Whole Wheat Egg Noodles

with parmesan, with roasted vegetables (cauliflower, carrots, shiitakes).

Merry Christmas!

Good heavens it was busy, but also, wondrously, totally fun. For Christmas eve dinner we had two extremely good things. The first was a country ham from Benton's in Tennessee. Have you ever had a country ham? Have you ever seen one? They look like giant loaves of bread, or huge sandstone formations. They smell like a smokehouse (I had to put ours outside). But oh man—I have never in my life had anything like it to eat. Except, that's wrong; I have: it was like a leg of the best prosciutto ever. Rich and chewy and subtle and amazingly unlike anything I'd ever called "ham" before. Butchering it was a challenge, and next time I'll order one pre-sliced, but I am a convert. The second thing we had was a vegetable lasagna I made, and if I say it myself, it was excellent. I have discovered that the key to lasagna happiness for me is parboiling the noodles. If I cook them all the way they are slimy and impossible to work with; this time I boiled them til just pliable (about six minutes) and then let them cool on sheets of parchment. Everything else was a breeze (though time-consuming): bottled tomato sauce, ricotta cheese, sauteed mushrooms, spinach, and eggplant.

The pictured quiche was last night's dinner, and contained brussels sprouts and mushrooms sauteed in country ham fat.

Slanting Gretel Tee

My love affair with the short-sleeved sweater continues. Layers! There's just nothing like them.

Prosciutto

Country ham prosciutto, from Benton's in Tennessee. I wrapped it around pear slices and it was delicious. We also had baked sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli with anchovy butter (I had anchovy butter, anyway; the spouse declined. His loss.)

Fried Chicken

Ok, this was more like it. Brown rice, roasted cauliflower and shiitakes, with pan-fried chicken thighs and an impromptu sauce of rosemary and garlic in a pan de-glazed with Lillet blanc. Yowza, it was good.

Flounder

with brown rice and roasted brussells sprouts. Should have been tasty; was actually kind of yuck.

Zero Maria Cornejo

Here it is, the dress I want. Will it even be made? How much will it cost? Will it be possible to get my hands on one? Pre-fall collections raise more questions than they answer.

Spelt Angel Hair

with shiitakes, bacon, and parboiled collards.

Lamb Chops

with brown rice, and parboiled collards dressed with dark sesame oil.

Fried Chicken

with roasted brussels sprouts and baked sweet potatoes.

Roasted Vegetables

Cauliflower, carrots, and shiitakes. With bacon (yum) and quinoa (overcooked, yuck).

A New Pair

the first in a while. They turned out nicely, just in time for cold weather.

Sausages

with fried potatoes and salad.

Steelhead Trout

I don't normally buy farmed fish, but man, I was beat yesterday and in the mood for something good and easy, which grilled fish is. So I did it. And served it with brown rice and swiss chard.