Capped a lovely, relaxing Sunday with caramelized, salty, roasted vegetables, this time cauliflower and asparagus. John and I stood there scarfing them right off the hot pans, burning our fingers, they're that good. Wilted and soft with a crunchy exterior, mmmm. And easy? Pah-lease, the easiest EVAR.

Do this for any vegetable: preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put bite-size pieces of your veggie-of-choice (cauliflower, broccoli, eggplant, asparagus, onion, tomatoes, etc.) in a large bowl, drizzle with a pretty generous amount of olive oil, toss, sprinkle with a pretty generous amount of kosher salt, toss again, spread evenly on a baking sheet or two (don't crowd the pan; for the veggies above I roasted two bunches of asparagus on one pan, one head of cauliflower on the other), and roast for 10 minutes. Turn the pieces over, they should be browning nicely, and roast for another 10 minutes. Voila, killer roasted vegetables. Dig in while they're hot and still crispy... To. Die. For.

On Friday night John and I took a page from AZ and Rishia and had dinner in the bar at La Belle Vie. Totally romantic, what a gorgeous room, and of course the food is incredible. We split an order of carpaccio, then I had the arugula salad with a poached egg and John the bouillabaise. We each quaffed a nicely affordable glass of a smooth-as-silk Cote de Rhone. A beautiful, delicious, and light dinner, it was a perfect way to cap the week. In fact, as we walked out, John said, "We are so doing this again. Soon." Yeah, baby!

Yesterday I met my aunt Marge and my cousin Kim for lunch at Kozy's at the Galleria. As always, great to see them both! And to have a nice lunch to boot! I kept it simple with a basic salad, while they enjoyed two amazing-looking sandwiches, one a crabcake po' boy, the other a classic stack of hot pastrami on rye.

What else today? Oh let's see...little New York Times, vigorous round of kettlebells, a long, hot shower, a movie (Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, hilarious) with Nathan, and then, a fabulously decadent, cozy, toasty, two-hour nap. Holy hell will I regret that nap tonight, I'll probably not sleep a bit, but it sure rocked this freezing cold afternoon. NICE!

Pass the pork please, oink, oink! At least in this yummy iteration, a quick, savory-sweet pork stew with couscous. Cooper even had some! The secret ingredient? Dried grapes! Ha, I couldn't resist (per yesterday's post). Of course I mean raisins, in this case golden raisins, oooh. As well as lots of garlic and onion. And a hint of cinnamon and coriander. Fragrant and delicious, on the table in less than 30, and healthy to boot - my kind of dish. Yeah, baby! (Recipe posted in comments, below.)

I'm off in a few for our neighborhood women's association gathering - aka drink wine and gab with my lovely, blast neighbors, woo hoo!

Nathan and I met my friend Chris at Brix Bistro & Wine Bar for an early dinner last night. Brix is the Italian-ish sister of McCoy's (aka the home-base of the Baseball Moms), both of which are located at Excelsior on Grand in St. Louis Park (Brix inhabits the space fomerly known as Mojito). We sampled several tasties, including various bruschetta slices topped with olive tapenade, roasted vegetables, and the classic chopped tomato; a roasted beet and arugula salad with goat cheese; and two nice pasta dishes, one a squash-filled ravioli and the other fettucine alfredo, Nathan's fav. (I skipped the spinach salad with smoked duck, although will sample it next time - it looks quite good, despite the "dried grapes" on the ingredient list - it's OK to say raisins, people, even in a restaurant that is perhaps trying a wee bit too hard, it really is.) The interior is quite chic and features large, elegant banquettes designed for maximum people-watching. We ate in the bar which was pouring happy hour treats like half-off wine by the glass/carafe as well as beer and drink specials. We unfortunately took advantage of exactly none of those, but I will at some point in the near future when I drag John in for a snack and a glass of wine. A chic bistro/wine bar is damn hard to find in St. Louis Park (I believe Brix is the only one, right?), I hope they can make a better go of it than Mojito did.

And so. Although lovely, funky, chef-owned Auriga is waaaay out of Mojito's league, it too is closing its doors. Waaaah! I bid you a sad farewell, sniff, as you are near and dear to my heart forever as the place where I met my Johnny... We had our first date at Auriga - a blind date! And it worked (obviously)! It was really fun, actually, in no small part thanks to the lovely meal (and wine!) we shared. Auriga used to do a killer grilled salmon fillet that was first lightly smoked. Crusty, smoky, buttery deliciousness, mmm. They've always had a kickass wine list to go with chef Doug Flicker's creative and lovely dishes. Top-notch, uber-fresh ingredients. Gorgeous cheeses. Decadent breads and pastries. And such creativity! Sniff. It's been a rough winter for fine Minneapolis restaurants. So long to yet another gem...

Sigh. How depressing. It's tough at the end of January 'round here, it is. Still dark, quite cold, the buzz of the holidays has worn way off and all that's left is...February. Ewww! I can't stand February in Minnesota! March bites too, frankly. We're all a little cranky and tired. Getting outside, even in the cold, is the only solution. Has to be done. I have to get my butt out there and go for a walk, or cross-country ski, or go sledding with the kids. Come in and make some popcorn and cocoa, or a cup of tea, or take a hot shower or bath, and enjoy the process of warming up. Every day in just this way I trick myself into liking (sort of) winter, damn it!

Tonight, crispy chicken drummies, rice, and a big salad for Stacey, Cooper (who is sweetly, adorably napping as I write this), John, and both kids. Partay, school-night version! Enjoy yours!

Cobb salad, that's what I decided to make with my leftover poached chicken. I lurve Cobb salad, but it can be over-the-moon caloric, so one needs to implement a few tricks to keep it tasty and healthy. Go ahead and load up on many of the healthier ingredients - lettuce, sweet onion, tomatoes, and chicken breast. But treat bacon, blue cheese, avocado, and hard-cooked eggs as the condiments they are. As in one piece of well-drained bacon per person (or even better, crispy prosciutto). And one small piece of blue cheese mashed into a quick vinaigrette instead of sprinkled all over the salad. And a couple of slices of avocado and one egg split between two servings. By the time you add all those tasty ingredients together, even in small quantities, you have a filling and delicious entree-worthy salad. And per my husband John, a Cobb salad must absolutely be chopped so that you experience the beauty of all those flavors and textures in each bite. You can chop each ingredient into tiny pieces as you prepare the salad (more time-consuming but uniform and very pretty), or quickly chop the salad in the bowl, as he does, with a double-blade chopping knife (similar to the one pictured here). A chopped salad requires very little dressing, another bonus, since each bite is already so flavorful. (Recipe posted in comments, below.)

After a cold walk in the snow, I'll be looking forward to curling up in front of the fire for a couple of rounds of Sequence with the kids. And a little football viewing from under my furry, toasty, Christmas blanket. And, with my salad, a spot of warm potage parmentier as an appetizer. And a cup of scalding hot tea for dessert. And even - oh my, the indulgence, dare I say it? - a bath before bed? Damn that sounds NICE! Stay warm, my friends, and enjoy your Sunday!

Yes! I am alive! I've just been...what? Traveling to fabulous places? Uh, no. I've just been not cooking much, truth be told, so I haven't had much to write about. I did have another birthday celebration this week, however, with the Baseball Moms on Thursday night. Woo hoo! We met at McCoy's for our usual beer and snacks and I had such a blast! There's nothing like a night out with the girls - rowdy laughter, cackling gossip, funny-sweet cards, generous gifts (including this beautiful lariat necklace made by Kris), and plenty of ego-boosting flattery - to soften the blow of turning 40. It works! In fact, I've had so much fun celebrating it's made me almost glad to be 40. Almost. Thank you, ladies, for the lovely evening!

I don't know why I've been so uninspired in my cooking lately. Perhaps post-holiday-food-burnout? Could be. I'm firmly inspired to continue with my weight loss efforts, especially after the indulgences of Christmas + my birthday, now there's a deadly little combo, every year, ack. So I've been keeping it as light as possible. I made Julia Child's classic potage parmentier (potato-leek soup) for dinner on Thursday, always a lovely little meal. And I did pull together a yummy pork tenderloin roast on Tuesday night, delicious with leftover couscous. Last night I dined alone so took the opportunity to veg out with a steamed artichoke and roasted acorn squash, yum. And tonight I made avgolemono (Greek egg-lemon soup), one of Nathan's favorites and so insanely easy and delicious.

Hmmm, perhaps I'll get inspired tomorrow, I often do on Sundays. I poached a couple of chicken breasts tonight (used a bit in the soup)...a yummy chicken salad of sorts? An interesting stir-fry? Stay tuned...

I forget about couscous - why? It's so easy and delicious, duh, I should be reaching for it all the time. I had bought the larger grain Israeli couscous from the bulk bins awhile back and finally got around to using it last night. Wanted something light with it, so just did a quick saute/simmer of shrimp in garlicky broth (aka good ol' clam juice) with lots of parsley, and roasted some cauliflower and eggplant (hoping for leftovers, which I achieved - I swear roasted eggplant is even better the next day, with a little Greek yogurt, mmm...).

It was the first dinner I've cooked with a baby playing at my feet in a very long time. We had a visit from sweet baby Cooper yesterday, so I let him go wild in our tupperware cupboard while I pulled dinner together. Turns out that the mismatched, falling-over plastic (that drives us nuts) is the coolest stuff EVAR. You forget how fun the most everyday objects can be when you've got the whole world to explore! A cluster of metal measuring spoons is pretty darn cool (good noise-making). Ditto colanders (texture), wooden stir spoons (banging), drawer knobs (twist off and roll around nicely), and rubber wine bottle stoppers (nice-n-chewy). He is The Cutest (especially when he makes this face and shows his cute little teeth).

And today, back to Friday Morning Coffee with Suz - yay! It's been a few weeks with holiday craziness! I missed her! I debuted my gorgeous birthday necklace from my mother-in-law Dot - she brought it back from India for me. NICE, huh? I definitely scored in the necklace department for the ongoing celebration of my 40th year - which is great, because I wear a necklace every day. I'm not-so-moderate in the accessories department. Nor clothing, fragrance, nor shoes. Love it all! Wear/use it all! And love it all!

Happy Birthday to my cousin MaryBeth!

Ahhh, a cup of tea. So simple and yet so powerful. We’ve all heard about the many health benefits of drinking tea, from boosting the immune system to preventing cancer. (Note: to reap these benefits, it turns out you need to sip sans milk, read here for more info.) But there are other less talked-about benefits too – like, tea is delicious, soothing, filling - a real treat! Remember? The reason it’s the second most popular drink in the world? In fact, I would find it mighty difficult to lose/maintain my weight without my daily tea. I have a cup after every lunch and dinner – it feels “dessert-y” and helps me switch gears to, well, not eating. I use it as a calorie-free snack as well; sometimes I just need something warm to soothe my tummy’s late-afternoon rumbles. I drink the decaf version, since I’m a caffeine-free gal (serious tea drinker Rishia Zimmern also gave me this tip to “decaffeinate” regular tea – brew for one minute, discard, then brew again. Supposedly most of the caffeine in tea is released in the first minute of brewing.) I’m not a tea snob – yes, fresh loose-leaf tea, from a shop like the lovely TeaSource in St. Paul (I highly recommend a visit; plus you can shop online), is the best. In fact, it can be as mind-blowing and nuanced as a great glass of wine (witness my recounting of tea time at Liberty in London, ha). But when I’m really just needing a lightly flavored warm drink, I’m OK with a good ol’ tea bag. With all the lovely herbal “teas,” or tisanes, there are to try, the flavor options are basically endless, so it’s worth experimenting to find what's truly, er, your cup of tea. In the end, as with coffee, I like it best unadorned. A cup of green tea, or Darjeeling, never misses (especialy with a good book and a comfy chair)!

On my own for dinner tonight, so I took advantage and ate super-nutritious things no one else in the family particularly craves, ha... Red adzuki beans, which I can now find canned, made into a savory little salad with garlic, sweet onion, chopped arugula, and a bit of mustard vinaigrette. A steamed artichoke (I selfishly love having the heart all to myself). And a small plate of perfectly sauteed mushrooms...little butter, little salt, little lemon, little heaven. And for dessert? Yep, a cup of tea...

First recipe of 2007 - roasted halibut with aromatic broth! Made it up tonight, in fact, a light, quick, and tasty dish. Quite pretty to boot! John was thrilled to pieces - since I've been cooking much (ahem) less this fall and winter, he's been a bit bummed. But he's dropped a few pounds as well, despite his passion for all things sweet, so I know I'm on the right track. Forty and fabulous for me, 46 and fabulous for him, ha. Yeah, baby! (Recipe posted in comments, below.)

PS Hey, I just realized I posted a halibut recipe as the first of last year as well! Must reveal my post-holiday craving for lighter, healthier foods...

Happy. It was a Happy Birthday indeed! I'm still happy about it, ha. We opened with a Nathan basketball game, then made our way to Lucia's for brunch with Stacey, Bowen, and soft-n-sweet Baby Cooper. We didn't actually eat Cooper up - although it's tempting because he is insanely adorable, we're all complete idiots around him, laughing at his every smile, grimace, coo, and giggle. But we did share a feast of scrumptious Lucia's-style (aka top-notch) food...cherry scones, a sweet-potato waffle with cinnamon butter, eggs - scrambled, omelet-ed, and frittata-ed, oven-roasted potatoes with sour cream alongside, thick-cut bacon, salads, to-die-for cheese grits and yes, pear-streusel tart, chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate cake for post-brunch dessert! Washed down with lots of coffee and for me, a marvelously clammy, salty Birthday Bloody Mary, mmm...

After rolling out of the restaurant - and a post-brunch trip into Lucia's Bakery for, you know, more food for later (!) - we headed over to the Coop's new home to check out the estate sale of some of the previous owner's belongings. After tours of the new digs for John and Nathan, we made our way home...

...and here, more delights, because there were two - TWO! - gorgeous flower deliveries waiting for lucky me! And then presents, beautiful presents, from Nathan and John, my parents, and my in-laws Dot and John! Yay, presents! And lots of fun phone messages and calls, which put an even-bigger grin on my my already grinning face! And emails and cards to pry my goofy grin even wider! I'm so lucky - it really was THE BEST! I loved it all, in the purest way, I think I enjoyed this birthday particularly, for all my grumbling below. Or perhaps because of it. Like I said, I don't stay down for very long, it's really not my nature. Not to mention, I've never been one to shun a gool ol' weekend of celebrating and gifts, ha, also not my nature. Turns out, woo hoooooo for my 40th (gulp) birthday!?!

Happy 1st Birthday Moderate Epicurean! (What, you say? I thought the old gal was 40 today? 'Tis true, so read on...) Happy 1st Birthday to this blog! Yes, I birthed "the moderate epicurean" one year ago today. (Much less painful than 8.8 lb. Nathan, I highly recommend the experience.) What a year! What a ride! What a hell of a lot of writing, photographing, cooking, eating, drinking, gossiping, and laughing! Downsides too - namely the rather immoderate weight I gained after starting this blog and putting my total focus on food. Hey, live and learn! (It wasn't quite that breezy of a realization, to say the least, but I digress...) With my focus firmly back on my health, my weight is steadily normalizing, and I'm reclaiming my usual self, albeit more slowly than I would like. Then again, most things go more slowly than I would like - patience is a hard-won virtue for this girl; mulling that very flaw spurred the creation of this blog in the first place. If I put a positive spin on it all, perhaps I could say that in this year, I did indeed learn how to live like a moderate epicurean. Hey, I like that!

So oh, yes, Happy 40th Birthday! To. Me. Sigh... I have very mixed feelings about being 40 (as you can see by the mixed-feelings look I attempted here, ha; and for further evidence of my feelings, check out Suz's blog; I love the pic, but I didn't have the guts to put it on my own blog...). Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's just a number, several people have reminded me. But it's a number packed with lots of meaning - most of it none-too-good, frankly. Don't worry, in the end I'll have a good attitude about it (as if I have a choice, ha.) I always, eventually drag my bad attitude out of the gutter, I know how to handle myself. But first, allow me a bit of a sulk. I'm now Officially Middle-Aged - and that matters to a woman in this culture, hell yes it does. HELL YES IT DOES! Saying you're 39 is not the same as saying you're 40, I don't care what sort of positive spin you (attempt to) put on it. You know, "you look good...(for 40)" is nice and not-so-nice. It's not a full-on compliment the way compliments used to be - you know, yesterday, when I wasn't 40. As I said, I'm not idiotic enough to defer the compliment. But it catches in the throat a bit, it does. I'm Fucking 40 (there, I said the f-bomb, it's been a long while, but today I happily, grumpily pull it out again). I feel great, I look OK - for 40! - but I will never be, or appear to be, truly young again. Duh. Damn. And wow, what a HUGE bummer.

What to do? Paint my nails black (seemed fitting, felt great, even if it's a bit Hollywood and not terribly rebellious anymore), don some serious bling, and make the best of it all, of course, which is what I did last night with John, my minxes, Kim and Suz, and their hubbies, Brian and Cory! We dined at the tres chic Asian-fusion Chamber's Kitchen, in the tres chic Chamber's Hotel. BLAST! Of the many things we tasted, I'd name the chicken samosa appetizer and John's walleye tempura as my favs. The crunchy tuna appetizer and Brian and Cory's striped sea bass entrees were delicious - and beautiful! - as well. I had a lovely slice of banana birthday cake for dessert, also fabulous. And opened a gorgeous, very minxish Chinese mirrored compact from Kim - I love it! Such personal, unique, and feminine gifts from my friends - I'm very lucky, obviously. Yay! On our way out we stopped by the outdoor firepit/ice-bar, hoppin' cuz it's toasty-warm, even in January, even in Minnesota (granted, this is not a typical Minnesota January, but still, it is winter!). Waaay cool, watching the stylie crowd sip icy fireside martinis. Ahh, a perfect evening with my amazing friends. Thanks guys, for ringing in the big 4-0 with me! I wouldn't have had it any other way...

And so. Here I am, by the light of the day, truly 40. My plan? More cooking and blogging about it - and about my other sensual pursuits, to boot. Life (and epicureanism) is obviously about many more pleasures than just food and drink - and if not, then one gets fat and ends up in treatment. OK! None of that! Moderation in all things is good, my friends, it really is so (sometimes boringly) true. So again, thank you for reading along with me this past year as I tested this truism (er, to the max, unfortunately) and, of course, as always, stay tuned...

Grilled Pork Tenderloin, my Favorite Food Pic of 2006 - healthy, fresh, al fresco dining; nothing beats it!

Navy Beans Sauteed with Cabbage and Bacon, my Favorite Recipe of 2006 - quick, healthy, delicious, and filling; yep, works for me!

Happy New Year! I had a great New Year's Eve, fabulous food, top-notch bubbly...just kidding! I actually was sick on NYE, I rang in the new year 1) nauseated, 2) with a crushing headache, and 3) thankfully, eventually soundly asleep. BOR-ING! I've been sick on NYE once before, around '94 or '95, and I can now report that it totally sucks. Oh well! Perhaps it means '07 will RAWK! That's my plan, anyhow...

BIG plans for this year, in fact! I don't know what they are yet, but when I do, you'll be the first to know! Let's assume it includes some Damn Good Times - in moderation, of course.

Last night was the first time I actually cooked something in more than a week - in 2007, as it were. (I really felt like hell there for awhile, eek.) Anyhow, Nathan, John, and I scarfed down open-faced steak and mushroom sandwiches, so delicious (especially since I terribly, naughtily dipped the bread in wine-y pan juices, rarrr...).

I'll be having my First 2007 Official Good Time tomorrow night - a pre-40th birthday dinner pour moi, with Suz and The Coreman, the Maven and Brian, and of course my Johnny, tomorrow night at Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's hoppin', stylin' Minneapolis venture, Chamber's Kitchen. There should be a few tasties and laughs around that table - yeah, baby! I'll be wearing something rock-n-roll (I'm in a badass, don't-mess-with-me mood as I approach 40) and this gorgeous necklace, received today from my dear Suz. She couldn't wait for me to open it - and I can see why! It's vintage and lovely and looks a bit like a present, how perfect is that?

And then Saturday, the actual dreaded (birth)day, a lovely post-Nathan-basketball-game luncheon at La La Lucia's.

And then? But of course, stay tuned...