SAHD with no kids?

Oliver told me this morning that ultimately, he wants to be a stay-at-home-dad with no children. He's also not real sure about college, and he intends to live with Jack because "he has a lot of money."My kids dream big!

Carrot Pistachio Pasta, Chard Roots, FM

Isn't that a gorgeous plate of pasta? Shredded carrots sauteed with lemon zest and pistachios, lots of Parm, garlicky breadcrumbs sprinkled over the top just before serving...I had such  high hopes for last night's meal, and boy was it a complete disappointment. Y'all, this was a fail. It was a beautiful, bland, completely lacking in textural variation, mound of meh. Gall-dang was it sad. Tom and I were salting and squeezing lemons like it was our job. If we'd been prepping for a big morning run, it might have at least been a good carb load. But alas, it was, again, a mound of meh.

You win some, you lose some!

After spending yesterday morning shuttling cute little boys to and from multiple birthday parties, whiling away a full hour in Party City sourcing appreciation luncheon supplies, and enjoying a quick lunch by myself (say wha?!), I worked in the yard for hours. HOURS! It was delightful. It's truly amazing just how much detritus a yard can amass after a long and destructive winter. I filled four lawn bags with old leaves, broken sticks, ancient clots of roots, a boxwood that couldn't weather the polar vortexes and related snows. My compost bin finally yielded black gold which I sifted over my gardens. A smattering of new perennials now fills in the spots I usually plant with annuals, and my muscles ache pleasurably from having pitchforked and shoveled my way around.

My VegTrug is full and stunning, the promise of future, fruitful yields in every leaf. I had no idea that rainbow chard roots were as luminous as the stems they produce. Incredible, yes?

Ol and I went back to the farmers market this morning for the first time in a long while. It's still cold but the sun is out, so we donned our jackets and eagerly drove down. He rightly noted that cool climes often mean that eclairs will be available at Bonaparte, so could we please stop there first. Indeed. You have never seen an eclair devoured so quickly. Then he asked for a croissant, two Asian pears, some apple cider and some samples. He ate/drank it all. Wow small boys. I know these sorts of appetites are only going to grow but it is truly incredible to watch male children eat.

Chimichurri = THE spring sauce

Yesterday, Opower (the company T works for) went public which is such exciting, great news. A party was planned for last night, and though I scrambled to find a sitter, T ended up going alone. No problem, I stayed with the kids, made a cocktail and toasted the news from here. I'd planned to make steaks with chimichurri so did so anyway because leftover steak, sliced all nice and thin, makes for a fantastic lunchtime sandwich the next day; indeed, that's what hubs had for lunch today. But back to the chimichurri. It is a preposterously beautiful and flavorful sauce that brightens everything from steak to scrambled eggs. There are many, many variations of chimichurri, based on place of origin, application and so forth; because of that, you really don't need a recipe for chimichurri -another aspect of its appeal- as long as you have the mainstay ingredients. For me these are: cilantro; parsley; red wine vinegar; olive oil; garlic; and red pepper flakes. Cumin and coriander are great too, and of course you need a little salt. Blitz in a food processor, and voila!

I started the steaks in my Lodge and finished them in a 350° oven. They were delicious; the kids ate half of Tom's!

It's possible I made another cocktail and toasted Opower again. Salute!