I’m a little late with wishes for the day. I was busy witnessing some of the best and worst behaviors of humans as I went about my errands over the past few hours.
That seems appropriate, actually. The halting progress of civil rights in our nation showed us at our best and worst. This year, the day seems more poignant because tomorrow our first black president will take his oath of office. For me, it feels like a milestone when we should stop looking back and start looking forward. And when I say that, I include my fervent readiness to shake the last eight years out of my brain and move toward a better future for all of us.
In the meanwhile, I’m on a bit of a cleansing mission. There are so many nagging duties I’ve gotten out of the way over the past month–financial, physical, emotional–and I’ve decided to detox my body. I’ve upped the water intake, added twenty daily ounces of green tea and about eight ounces of orange juice a day, and I’m going to omit meat for a few days. This really isn’t a hardship for me, as I’m a passionate raw and cooked veggie lover, but I don’t want to deny The Compound menfolk any culinary pleasures. Some nights I’ll probably cook two different meals.
But for tonight, they’re my guinea pigs. I’ve created something. I don’t know if it’s a pie or a quiche or what. Leeks sweated down in butter, nestled among thinly sliced potatoes, with a milk/egg mixture lightly flavored with nutmeg, salt, and pepper, poured into a crust, then topped with the thinnest layer of grated Gruyère cheese. It’s baking now, too late for me to throw in the garlic I’m wondering about. I sort of adapted the recipe from several I found online. It’s an adventure!
Also, because I know Lindsey’s going to care, here’s a photo of some things I picked up today.
Tools for cooking and for wrangling logs!
My baby heater that I keep in my office sparked and hissed at me today. It was very dramatic, and I don’t do drama, so into the trash it went. Even though Mercury’s retrograde, I got a new one, because as long as I can keep my feet warm, I can keep the thermostat down in my house.
Finally, in the category of entertainment, I’ve made this confession to my family and a few close friends, but now I think you all should know. There was a time I mocked Tori Spelling with the best of them. But having recently finished this book:
I’m totally in like with her. So I’m really excited that Tim just found this for us to indulge in:
Me, Tori, and popcorn. Sounds like a great way to spend an evening. If my cooking improv doesn’t kill us.
My flawless potato leek soup sounds right up your cleansing alley. 🙂
It’s because of your recipe that I’m cooking with leeks for the first time. You made me curious.
Last week, I used kale for the first time–both cooked and raw. It was a big hit. Let’s hope leeks are, too.
My friend Ann is Welsh and uses leeks in everything.
They are definitely unique and add a very different
flavor and texture than onions.
One of the things she makes is cockaleekie (you have to
love it just for the name!), a chicken and leek dish
that’s traditional in South Wales. She also makes a
leek pie.
Leeks are yummy
My friend, Matt, and I just watched a cute movie with Tori this weekend, Kiss the Bride. I fell in like with her when I got hooked on her reality show on Oxygen.
A confession.
While I never watched 90210 … I am a huge fan of … Shannen Doherty! Granted, I only liked her ACTING in Charmed, and of course the classic Satan’s School for Girls, but there is something about her I just think is awesome. I think it’s because she seems like a mean girl. Shannen seems like a take no prisoners type of gal… and I admire that.
Re: A confession.
To see Shannen D. in the bestest mean girl movie ever? I have one word for you: “Heathers.”
OMG! My 11-year-old niece and I went on a complete Tori
Spelling binge over the summer. We watched her reality show,
watched “So NoTorious” (we got it for $5 in the used bin
at Blockbuster!) and read “STori Telling” — it was a total
Tori-thon!
your dinner sounds so yummy! how’d it end up?
AND TORI!!! i read that book in like 2 days (which is super fast for me, so hush). ‘so notorious’ was SOOOOOO underrated – she really is a great comedic actress. while those items may have give you your fill of madam spelling and miss mimi la rue, i highly recommend ‘tori & dean: inn love” and ‘tori & dean: home sweet hollywood.’
as for actual movies…’house of yes’ is OMG great, as well as ‘trick.’
probably way more info than you cared for, but i’m a rather big fan of hers. 🙂
THANK YOU! Before I even get past ‘detoxing my body’ I’m going to take my vitamins. I have to take them after dinner, because the iron & stuff makes me sick (but I know I need it), but I always forget.
I’ll be back.
Good luck with detoxing. All the water and juices sounds good. I drink water like crazy. : )
Your experiment sounds like a great idea! I’ve been trying to cook more (because I am supposed to be a culinary student), and anything I can do to make these guys eat more veggies, the better. Maybe I can hide turnips or something in there. I like sneaking chopped avocado into stuff… cuz they both hate avocado!
That potato leek dish sounds yummy. I may have to try that.
HOBO PACKS! =)
(insert “squeeee” here)