhile back, Kirsten from Through The Loops came out with a shawl pattern that I couldn't wait to get my hands on. There were a few skeins of Malabrigo Sock Yarn in the stash that I had purchased a few months prior, and felt that two of the colors would really look nice together. They did, and I'm thrilled. My first Ulmus is nearing completion, and while the border is taking me FOR-E-VER, I am enjoying watching it evolve, row by row.

Impatient, as always, I already have another one on the needles. I'll post a pic of it once BGM Ulmus is complete.

In other exciting news, I turned the heel of my first sock this past weekend!!! 

I have always been intimidated by sock knitting, and while I have bought numerous books on the topic, I just didn't feel confident enough to try to do it on my own. So, I signed up for a sock knitting class at the Orchardside Yarn Shop in Raphine, Virginia. Carol Smyer (owner, and knitter extraordinaire) taught the class, and it was great. Two Sundays in a row, 6 hours total, she provided some delicious snacks, and it was only $45--what a deal!!! My Mom also took the class, so that made for a good time, as well. The first Sunday she didn't know I was coming, and it was fun to see her so surprised (this yarn shop is about 2.5 hours from where I live). I then followed her home and got to share dinner with her and Dad on Father's Day. The second Sunday, Salmaan and I drove down together, and met Mom and Dad at the Rockbridge Winery for a tasting and a picnic that ended up being pretty darn fabulous.

Dad made some incredible grilled vegetarian sandwiches on artisan bread. They included portebello mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini, roasted bell peppers, and smoked gouda. I cannot WAIT to duplicate these on our own grill (hopefully as soon as this weekend!) Salmaan made a delicious pasta salad with herbs out of the garden, and a light vinegrette--perfect for a summer picnic. I contributed freshly brewed iced tea, and a reduced fat cheesecake topped with some lovingly homemade strawberry rhubarb preserves. A vendor there and some workers in the tasting room also enjoyed that we made too much of a few items, and it was fun to share.

After that, we all headed to the LYS--Mom and I to knit, and Dad and Salmaan to sit by the creek that runs through the property, and catch up. I had some issues with the heel flap initially, but left at the end of the 3 hours with two heel flaps completed, and one heel turned. I have been working on each sock a little bit at a time since, and am excited that the pair will be done at almost the same time. Can't wait to post about the pattern, yarn, process, etc. as soon as they're done! There will be more socks in my future.

A few other projects are on the needles as well--simple mindless garter, and I anticipate they will be ready to share soon.

On the work front, today marks ONE YEAR that I have been working in my office, as a prosecutor. It's a cool thing. I've received my evaluation, I am done with my one-year probation, and I'm feeling decent about my performance this past year. I have come to realize that it's called the "practice" of law for a reason, and every day I become more confident in my ability to learn, adapt, and grow in this career. I feel lucky. For every mistake I've made (and there have been a shit-ton-load) there has been someone to pick me up and brush me off. And those people aren't limited to my colleagues in the office--the defense bar here is really exceptional. While the stress of this particular field sometimes gets to me, most days I come home feeling satisfied, and know that my work has made a difference. And while the stress sometimes sucks? I've come to realize that it only makes the wine taste more savory, the gym more satisfying, and the needles more enticing. I'm in a good place, and I'm thankful for it.

In the middle of June I was out of town for a week at a conference for my job, and after having eaten crappy catored food, and the occassional restaurant meal for SEVEN DAYS, I came home READY for some creative home cooking. Salmaan and I jumped into the kitchen, and some cool things have been coming out of it.

We found this recipe for babaganoush, and true to its title, this is the best babaganous recipe I've tried (and I've tried a few). The only thing I did differently was to use a hand blender to puree the eggplant after it was peeled--I'm not a huge fan of the stringy texture you get, otherwise. It is AWESOME with kalamata olives and lavash or naan bread.

We also made some tabouleh for the first time, using this recipe from Emeril's show, Emeril Green (I like this show because it focuses on healthy, local, organic ingredients, and he makes a lot of ethnic dishes). I would use this recipe again, but would cut the cracked wheat in HALF. We also ended up soaking the CW for twice as long as Emeril recommends.

One weeknight, we roasted up a ton of veggies and made Giada's Pasta Primavera--super good, we'll be making it again (next time hopefully with veggies from the garden).

Salmaan's Brother Rat, Jason, was in town last week for a conference, and we enjoyed making a new meal with him as our guinea pig. It's a Barefoot Contessa Recipe--Lamb Kebabs with couscous, grilled cherry tomatoes, and red onions. AWESOME. We're trying it again this week with beef, and I plan to take pictures the second time around. I highly recommend, especially for company--the meat just marinates overnight, is quickly prepared on the grill, and the couscous cooks up in a snap.

Things have been shaping up nicely in the garden--lots of little (and BIG) surprises the past few weeks.

We harvested our first round of beets this past weekend, and have been enjoying them ever since as sides and in salads. I plan to pull up the rest this weekend, before they get too big. Perhaps we'll make a beet salad with goat cheese? I've never tried that before, but have read that it is a classic pairing. The green beans are coming in nicely, and the cukes are creeping everywhere--threatening to choke out other rows of produce. This weekend we're going to put up a trellis to contain that a bit. I have more squash and zucchini plants than I know what to do with, and man, they are growing like wildfire! Last night I went in and harvested our first bunch--last time I looked, there were only blossoms, and I walked out of the patch with an armful of green and yellow goodness. I think there is some ratatoille in our near future, for sure. The pepper plants have some promising blossoms, and the tomatoes are doing really well--just waiting on them to ripen up. All in all, a very exciting turnout for the first year. I'm already thinking about expanding the garden next year, and planting some eggplant, peas, and rhubarb. You can't get any more local than your own backyard. ;-)

That's what's been going on lately. I'm off to work on those socks.

Good Eats

So, there have been some pretty good eats in this household the past couple of weeks, and I thought I'd share a few with you. At the beginning of March Salmaan and I crashed the closest Barnes & Nobles, thinking we were just going to pick up a guide to Portland for our trip at the end of April. On our way to the checkout line, we detoured over to the cookbook section, and picked up a few that I have been VERY happy with. Ina Garten's At Home, as well as her Back to Basics have both been AMAZING. This is the Coq Au Vin that I made for Mom and Dad. 

You can get the recipe for free online here. The cookbook doubles the recipe, basically by calling for a larger bird, and additional liquid (wine and broth). I actually would have preferred the larger recipe with with less jus, and less salt. I'm finding that Ina tends to make her recipes with a bit more salt that I care for (which is saying something, I LOVE salty food). And of course, we had to have a tasty dessert after all that hard work in the garden! 

I also made a few paninis, following the instructions contained in Simple Italian Sandwiches, another new book. This one contained buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil, ripe romas, and fresh pesto (store-bought, yar). 

They were pretty delicious, although I think in the future I will stray away from the SIS ethos of using ciabatta bread. I think the crust is too hard, and the bread isn't spongy enough. I'd much prefer a focaccia bread, or good italian loaf to the ciabatta, but that's just me. Mom was also kind enough to bring down some organic eggs from the Happy Thyme Farm in Rockbridge Baths. They were classified as free range organic, ungraded. Some of them were actually green in color, which was kinda cool.

While we normally get cage free organic eggs from the grocery store, we could tell that these were different. The yolks were HUGE, and a VERY deep orange color. Absolutely beautiful...

Saturday we made ham and muenster omelettes with a fruit medley. The eggs were RICH tasting, if that makes any sense. Really delicious.

Today I made a fried egg sandwich for lunch. Very tasty.

Some good looking leeks at the grocery store turned into one of my favorite things: potato leek soup out of Joy of Cooking. Rich and creamy...

And this was probably the recipe I was most excited about--fennel stuffed pork loin, from Ina's At Home. We made a stuffing with sliced fennel, onions, olive oil and fresh bread crumbs, then stuffed the loins and roasted them. They were absolutely INCREDIBLE. We will definitely be making this for company at some point in the near future!

And today, I did another freeze-a-thon, making (for the second time) Giada's Beef and Cheese Manicotti out of Everyday Italian (another new, totally awesome purchase). I should have taken this photo before the sauce and cheese went on, but couldn't resist including it nonetheless, given how delicious it is! I also used part skim mozzarella and reduced fat ricotta--still delicious. I did used jarred marinara--Emeril's classic marinara, which is my favorite, and full of flavor. 

Tonight I'm making Chicken Curry (out of Joy of Cooking, with a few mods), and tomorrow there'll be another Giada specialty--we'll see how it turns out! Hope you've been enjoying food as much as we have!