2012, Week Seventeen

Oregano, Thyme
Apr 22 – I bought some fresh herbs to grow on our windowsill. A week later, the oregano is nearly dead. I am not a gardener.

Flatbread
Apr 23 – I tried Mark Bittman’s recipe for whole grain flatbread. I think it’s going to be a new favorite recipe because it’s incredibly easy, and so tasty. I’m going to try to halve the oil in the recipe in half next time, though.

Fish Tacos
Apr 24 – Fish tacos to the rescue on Tuesday night. I really didn’t know what to do for dinner, and then I remembered this old standby recipe for fish tacos. So easy, totally delicious, and light. I didn’t make the sauce, or the chipotle tortillas. I made a kind of rutabaga slaw to go with them, which was ok. I am definitely bringing fish tacos back into the regular dinner rotation.

Shepherd's Pie with lamb sausage, leftover mashed potatoes
Apr 25 – Shepherd’s Pie, with lamb sausage and leftover mashed potatoes. See the greens in the mashed potatoes? That’s how I make mashed potatoes healthy.

Reading in bed, every night
Apr 26 – This is part of my routine almost every single night of my life. I don’t always read on my Kindle, but I almost always read before bed.

Internet Archive archivist sculptures
Apr 27 – I went to the Internet Archive in San Francisco on Friday for an all-day plenary session for the Digital Public Library of America. It was inspiring, and a fun way to spend the day. The Internet Archive is a quirky place: Apparently, they build a sculpture of their archivists when they’ve worked there for three years, and they are all lined up in the pews of the big church building where they make their headquarters.

Cookbooks!
Apr 28 – I did some recipe organization this weekend, and snapped this shot of our cookbook shelves. These aren’t all the cookbooks, but they are the books I love and use the most. Close to the kitchen.

I can’t believe I actually took a picture every day this week. I was actually fairly certain that I’d forgotten, like, half the week. Maybe I’m finally developing a picture taking habit?

Sean is in Boston this week, so it’s quiet in the kitchen, and I’ll probably end up eating a lot of salads this week. I actually did some big time dinner prep last night to try to make this week as easy as possible: I roasted a chicken and a bunch of vegetables, I cut up some jicama and carrots to eat as snacks, and I prepped as much fruit as I could so that I might actually be convinced to eat it this week.

Bonus picture: We went out for Mexican food last Friday night at La Penca Azul in Alameda, and it was spectacular. The restaurant was crowded and busy, and we had margaritas and tons of chips and quacamole, and I had a mole enchilada that blew my little mind.

Mole enchilada from La Penca Azul

It made me think about revisiting mole making. My first attempt wasn’t bad, but I know I can do better, and now I’ve got inspiration.