Lacey, DS1 went to UCL? So did my girl! Junior Year abroad, and boy did she love it. Made friends from all around the world. In fact, she and the boy went to Sweden this past summer to attend one of her UCL friend's wedding. As a school, they did a pretty good job of working with all their international students.

Car, love the pasta strings!

I am thinking of making something called a Schiaciatta tonight for dinner and then serving things to dip/smear on the results. Have no idea why this caught my fancy, but is has. Off to research and collect more data.

*susan*

https://www.fornobravo.com/wood-fired-cooking/schi...

But I think I would have to leave the house and buy some food to make this work. Not sure I care enough to do that!

*susan*

Nancy - that is so funny. I looked up Schiaciatta (1st link it gave was to Susan's link lol) and looks very yummy but alas no brick oven here either. Do you have a brick oven Susan? Your dip/smear makings sound yummy.

Thank you Joyce for sending pictures of the wedding. Glad to see that Rick has found someone new though miss Michelle. I too remember the bunny suit.

Lacey - those pizzas look yummy. I need to find what I did with the 00 flour I bought, I think it was maybe 2#, not much. I uncovered my bread board the other day, never have used it. I have a small food processor but haven't used it in years. Any special recipe you use? I probably have asked this before lol. No where around here to buy fresh dough - Mr. Jims and Pizza Hut only.

The black eyed peas are on the last little bit. No pot liquor left in them. I had a bowl for lunch. DH is working a very odd shift. Went in at 7p tonight for overnight inventory. Says they might finish up between 2-3a but not really sure. Has tomorrow off and then Sat/Sun/Mon next weekend but Mon goes to get his new crown finally placed. The tooth that gave him such trouble late summer. I bought some chicken/dumplings in the deli at grocery for my dinner. DH is not crazy about them even the more "homemade" variety so a good night for me to have them.

I saw that KA Flour's 2016 recipe of the year is No-Knead Crusty White Bread. Might get me to bread baking if we get a nasty week.

Bedo - sounds like interesting times ahead for you.

And of course I take those recipes literally. Thanks Susan. Have a good Monday.

I don't know anyone with a brick oven either. I'd think all the angled cuts in the bricks for the round dome would be quite an interesting challenge.

Susan, an amazing meal from the pantry. I almost made bread today, but I got busy.

Carrie and Nance, those are amazing pasta pictures. I've never made pasta...someday I hope to work on that.

I made aebleskiver this morning, changed the oil in the vehicle fleet, did more house cleaning and worked on my mom's yard. Sharon made a chilli-mac dish for DD and I...and I'm roasting a whole chicken for the leftovers.

Tomorrow it's back to work after 2 glorious weeks of vacation...

And the best news....DD has been accepted to ASU (Arizona State University) and NAU (Northern Arizona University) and has partial scholarships from both places. It looks like a business/marketing degree. We have saved enough for college, but the scholarship help is greatly appreciated.

Susan, what a lovely dinner....and those meze (s). Ou la la! Are those the kind of things that your Turkish restaurant offers? Do you think we might meet up there one of these days when you are feeling well?

And what a coincidence that our kids both attended UCL! I liked that his program was more integrated in the general university rather than a separate American "pod" within a university like some schools offer. We met lots of American students while in line for theatre tickets each day while visiting and learned that lots of them just had three days of classes each week with lots of recreational and travel time. My pre-med artist guy had a daily grind and waited until his program was completed to travel for a month with friends he made there. It was a good experience...and fun for us to visit!

I baked my pizza pies in a 500 degree oven last nite with good result. And, Luv, I think the dough recipe DH ended up using was Giada's....after researching just about every one in Googleland to find one that was supposed to ferment overnite in fridgge. In the end we learned about why that is useful, and that it can be done with just about any of the pizza dough recipes. Also we used all purpose flour since I worried that my 00 was too old. Must get more once I have a plan to use it! We are such baking neophytes....he is an all around kitchen neophyte. But a great clean up guy!

DH is trying to attempt some dinner cooking efforts, and does best when I leave the kitchen. My control issues really hit the fan when I am in eyeshot! I was not too excited about the flour dispersal during his pizza dough effort. After seeing your pictures of pasta making, I will not be suggesting he try that! LOL

Nance your pic reveals some elaborate looking ergonomic devices on your counters. I feel like I am looking at a food/lab/workshop! How will you ever part with all of that equipment when you get your 15 minute pasta maker?

Tomorrow night I am going to a knife skills workshop at our town library. The chef from Volante's is demonstrating. He's a great guy. It should be fun....and maybe save me a future trip to the hand surgeon! I did get a new zester with a handle for Christmas....my old one doesn't have one, which has always been a bit challenging.

About to try my new "My Pillow" out....

Eric, congrats and good wishes to DD on her school choices. It's always such an exciting developmental time in a family's life...made nicer these days by scholarship $$$!

Ooooohhh: pizza! pasta! artisanal bread! gelato! (Talenti has ambushed my diet more times than I care to admit). My cruise ended less than 2 weeks ago and it already seems like a lifetime now that I have had to resume eating “dead animals and leaves" (the only way I've ever been able to lose weight and keep it off long-term).

Had scrambled egg whites with chevre, basil, & sundried tomatoes for brunch, along with unsweetened cucumber salad. Was going to do a roast duck half tonight when Bob (DH) phoned and said he was finishing up rounds and would meet me at Calo (the Italian restaurant one neighborhood south--Andersonville--we've been frequenting for 36 yrs) to share a zuppa di pesce (Italian bouillabaisse). I was surprised at the discipline I was able to exert: San Pellegrino instead of prosecco or Pinot Grigio; shunning the bread basket (which contained tomato foccaccia); having a Caesar salad without croutons; ignoring the side of cappellini; and slurping the broth with a spoon instead of sopping it up with the included garlic crostini. Just the steamed clams, mussels. calamari, shrimp, scallops, crab legs and half a lobster tail. (“Just"). We still had more leftovers than Gordy (DS) could handle when we got home. For dessert (2 hr later), plain Greek yogurt with vanilla and fresh raspberries, and a decaf espresso.

Carole, I am an unabashed coffee geek. (I even used to roast my own beans). How do you make your cappuccino? When I have the time & patience I make espresso with my prosumer rig (Mazzer Mini grinder found dirt cheap on eBay from a cafe that went out of business, and an Andreja Premium heat-exchanger lever espresso machine I got 6 yrs. ago at an Italian specialty coffee wholesaler, as an anniv. present). I steam a mixture of cream, low-carb (FairLife no-hormone no-lactose) milk, and a little unsweetened vanilla-almond milk for flavor without sweetener. But when I'm lazy I use a little Nespresso Pixie capsule machine for the espresso and an Aeroccino automatic frother for the milk (it won't work with cream, skim, almond, or coconut--just whole or 2% FairLife, or 1% Horizon Organic--the latter no more than 3 days opened but too carby for me). With the Pixie and Aeroccino, it comes out more like a cross between a cappuccino and an espresso macchiato. I used to be able to free-pour latte art like leaves and rosettas, but these days it's a big deal if I can pour a simple heart. I actually took a full-day barista training course at the Intelligentsia roastery. Barrister, barista...

the linguini was good although dense, I think if anyone gets the bug to do it again, I will go down a number or two to get thinner noodles. tonight we will go to friends house (my ADD friend who had the bright idea to make pasta) and try her lasagna noodles. I will bring a tossed salad, not sure if I can do anymore pasta this week.

Luv and bedo...I knew I recognized that nursing sense of humor....same here. Our motto as a nurse was "if you don't laugh, you will cry" Plus when you are on hr 16, you get a little punchy.

The bread recipes sound soo good but also dangerous for me. I could really stand to cut some breads outta my diet...and I use the term diet loosely,as I don't really have a diet.

I would think that for someone with no metabolic issues a plant-based diet would probably be the most prudent. But I screwed up my metabolism for so many years with yo-yo dieting and gain-loss-gain cycles (WW, Stillman, Atkins, Pritikin, Jenny Craig, Seattle Sutton, you name it) that only a sensibly low-carb diet (no refined carbs, starchy veggies, sugary fruits, juices, or full-lactose dairy) has ever worked for me over time. I regained only because I let overindulgence (foreign travel and the post-mammo pity-party) back into my life. The only sources of starch or sugar in my diet now are very-low-net-carb (high-fibe, 2-4 gm. net per slice) bread (and not every day), extremely dark chocolate, a very occasional piece of tropical or citrus fruit and a tiny occasional bit of pure honey, maple syrup--from a friend's grove--or a drop or two of pomegranate molasses, and carb-reduced (not just lactose-free) full-fat dairy (FairLife milk and Fage Greek yogurt with nothing in it but milk and cultures). Until my dx I would have a glass of wine with dinner (when in a fine-dining restaurant, sometimes a different one for app & entree)--in fact, I would often decide what to cook based on what I wanted to drink. Now I have to limit my wine to 2 or 3 5-oz glasses per week, so I either teetotal or go for short (2 or 3 oz.) pours a few times a week and rarely finish drinking them. I find that once I've eaten my entree protein I have no need to drink the rest of what's in my glass.

I have also cut WAY back on mammalian and processed meat. I used to have a slice or two of good bacon or sausage with my breakfast eggs, but have switched to lox or cheese instead and added some sort of green veggie or tomato at every meal. I haven't had mammal meat since Dec. 30. (Just realized that now).

This morning, instead of making a pour-over, espresso or Keurig cup, I decided to revisit the Aeropress (with which I travel to Europe with beans, hand-crank mini-grinder and travel kettle). It looks sort of like a manual breast pump: two interlocking cylinders, the inner one with a rubber bottom that allows for a very tight seal. The outer cylinder has a cap and filter (paper disc or reusable mesh) at its bottom. (There’s also an optional funnel adaptor for small-diameter mugs or cups). You take the included scoop and measure out and grind a scoopful of beans, screw the cap & filter on to the bottom of the outer cylinder, and dump in the ground coffee. Top with water just off the boil to your desired strength (1-2 oz. for pseudo-espresso, 3-4 oz. for regular coffee), stir 10 seconds. Insert the inner cylinder and plunge it down firmly and steadily until you hear a hiss and the plunger descends without resistance. Remove the apparatus, unscrew the cap and filter and eject the “puck” of grounds into the trash, disposal or toilet. Add more hot water to your desired volume. Easier cleanup than French press and no sediment in the cup. Tastes pure and full-bodied. Unfortunately, I pressed down a bit too hard using my right arm and I hope I didn’t trigger a flareup of LE or cording. (Will find out when I see the LE doc tomorrow). Yummy enough, though, that it might have been worth it.

I will say Chi, that you make low carb sound tantalizing.

We actually made it to the gym today and to my surprise, I was able to do my whole weight routine with only slight modification, in spite of my somewhat lengthy absence. It felt good and I'm happy to be back.

I feel like I won the lottery. I stopped at the butcher today to get some sausage casings and asked about soup bones. They don't always have them, but I got lucky in that today was beef processing day and I scored at least 15 pounds of beef knuckle and other kinds of bones all for $1.95! I now have some happily cooking away in the pressure cooker for beef stock. I have gotten to the point that I just can't stomach canned beef broth so I need to have homemade on hand always.

DH decided that he wants to grill hamburgers for dinner so he and his flashlight are doing the cooking. I will make a salad and cut up the condiments. I might throw a potato in the oven too. Or not. Two of yesterday's buns were left out from the freezer for the occasion.

Eric - congrats to DD! I know how proud you are of her.

I was an (ovo-lacto) vegetarian for about 7 years. Back then there weren't as many options are there are now, especially in restaurants. It was a lot of trouble. I get tired of meat sometimes and don't miss it but it's hard to be diabetic and not eat meat, although people do it I know. I don't know what I would do without eggs. Chi, I'm shocked at the price of your eggs. I pay $2.00 a dozen for cage free farm eggs! At least one advantage of living in the country close to the food source I guess.

Have you ever heard of a vaculator coffee maker? I have one of these which hasn't been used for years, but it makes divine coffee. Here's some infor about them if you're interested.

http://coffeecompanion.com/2011/10/corey-vacuum-brewer/

Carole - I would think your clay cooker would act the same as a tagine. Thanks for reminding me about the preserved lemons. I need to use them. As far as roasting the vegs -- some do, some don't. I prefer them unroasted.

Joyce, thank you for the reports on the wedding. Filled me with such sadness, but great happiness for this young woman as well. I am glad that Rick has found someone who makes him happy; and again, sad that he needed to. I am so glad that you were included in this celebration. Have a safe journey back to West Palm.

Eric, way to go EricDD. She has a whole kitchen cloche rooting for her!

Minus, love your food descriptions. Clearly one of the great things about feeding only you is you can eat whatever the hell sounds good to you that day. What freedom!

My day was soooooo long. The girl and I left at 9:30am and didn't get home again until 5:30. We headed to IKEA where we checked out some potential house items, and then zeroed into the light department. Bought lights for closets and hallways, but the regular overhead lights she wanted were sold out. No delivery date in the computer and they are disconnected as of April 1. Hmmmm.... she will keep looking. Headed back to Watertown and went to the Bath store. We actually picked out the three toilets and a 42" vanity. Then to a Starbucks so I could have a conference phone call before finishing at the tile store. The kitchen tile is ordered, and I have paid for all three orders in full. [how quickly money is flowing outward.]

Believe it or not, another French cousin arrives tomorrow. The temperatures have plummeted in the low 20º's. Brrrrr..... I can't imagine doing the Freedom Trail in this weather with the wind whipping off the ocean. Perhaps she likes museums. We shall see when she gets here.

Dinner tonight was a Chinese feast at Zoes'. Not enough time after 5:30 to make a real dinner. Must go to the market tomorrow so we can feed the cousin.

*susan*

Two Dutch ovens of simmering stock, chicken on the right, beef on the left.

Roasted chicken backs with veggies.