Cooking

Lest I leave it out, Happy New Year! But this will not be a "kicking it off" post. More like a "catching it up" post.

I'm sitting alone in at 6:15 AM in my pajamas at the kitchen table. I have a cup of fresh-perked coffee and two slices of nicely buttered toast from bread I made last night. This moment could be my favorite part of adulthood. The quiet of the appliances unused, the scent of the bread and coffee, the absence of requests for my cell phone, a ride, a list of the weekends plans, or any other input leaves me feeling still and appreciative. I guess it winds my clock.

JB leaves today. It's been another good visit; he's earned some money, and we've gotten the house that much closer to being nice. I made a list yesterday, by hand, of all the things he's done, and it was nearly a full page long.

I hope Burgundy takes it better this time than the last two visits. He's not leaving on a whim or at the last minute. They've had a couple of days of anticipation to say goodbye. She has a very full evening today and won't be out of orchestra rehearsal and sectionals in time to come to the airport with us, so we'll take him up to the rehearsal and let her say goodbye there.

Her grade is improving steadily in Algebra II. She has a major test this week and semester exams next week, and she's only one point away from passing the class. If she does really well on both tests, she could conceivably pull it up to a C. Which means she gets to have her birthday party.

As for me, Sunday evening, Mark and I went to Borders downtown while Burgundy and her dad went to MFAH. Since watching Julie and Julia, I've been feeling the call of the kitchen, but not in a "I'll cook everything in her cookbook and blog about it way," I promise. You're safe from me.

Besides, Mastering the Art of French Cooking is incredibly expensive. The two-volume set is $90. I probably should have done some research, though, because I had no idea that Julia Child had so many books. I settled on The French Chef Cookbook, which catalogs the recipes used on all of her TV shows. I've skimmed through it, and I want to try several things right away: croquembouche (aka the the lactacting spider wasp cake from Cake Wrecks), Boeuf Bourguignon (naturally, it's both famous and made with Burgundy!), chocolate mousse, and a couple of other meat recipes.

Right now, I'd really like a chance to watch the old TV shows. I wonder if it's possible to buy them as a boxed set or something?

Alas, the family has invaded. Lunch had to be made, breakfast eaten, and school attended. I suppose that's my cue to pull myself out of the computer and get ready for work.