The Cabbage Stalks At Midnight

I didn't sleep very well. For that I blame this:

Thai Style Salad. An excellent way to hone those knife skills, learned back in January. Yet eating copious amounts of this mostly-cabbage mixture left me unsatisfied, despite the Ma Po Tofu accompaniment. I slept, but the leafy greens and fish sauce haunted me with vapid poppy store music, repeated endlessly in my head.

Today I'm wandering around the house, confused as to the time of day it really is thanks to a time change that I've yet to adjust to. The cats look worried. The housework watches. The writing waits. I'm taking it easy.

Getty Villa Lite

Lately the sun has been out but the air is cold. I go on long walks and start out with two sweaters which I shed along the way. Inside the house I keep an extra layer on all day and the cats stare longingly out to the patio through the closed window.

This morning was a little warmer. Thanks to spring forward I was a little behind before I even woke up, and scrambled to put together the pot roast in the slow cooker. Despite this inauspicious beginning, the sun inspired me to throw together breakfast and bring it outside.


The Boy commented it was like eating at our own Roman Villa. I hope to have more breakfasts and dinners this as we wind our way into Spring and Summer.

Going Barn Red...

Besides trying to do more home cooking, I've been trying to do more home making. With that in mind, about a month ago I purchased Milk Paint with the idea of improving some of our bare wood (read: easy to get dirty) Ikea furniture. The weeks passed by and I didn't get to it, and then someone took matters into his own hands.

Isn't he cute?
I'm happy.

Is February Over Yet?

I'm still here, but I'm ready to be done with this month. First I was exhausted from work, then I floundered with my writing, then I got a cold, then I got my wisdom teeth out. During all this I didn't do too much cooking.

Honestly, I think that was a mistake. Cooking is hard work, sometimes I screw up, and it's really not usually a joyful activity. But it is a satisfying one. When I've put together a tasty meal, or at least something new, I feel like I've accomplished something. I needed more of that in February.

March will be different. I'm already in the baby steps of planning a dinner party with a friend. I couldn't help but pick up another book by Tessa Kiros. Her cookbooks belong on coffee tables, they are so beautiful. I've been watching and reading Pride and Prejudice lately, and though I know none of the Bennet girls cooked or did housework, for some reason it always puts me in the mood to do just that.

Unfortunately, thanks to the wisdom teeth removal, I'm still on soft foods today. Tomorrow though, I may try something different.

Meanwhile, I'll leave you with two things I managed to snap pictures of that the boy made with a little bossy oversight from me:


Sweet Simmered Beef and Onions over Rice from Let's Cook Japanese Food! I like beef when it's done Japanese style. Sliced thin, cooked well, and over a bed of rice.


Hot Chocolate from Apples for Jam (one of the Tessa Kiros books). Wow, this stuff is decadent.

See you in March!