i am slowly cooking my way through this one. the italian country table-home cooking from italy's farmhouse kitchens. good stuff.
it's funny how all these "cool" things on menus today...bruschetta, crostini, pappa al pomodori...are just ways nonna came up with to use stale bread! nothing fancy. left-over bread stretched the meat in the polpetti. and thickened the ribollito.
smart people, those italians.

rain. hail. thunder and lightening. there is some weather going on in california. we've been like a couple of old folks...reading our books by the fire. soup on the stove. if i wasn't feeling so lazy i'd bake some bread.
tonight we'll settle in with our bowls full and be thankful for all we have. i've been so unsettled by the news of the world...that i've decided to do a "news fast". i've been easing into it since the new year when i gave up a couple of my favorite news sources. it's just too much. especially the comments on some sites. really, am i better off knowing the opinion of some asshole i don't even know?? i think not. it didn't used to be this way, but i'm done.
i'm going for the positive this year. where ever i can find it.
so right now i'm happy for the rain we so need here. and the soup on my stove.

aren't they amazing? my photographs from the wildly gifted julie. these are so meaningful to me...food and all! i'm so pleased that she asked me to pose. "no chins, please".
i have some really talented friends and family and i always appreciate the encouragement they give to me. to try new things. see the everyday in a new light.
aren't they amazing???

the days went by oh so slowly when i was on the master cleanse. oh. so. slowly. it dawned on me that a large portion of my day revolves around food. and when you take that food away?? well, what do you do?
i ironed. linens and napkins for two and a half days. normally i hate to iron, but i quite enjoyed this. i dug out everything and washed and ironed away. all the while thinking about what i'm going to cook next. and which linens to serve it on.

some thoughts on the master cleanse: please be over soon. not that it tastes bad. it's quite pleasant actually. my skin looks wonderful, my eyes are so very white and bright. i even think "the gut" has gone down quite a bit.
however...i really can't wait to cook again! i have discovered that i spent A LOT of time thinking about food, reading about food, shopping for food, cooking food. really a lot because they only thing i can think to do this week is iron. really. i hate to iron...but have been ironing my linens for two days now! next will be stain removal and maybe dying that boring white tablecloth purple. oh, and i cleaned out the pantry and cupboards. and rearranged my plates and platters.
so.......i'm looking forward to saturday when i can make a heaping pot full of vegetable soup...and eat again!

little box of salad greens. it's amazing how they wait around through the rain and a bit of frost. no attention paid to them. i've also got some chard, chicory and carrots. and there are still peppers left over from summer. such beautiful colors and great crunch...hanging out in the california
winter sunshine, waiting to be my lunch.
however, i am doing the master cleanse this week. i've done a two day ease-in, day one fruits and vegetables and day two fruit and vegetable juice. next is five days of the lemon drink and then a three day ease-out. i hope to be de-toxified for the new year.
so my crunchy greens will just have to hang out in the garden a bit more. because i'm pretty sure i will gobble them all up come the week-end.