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December 12, 2006
Still Here
The problem with blogs and blogging is that you can't exactly drop it like a cable-knitting or sardine-eating phase. You can feel like dropping it for a while in favor of, say, going outside on nice weekend days or getting sleep of weeknights, and this may seem like the right thing to do, but there is this nagging GUILT. Guilt which really shouldn't be all too terrible given that few people read this and I, in turn, guilt them into doing so.
So, there are blog-worthy topics, I suppose. We've been eating lots of good things. For no apparent reason, we went to Al Di La Friday night (beet ricotta ravioli, calves liver, dessert wine), the very good, newish Fifth Ave. BBQ place Saturday afternoon(fabulous biscuit with sausage gravy, an egg, and cheddar grits), and Rosewater Sunday afternoon (sweet pork ribs over grits topped with a poached egg, side of kale, pear ginger juice). I think we did this to avoid real Christmas shopping.
Derek is, as usual, ordering gifts well in advance from various websites. I, on the other hand, feel like it should still be October, or January. I'm not ready for this gift-giving business. WHY do we have to do this, anyway? For a the past couple of years, I've gotten an early start, and I've had some sort of new Christmas theme to keep me interested. One year, I exchanged stockings with a friend so we'd both have an excuse to buy lots of cute pointless things. Then, I started doing a stocking for D because we spend Christmas morning together. And then there was the whole find-gifts-that-don't-create-more-trash thing, where I stopped buying things people won't wear and bought museum memberships instead. So this year I'm out of ideas. I'm pretending it's not a big deal and hoping that my Christmas spirit/consumerist panic sets in soon.
We did manage to find a nice tree and decorate it, and we've been moving through the collection of holiday CDs (does Jesus Christ Superstar count?). Hopefully this will induce me to get my gifting in order.
On the food front, I made that no-knead bread all of the food bloggers were making back when they were blogging and I was, ahem, not. It is the recipe "a six year old could make," so I figured I couldn't mess it up too much. I only let it rise 12 or so hours (not the recommended 19), but it seemed ready, so I went ahead with the rest of the recipe. I folded it and let it rest while I went with my family to see the Ron Mueck and Annie Leibovitz shows at the Brooklyn Museum (and visited the cafe there for the first time -- good stuff), then baked it when I got home. I messed something up, but I'm not sure what, because it was a little too moist for my taste (took it out too soon, maybe? bottom was pretty dark, though), but Mom and Derek loved it and ate it all up, so it wasn't too bad. Will have to try again. I was happy to have kept some leftover cornmeal around for ages -- it was perfect for the crust.
Also on the food front -- you know how you have a few things that you know how to make well? I think I have a new thing (which brings my total up to something like a lofty four). It's another Lidia Bastianich recipe, and it involves broccoli rabe, bacon or pancetta, and chic peas. The bacon makes a mostly vegetable dish taste nice and meaty, and the beans and greens are comforting. It needs some tweaking (I think I'll try kale), but it's getting there.
Posted by csageday at December 12, 2006 12:09 AM
Comments
You're back to blogging! I missed the re-entry, but that chick-pea broccoli rabe thing can't go by without a comment. Looks GOOD.
Posted by: Amber at December 20, 2006 10:44 AM