Aah

This morning has been pure luxury! Nearly four hours alone to work, think and just enjoy the beautiful day. Dog walked, 24 scones made, three real letters finally written, yard watered, energy restored, lunch being enjoyed. Yesterday at the farmers' market (thinking about just calling this FM from here on out), the boys asked to get their favorite "marble cheese" from the cheese lady. The marbling comes from ash, and it just kills me to see them with blackened fingers, chowing down, happy and loving it. Great palates, boys! While there, I tasted a new cheese, a sheep's milk with paprika. It was lovely so I bought some of that too. We also came across mâche which I think is the cutest little green and is making a nice base, in addition to an arugula mix, for my salad today. The sweetness of the pears and grapes are nice counterpoints to the spiciness of the harissa in the carrots and the pepperiness of the arugula. Yum!

Wms-Sonoma deal, commencing the Game of Scones

If you need anything from Williams-Sonoma, they are again offering free shipping, through the end of today, on all orders. Use code: FREESHIP at check-out. It is another glorious day here- wow! The boys didn't roll out of bed until nearly 7. Unreal! Amazing! What a gift! And now they're both happily at school. After giving the house a cursory once-over clean, I am going to get started with scone-making as my freezer is almost without, and as I mentioned recently, I have quite a few due this week. Yum, yum! I also bought the most gorgeous spring potatoes at the farmers' market yesterday so am going to make something lovely with them; that TBD dish plus my harissa carrots will make a fantastic Meatless Monday lunch or dinner.

Sticking to my word

OK, I did not opt to indulge in our cereal selection for dinner. Rather, I made a carrot-harissa salad I've been wanting to make for ages. Just look at this! Beautiful!  However, you are supposed to let it sit overnight, so I'll have to enjoy it tomorrow. As I sadly put it in the fridge, I saw an Arctic Char filet I'd forgotten I bought (a day or two ago, peeps; don't worry) so decided that I couldn't possibly NOT cook it as that would be wasteful. I set it up to pan sauté and in the meantime got the harissa back out to make a crème fraîche-harissa sauce. I planned to add some chopped Cara Cara oranges and Persian cucumbers to the dish but in a momentary lapse of judgment stirred them into the sauce instead of keeping them separate. Oh man. When atop the fish, it looked like a giant, lumpy, melted creamsicle had been barfed over my filet. Milky oranginess was everywhere, so I just closed my eyes and jumped in. Despite the hue and terrible lack of textural complexity, the flavor combo was OK, and it went nicely with the Muga Rosé I'm enjoying (sucking down). Also a chocolate hamantashen is thawing on the counter and will be so, so enthusiastically devoured by me in the not too distant future.

Have you heard of phantom limb, the sensation that a missing limb is still attached to the body? I feel there is a corollary that I call phantom baby crying. You are pretty sure (or have even gone in to verify) that your kid(s) are asleep, but no matter how much proof you have that they are, you remain certain that you hear them calling for you ceaselessly.