Dear Diary

Oh, internet. I have so much to tell you!

Thing 1:

I MET MARTHA STEWART. No shit, y'all. It's true! Well, I didn't really "meet" her. It's not like we chatted and compared prison poncho patterns. But I did listen to her speak on entertaining here in DC and then she signed my copy of her new book. I told her that her pen was a very pretty green. The end.  She didn't offer me a job but she also didn't sue me for stealing her name for my blog. So I guess it was a draw.


(Thanks to Suzanne for the photo!)

Thing 2:


I upgraded my camera body! I'm so fancy now. It's a Canon 7D and it is fanfriggintastic. The little joystick-like focus button is blowing my mind. The only downside is that it makes me lust for good glass (lenses) even more, but I think I can make do. For now. Did you hear that sound? I'm pretty sure it was Chris winging our check book at my head.


Look at my cute little baby Rebel on the right! It's like his cooler, cuter older brother is home from college.

Thing 3:

I am totally and completely ready for Christmas! Not ready in the sense that I am actually ready, with my cards sent and my presents wrapped. But ready in the sense that December is officially welcome in our house. Space has been cleared for our tree. Our wreath is hanging on the door (okay, mailbox. And three feet next to it is a super naturally hardy pumpkin). Presents have been selected, if not wholly bought. Official Peanut Christmas photo has been shot.



That's not him. That's me. I also went back to brown hair. I'm not sure that deserves it's own Thing, though.

Kiss ass

Yesterday, my toddler told me to kiss his butt. I really thought I had a good ten, maybe fifteen years before I heard those words. In this instance, it wasn't back-talk from a surly teenager, it was just a two year old asking me to kiss a boo boo, but it made for a very conflicting moment in parenting.

Picture it: we're merrily playing in the living room when he backs his tiny tush in to the coffee table.

Peanut: Owww! Mama, kiss it!

Me: I'm sorry, what?

Peanut, looking all sad and pointing at his traumatized heiny: My butt, Mama! Kiss MY BUTT!!

Me, trying very, very hard not to laugh in my poor, pained toddler's face: Whoa, dude. No. I am not going to kiss your butt.

Peanut, now extra sad because magical medicinal mommy kisses were being withheld, has real pain in his big brown eyes: KISS IT MAMA!! KISS. MY. BUTT.

At this point, I had to start negotiating because I knew one thing - I was not kissing my child's ass (not now and hopefully not ten years from now when he pretends not to know me in the mall). So, I tried to casually blow him a south bound kiss and that didn't take. Eventually we settled on me leaning down, kissing the palm of my hand and then patting his hind end. Instantly, the butt boo boo was healed. I wish I could say the same for my ego.

Instagramatic Sunday

Dogs and sticks and woods and creeks and Gangy.

Poetic license and lasagna

I made this lasagna almost two weeks ago but Chris was so enamored, so awestruck by this cheesy, sausagey fantasmagasm that he forbid me from blogging about it until he could come up with a suitable ode. Specifically, a haiku. A haiku for a pasta dish. We either sound like the most boring people on the face of the earth ("Hey, guys! Let's watch slides of our trip to Scranton!") or the most awesome ("You know that 'salted caramel' thing? I invented that. And then I put it in chocolate. And added booze.")(Or maybe that imaginary person would only be cool to me.).

I give you, "Lasagna"*

Unbridled pasta
Sausage, cheese, and love combined
Please me to no end

* I know. That's the best title he could come up with. But I like the simplicity. It doesn't over-hype it. Like that whole first paragraph I wrote up there did.  

Don't let my poor food styling deter you from making this awesome lasagna.

Smoked Mozzarella and Italian Sausage Lasagna
Adapted from epicurious

For Sauce

• olive oil
• 1 pound Italian sweet sausages, casings removed
• 2 ounces sliced prosciutto, chopped

• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup red wine
•  28-ounces of canned tomatoes ( I used 2 cans of diced tomatoes and the sauce was nice and chunky)

For Lasagna

• About 12 no-bake lasagna noodles
• 1 15-ounce container of whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 2 cups (packed) shredded smoked mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup grated asiago

Directions:

1. Heat a good glug of olive oil in dutch oven (or large,  heavy-bottomed skillet) over medium high. Brown sausage, breaking it up as you go. When sausage is just about done, add prosciutto  and continue cooking for a few minutes. Remove meat to paper towel-lined plate or bowl.
2. Add another glug of oil to pan and saute onions, celery and garlic. When softened, add herbs and red pepper. When vegetables are brown and translucent, stir in tomato paste and then deglaze pan with wine. When wine is just about absorbed, add tomatoes and sausage mixture. Stir and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking another 15-20 minutes or until flavors are well combined. 
3. Combine ricotta and 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella. Season with salt and pepper. 
4. Preheat oven to 350. Oil a 13x9 inch pan and begin layering lasagna. Spread 1 cup of sauce evenly over bottom and top with three noodles. Spread about 3/4 cup of cheese mixture over noodles and pour over 1 1/2 cups of sauce. Repeat two more times. End with three noodles sprinkled with remaining mozzarella and asiago. Cover tightly with foil and bake about 30 minutes or until nice and bubbly. Remove foil and continue baking another 15 minutes so that the top browns a bit. Remove from oven and let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Friday bliss: Hill Country Barbecue

With my boys. The Peanut's favorite dish was the cucumber salad. Crazy little pickle lover. That may or may not be an inherited quality. I will eat pickled okra like it's going out of style. Not that it was or ever will be anywhere near in style.

And I am officially blogging from my new iPhone 4s. So fast! So bright! So shiny! So obsolete in two years but whatever because I love it NOW.

Domo arigato

Mr. Roboto.



My precious little marching robot minion.

With his sp/ray gun.

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween! I think the Peanut enjoyed himself immensely. He trick or treated at only two houses (not counting Grandpa and Tessa's), but did a fantastic job and brought home just enough loot.



(Wouldn't it be nice if they all had one of those switches, for real?)