In the movie Groundhog Day

People, how could a day feel longer? Suffice it to say that I'm daydreaming about bedtime and 100% chagrined that it is still 2 hours away. I feel as if my brain and ears are bleeding from the constant assault of the children's verbiage; you can think of it as woodpecker beaks mercilessly beating a tree. At present, J is encouraging O to jackhammer him in the butt, pleading with him really. O is happy to oblige. The number of times they've uttered the word poop today must have set a new record. The refusal to tee-tee is just stupid; who likes a full bladder? Clean up, be quiet, calm down, please!!!! S-T-Ruggling over here. In the meantime, I decided to make a roasted potato recipe I've wanted to try for some time. Easy as get out, but you sliver the potatoes into rectangles first, interlace them with bay leaves, drizzle with butter and salt, and roast. Ultimately, they're supposed to look like golden dominoes, and I think their flavor will be nice with the stew later.

One long blur, dinner solid!

It's been quite some time since I was away from home more during one day than I was in it, but thus was this Monday. I'm yonkered and looking forward to bed. J took his first Tae Kwon Do class today, and it was absolutely adorable to see my little featherweight doll doing jumping jacks, ax kicks through paper and all manner of other moves. He was smitten with it which I think is terrific. I sure don't have the energy to run him around and let him punch and kick at me for 40 minutes, so this seems to fall perfectly in line with "one of those things worth paying for," like sushi. Also, they encourage respect for elders, listening, self-control and responsibility. Um, yes. I'll take two classes each week please.

When we finally got home, got fed, bathed, read to, tucked in and....I started in on dinner. Wanting to use all the radishes I'd bought yesterday at the farmers market, I decided to make an Asian-inspired slaw with shredded cabbage, scallions, cilantro, jalapeño, rice wine vinegar, mirin and cashews. It was fresh as could be and a great complement to the peanut-soy-chili marinated tofu that I grilled. Tofu gets a bad rap, but if it's seasoned and prepared well, I really like it. And now, a small hot toddy and a good book to close out this busy day. T has a work dinner tomorrow evening, so I'll be eating out but do hope to make the ricotta and some muffins to replenish my freezer supply. Good night.

All is well

A big sigh of relief. The mystery bump is benign, either a node or cyst but nothing about which to worry. I'm going to hit the sack for a bit while Ol naps as we've got a busy afternoon ahead once we pick up Jack. Briefly though, we've got a radish slaw on the dinner menu (Oliver and I found some real beauties at the farmers market yesterday), possibly a celery-based salad or soup as I seem to have amassed several bunches of it, and maybe something involving grilled tofu. It is Meatless Monday...

One last quick note. While I no longer subscribe to Cook's Illustrated, I do trust the rigor of their culinary tasting and know-how and yesterday purchased a fun little 'special edition' called Lost Recipes, "heirloom recipes too good to forget." Some sound rather dreadful (you might recall how I feel about overly saucy or sweet casseroles, gratins and desserts (see: Pork Chop Casserole and Brown Sugar Pie) but there are some really fantastic-sounding breads, pastries and savory fare in here. One, called Nonna's Breakfast and Farina cake, sounds right up my alley, containing just 8 ingredients, including fresh ricotta, eggs, farina and a dusting of cinnamon. Another is a cardamom- and cinnamon-scented Swedish coffee bread (an actual loaf, not a coffee cake type of thing). If this edition sounds interesting to you, it appears that it's on newsstands through April.