Mole!

Last weekend Brentan decided to make some absolutely delicious mole sauce for some tacos. I decided to document. He used a recipe from his new Rick Bayless cookbook he got from my mom, and the mole turned out AMAZING. It brought me back to Mexico, and tasted very authentic. Too bad he had to go to hockey afterward, otherwise I would have made some fresh margaritas!

Here are the roasting tomatoes, which made for a smoky salsa.
And the roasted hot pepers.
The final, colorful meal!

Wintertime Fun: What fun it is to lose a job

I never thought I would be so happy to not have a job. Don't misunderstand me: it sucks to have less money, fewer things to do during the day, and have to spend effort and time worrying about a new one (and hopefully I can FIND a new one). It also is not very fun to be out and about when everyone else is at work. That is, everyone with a job. The crazies and the drunks are around in the middle of the day (does that mean I'm going to become one?!?!). 3-4 pm sort of reminds me of siesta in Spain--just like the middle of the night--when everyone is at home with their families, or in this case, all at work.

But on to the fun stuff. I've been mentally preparing for Christmas, thinking about things--what to cook, how to decorate. And I've been really preparing, too, by shopping, wrapping presents, decorating.

Also, its great to have the time when I would have been at work but other people had off of work. This includes 4-6 pm. I love extending my evenings, which has really increased my social life! I get to do things like go to the Other Side Cafe, and ice skating on Frog Pond, and Target, and eat lunch with my former coworkers (OK, I did get to do that before)!
So its really not been that bad. But I have been going into work to finish up a project, which will be finished by Friday, God willing!

Thanksgiving

I had a great Thanksgiving visiting Bob and Elle in Maryland. We sat around and ate a lot, and drank a bit of beer and pear-tinis, and had a basic Thanksgiving time. Everyone else had left by Saturday morning, so Brentan, Bob, Elle and I took a trip to DC and visited Mt. Vernon, and learned all about our first president.

But that was all a week ago, and now it is SNOWING outside here in Boston!


Thanksgiving pies.

New York Trip

I went back to New York last weekend, this time to visit Emily, who just moved there month or so ago. We went to the New Museum, which had a cool exhibit on Elizabeth Peyton, who paints portraits of all kinds of pop icons, like Kurt Cobain, below.
(Zoe’s Kurt, 1995)

We also went to Macy's where Emily bought a dress for the Sol Lewitt art opening next weekend at the Mass MOCA. Macy's was all decked out in their holiday decor, and it was a little overkill. Like most things Christmas-y.
On Sunday, we had brunch at the CUTEST little bakery/cafe near Columbia called Kitchenette. I seriously want to open my own place just like this. It was super crowded, so I didn't get to take any cool pictures of the details, but I got a few candids of Lauren and Emily. And I had AMAZING almond-cherry waffles.

Pumpkin Pie and more visitors...

Lauren is coming to stay with me for a few days while she goes job hunting. Tonight we are going to make a pumpkin pie with Sarah! And have lasagna for dinner.
Tasty tasty evening!

Omnivore's 100

My aunt suggested that I check out BlogHer, a blogging website dedicated to women bloggers, and although I haven't poked around too much, I did find one blog with a cool premise. It connected me to Very Good Taste with a list of 100 foods that omnivores should eat in their lifetime. I like checklists, so I've posted it here.

So here is the deal:

1) Copy this list into your blog, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.

Publish Post

3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

So far I am at 39. That is a long way to go.