Salivating over my dinner plans

Perhaps it is because I worked in the yard earlier, iPeriod is screaming that I have 5 DAYS LEFT, or I just know these recipes are yum, but I am starving right now and cannot wait for dinner.

I absolutely love truffles and truffle oil. I will never forget a lunch I had in Cortona, Italy, (I made Tom, my sister and her bf schlep there to see the Under the Tuscan Sun house and wouldn’t you know that the house on the cover of the book was NOT the same house in which Frances lived and wrote!?). Good lord. Despite the grandeur of the setting and the overall wonderfulness of being in Italy, this was a bit of a letdown to be honest.

Anyway, prior to walking a long ways to find said house, we had the most fabulously flavorful trattoria lunch. I had fresh tagliatelle with truffles, and I swear I didn’t think I’d ever taste anything as good again. Not to mention that who can afford actual truffles??? So, I make do with white truffle oil which is pretty awesome. Try drizzling it over a hot mixed mushroom-fontina-sage pizza. RiDICulous!

Tonight, however, I’m doing a pasta, cheating by using “exotic mushroom ravioli” from Whole Foods but stirring in sauteed mixed mushrooms, grating parm or pecorino over the top and then drizzling my truffle oil over for the final touch. Insanely easy but with every mouthful, you just have to take a pause, close your eyes, and thank someone for mushrooms, truffles and good cheese.

I am also going to make mayo-free potato salad, a la Mark Bittman. Anyone had his potato salad for adults before (that’s what he calls it; I’m not being snarky)? It is so good I could eat it every day, especially when I have fresh potatoes from the farmers market as I do right now. I do not like mayo except if it’s in tuna-, chicken- or lobster-salad, and even then, it better be nothing more than a binder. Bleck!

MB’s Potato Salad With Capers, Shallots and Mustard

Serves 3 to 4 [can be doubled—probably a good idea, in fact]

1-1/2 pounds small red potatoes (You can use white, yellow or purple too)
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 teaspoons whole grain mustard
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup capers [chopped if large]
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots [about 1 medium]
2/3 cup roughly chopped parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Scrub the potatoes and place in a large pot and cover by two inches with cold water. Salt generously and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are just cooked, 10 to 15 minutes. When you can pierce them easily with a fork, they’re done. Drain in a collander and set it in the top of the pot to let them cool slightly.

While the potatoes are cooking, whisk the olive oil, mustard and lemon juice together in a small bowl. As soon as the potatoes are cooled enough to handle [but only just—you want this dish warm], slice them into halves and place them in a large bowl. Whisk the dressing again to combine, drizzle it over the potatoes and stir gently with a wooden spoon to coat potatoes. Add the capers, shallots and parsley to the bowl and stir gently to combine. Adjust seasonings with salt [if needed] and pepper. Serve immediately. When you do, note that the capers and bits of shallot will want to sink to the bottom of the bowl. Make sure to spoon some over each serving.

At other times, too much of a good thing is the best!

So despite being almost comatose last night when I finally ventured inside (think I’d been in the yard for 5 hours; you might be asking, how did your kids allow you this time? Hah, hah, surely you jest to think such a thing is possible. They were spending the afternoon with my in-laws- shout-out to Nomna and Topta!!), I was back in the yard as soon as I put Oliver down for his nap today.
Finally, it is hot- I am in shorts and sweating. Can’t think of any state I’d rather be in. I loooooove heat!

So anyway, as I’m weeding, pruning, planting, and disgustedly yet enthusiastically tossing grubs into my yard bag to die a slow death, I reminisced about the girl I was growing up. I hated (!) to be dirty, didn’t even like to be wet unless I opted into it, really just didn’t like to be outside much. Louisiana’s climate is extreme, but even if I lived there now, I know I’d be doing all this gardening with equal verve.

How did I escape being so precious?! And, people, I don’t mean that in the “isn’t she darling!” way. I mean, I matched my bows, belts and socks, for the love. Went to Northwestern with a backpack embroidered with my name, including a heart over the “i”- I’m sure people were thinking, well look at country comes to town. Fortunately, my accent smoothed things over.

Anyway, now I just love being in the yard: cheering on my compost pile and all the worms just working so hard in it; watching my flowers beautify our home; hoping the revolting tomato horn worms don’t come back, EVER; thrilled to watch the plants I’ve brought here from my mom’s yard making themselves at home; watching as my boys love all of it too. It reminds me that no matter how static or set or evolved you think you (or anything else) are, life is only dynamic, and the surprises -good and bad- never end.

I’m going to be 35 soon, and it’s the first time I’ve ever felt angst’y about welcoming a new year. Maybe it’s because despite having all the things I thought would be THE answers to everything, I am not yet totally satisfied. I love my life, don’t get me wrong. I feel extraordinarily grateful for my family, our home, the fact that I can stay home to raise the kids (even though sometimes I daydream about running away). But, there are so many works to read, places to go, languages and things to learn. I didn’t take the academic part of college seriously enough and still regret the courses I didn’t delve into enough. And I swore I’d have taken some form of African dance by now and been pretty good at it.

However, I do feel a sense of peace with who I am now in a way I haven’t before. I am, for the most part, comfortable in my own skin, confident about what I can do as well as what I can’t (although acceptance of those things is always tough). I notice this even with such seemingly insignificant things as fashion- hells bells, I wear funky earrings now, I’m willing to mix it up. I recently chopped my hair off just because it seemed fun. Yesterday, I told the kids that since we’re getting a new deck soon, they should just go out and saw and paint our current one- this was awesome! But on the flip side, I still chastise myself when I lose my patience with the boys, when I just cannot get excited about one more Lego structure or whatever the desire du jour is. I still wish I were as fit as I was 10 years ago, but I have zippy interest in exercising the way I used to. I think these struggles are part and parcel of this growing awareness and acceptance.

So, long story short, and yes, this does relate back to the yardwork and sense of satisfaction, fulfillment and joy I get from it (even when my veggies die, and the one strawberry that grows is immediately picked off by a bird), if this new sense of self is what 35 is ushering in, then happy birthday to me. And to you freaking squirrels and birds: I hope you see the nets I am erecting over my gardens this year. Just try to rob me now!

Too much of a good thing...is sometimes just too much

Ok, the scones were even better than usual. The nuttiness of the spelt flour in tandem with the pungent, earthiness of the cardamom and the tangy sweetness of dried cherries is really to die for, at breakfast or for an afternoon snack.

The pappa al pomodoro looked and smelled divine, but re taste, you’ll have to ask the new mama for whom it was made! ;) Uso la ricetta della mia amica, Tania, ma non uso salvia. Mi dispiace, Tania. Read: I used no sage, just basil.

So where did I max out? Well, after having cooked, I decided to garden like I was the freaking overseer of Winterthur. Jesus H, my back is screaming about muscles I haven’t visited for a looong time. However, the gardens they are a’coming: lacinato kale (my fave; great on pizza), leeks (um, leek confit with aged goat cheese anyone?), beets, salad greens, rhubarb, radicchio, strawberries and some floral perennials. Send good vibes that my thumb is green this year- it’s not always thus. Buenos noches!