Better Late Than Never...

I have discovered The Pioneer Woman!
And her cookbook!
You have to read the story of how she met and married her husband. I love it!

Winter Cooking

Most days when I cook, it's in the middle of a rush--the TV is on, I've just gotten home, and I'm hungry. Baking is another story; that's more meditative. I do it when I have time (or a chocolate craving). But cooking has a sense of urgency to it in my kitchen. 
Today, with the snow falling, I took my time. I scrubbed the potatoes and cut them into dice. I peeled the onion, and sliced it carefully, thinly. I slid them into the oil-slick pan, and cooked them slowly, for 30 minutes, letting them caramelize. 
There is no TV. There is no music. There's just the quiet sizzling of the vegetables in the pan. 


Nigella's Onion and Potato Hash
from Feast

1 small onion
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 cups all purpose potatoes (one regular sized spud) cut into 1/2" dice with skin on
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (I didn't have any, so used red pepper flakes very generously)
1 egg

Peel and halve the onion and slice finely into half moons. Heat the oil in a rying pan, add the sliced onion and cook over medium heat with a sprinkle of salt to stop it catching. Scrub but do not peel the potato, cut into 1/2" dice and add to the onion in the pan, sprinkling over the cayenne pepper.
Turn the heat down to low and keeping moving the onions and potatoes about every now and then as you want them to caramelize rather than darken in color. Cook them slowly like this for about 30 minutes or until the potato is tender. Turn the heat up and push the potato and onion hash to one side of the pan. Crack in the egg in the other half, and when it is cooked spoon the onions and potatoes on to a plate and top with the fried egg.

Seven Quick Takes Friday Vol. XX

I.

OK, first, a good thing--today's North Market haul: 4 blood oranges, 5 Pink Lady apples, 4 oz. of currents (I always buy these when they have them, so I can make Irish Soda Bread), 3 shallots, 8 ox. of honeyrun farm honey (southwest of here--it's sooo good), 4 oz. of aged English cheddar from the cheese dudes (it is so good!), milk from a local dairy (also sooo good), and....Jeni's ice cream. Because I haven't had any in months!

II.

The reason I went shopping is that I had NO food in the house. Of course, I chose to do my semi-annual Fridge Purge this week. Amidst the White Death (at least that's what the forecasters should've called it)

Shopping had to happen. This was only a quick trip, so I might have to head out again tomorrow for more things, but at least I have basic provisions now and can bake/cook things in the kitchen.

III.

Speaking of White Death: The drive to work today, post-storm, was easy. The roads were just wet. Yesterday, it took me 70 minutes to go 12 miles. I was not amused.

IV.

I was also not amused by the woman in the Black CR-V who decided, at 7:15 this morning (read: still dark), to NOT have her lights on. At all. Good thinking.

V.

I managed to get through the piles of paper that were waiting for me, post-vacation, by today. Next week committees start up again, so that will add to the busy-ness, but no sessions until after MLK day. Then we have the governor's State of the State Address (the last one of this term) the week after. It's going to be a busy session until the summer, when everyone leaves to go campaign. We also have to pass a capital budget this year, which is "bricks and mortar" building stuff around the state.

VI.

Books of 2010 (cont.): A Year in Provence, and three American Girl "Girl of the Year" books (Yes, I read kid lit. Yes, I Like It): Laine, Mia, and Bravo, Mia! (Mia is an ice skater, so I like her books).  And some cookbooks, because I read them for fun: Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone, The Amish Cook at Home.

VII.

Planning on relaxing this weekend. There are a lot of good movies out, but it's so cold I don't really want to venture out. I have a Lay Dominicans meeting on Sunday at church, which I am looking forward to, especially since I have the Breviary now!

This week's menu

For all the foodies out there, this is what I have coming up this week:

Tonight
Salmon with tomatoes on the vine; caramel popcorn for snacking (both from Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone)

Sunday
Pasta

Monday
Chicken and Dumplings from The Amish Cook at Home


Wednesday
Pasta puttanesca and corn bread--it's ballet night, so go carbs

I always leave a few dates open in case my brother/parents/friends want to go get dinner.

I'm especially excited for tonight. I've never made salmon fillets before so I hope they're good!

Seven Quick Takes Friday--Vol. XIII (Early Bird edition)

I.

You're probably looking at this thinking, "whoa, it's really early for her!" And you would be right.

II.

Last night I couldn't sleep. I went to bed around 9:30 and got up at 2:00 a.m., wide awake. I've decided not to fight this, so I got up and wrote a few more pages in my memoir, "A few=twenty. Go me! After writing, I still wasn't tired, so I decided to clean. Yes, you read that right. I cleaned my mirrors, dusted pictures and bookshelves, ran a load of dishes in the dishwasher, cleaned out my closet, put shoes away, and put books back in their correct bookshelf places. This took me until about 5:00, at which time I decided, "hey, let's try sleep again!" Got up about 18 minutes ago.

III.

So, my Friday is off to a roaring start, which is good, given that this week I've been fairly catatonic. Throat bugging me, nose bugging me, chest bugging me. Hopefully my body has gotten the memo to quit it. 

IV.

Looking forward to a weekend of nothing. I like weekends of nothing. Parish picnic and Faith Sharing group on Sunday, but that's not something difficult, that's something fun!

V.

Some book takes: Cookbooks this week--The Amish Cook at Home, which I am continuing to love, and Relaxed Cooking With Curtis Stone. Some of these recipes look really delish, so I can't wait to try them.

VI.

MEdical stuff: Next week is busy! Dr. A appointment on Monday, and then oral surgery on Friday to repair the gums on my lower teeth. Apparently all my aerosol treatments and stuff like that makes the plaque on my teeth really hard to remove, which has lead to gum erosion over the years. So now I"m getting this fixed. Surgery on Friday, recovery at parents' over weekend. There may or may not be blogging.  In addition to all this, there is the Saga of the Port. Apparently, Children's decided to get rid of the old system (Huber needles) and go for a new system, which removes the needle entirely once you are accessed. The only problem with this is you can't wiggle the needle around to get the access to take. With my port (it's a "floater"), you have to jiggle it. It's the only way it works.

So last Saturday a home care nurse came out to show us the new thing. We tried to access it three times. No go. My mom used the old needle after the nurse left, and we got it. The port site is now a lovely shade of bruised flesh, so I'm hoping the infusion gals can get it on Monday. If not, it could be a long day.

VII.

And finally...my friend Val is a grandma! Her daughter, Sara, gave birth to a daughter this week.

Have a great weekend, y'all!