I'm taking a food styling course, attempting to improve the quality and creativity of my food photos, as well as learn a bit more about a field I think would be terrific to work in. Maybe even get paid, ooh, there's a novel concept. I'm only in the second week; our assignment was to put together and style a simple salad. Here's my first try (limited seriously by my lack of photographic knowledge; I was stuck with the light I had, without planning ahead, and let's just say, I have a lot to learn about my camera. I think I need a major Cory Shubert tutorial...).


Anyhow, total BLAST. I made a couple of mistakes, like eating a bit of goat cheese and walnuts off the plate when I thought I was done. But no, after seeing the pics on my computer, I had to go back - and replace the parts I snacked on. I'm pretty sure that's a food styling 101 don't, ha.


Man am I dragging today, even as I composed this salad, d r a g g i n g. I'm seriously sleep-deprived this week and oy am I feeling my old. We had our neighborhood women's association meeting last night (aka wine and chat) and I once again stayed out and up way too late. And no reprieve tonight, oh no - as I mentioned below, tonight I'll be Debbie and Stu William's guest at a Commanderie de Bordeaux event (aka serious wine and chat).

I predict a very, very quiet Saturday.

Moderate it: the only thing going for me is that I know that the portions at the Commanderie dinner will be reasonable. That said, moderate portions of five or so courses adds up to excessive pretty quickly. Washed down with five or so Bordeaux wines and well, I'll have to count it as the special occasion it is and just enjoy myself. Moderate that!

Cooling the food jets today, power-down... It was a big, BIG food weekend, whew. And great fun, what with our Create Catering dinner on Friday, It's Greek to Me feast on Saturday, and last night, wine and coffeecake with my minxes at Susie's. Incredible coffeecake. Super-secret-recipe coffeecake, unforch, or I'd slap it up here in a flash. Streuselly, but not too heavy or rich, with a perfectly soft crumb... Rarrr. Hit the podcasting-shenanigans spot! Wish I had some right now!

But no. In fact, I declare today salad day. No matter what we end up with for dinner, it's going to include a giant, restorative salad. Chopped romaine and spinach, scallions, perhaps some crunchy prosciutto (bake paper thin slices of prosciutto in a hot oven until browned; cool and crumble), chopped fresh parsley or dill, perhaps chopped green pepper or radishes, few small pieces of soft goat cheese, sprinkle of coarse salt, and lots of freshly ground black pepper. All it needs is the most basic vinaigrette - 2/3 c. best olive oil, 1/3 c. red wine vinegar, 2 smashed garlic cloves, generous 1 tsp. salt, several grinds of pepper, 1/2 tsp. of dried thyme. Or tarragon. Whatever you like. Shake in a jar, dress the greens lightly, toss and toss and toss some more, store the rest in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Happy Salad!

How to lift the gloom off of life in a black-n-white photograph? Well, for starters, be very, very grateful that it's above 25 degrees outside. Big smiles there. I took advantage and went for a walk/run this morning, including some serious hills, which just a few weeks ago was a nice, invigorating workout but today, after weeks in the deep freeze, had me sucking wind like a 3-pack-a-day smoker (which I'm very much not), man, what a total bummer. I know I'll be back to normal in no time, but it is a bit humbling to know how quickly the ol' wind disappears now that I'm in my 40s. Nice little reminder, just in case the various sags, lines, and other disheartening signs of 'a life well-lived' didn't pack enough punch. Uff.

Well. A pretty Saturday Luncheon Salad lifts the gloom as well! When the only color out the window is the occasional red car (I'm unfortunately totally serious, blah), chop up some pale green lettuces, deep green spinach, a few ruby-cherry tomatoes, and set it all off with chalky-white goat cheese, cracked black pepper, rosy bacon, and crackling, roasted asparagus. A nice combo of warm/cool, soft/crunchy, salty/sweet. A little spring-y tasting. And filling but not filling. In other words, all good. A spot of hot green tea to finish, as well as a warm shower (I'm thinking a splash of Naturopathica lime shower gel/Thai herbal body lotion could lift the spirits by stirring fragrant memories of the heavenly Miraval Spa, sigh...) should have me cheered up a bit as well.

And if not, I'll be sure to complain about it. Wouldn't want to disappoint anyone by writing out of character, you know.

Okay. It's over. Not just 2007, but the parties, cocktails, appetizers, rich meals, excess good cheer - over! Enter ye moderation (in fact, a little deprivation wouldn't hurt at this point) and reside in thee for a spell. Please? At least until my birthday this weekend...

Hey, there's nothing wrong with risotto, cream puffs, chocolate mousse, prime rib, mashed potatoes, lobster, champagne, or caviar - a sip and a taste of something lovely can always fit into a healthy diet - it's just the all-in-the-same-week aspect that is a bit, uh, immoderate. Heck, often all in the same day! Egads but it's been a very Merry Christmas. Whew.

And so. It's a New Year and time for a slice of...cold, hard reality. Or at least a plate of pretty salad greens alongside a nice piece of fish. Or a bowl of brothy soup. A mug of hot tea. A lovely ripe pear. A handful of raw almonds. My go-to restorative, depuffing foods. In fact, several such meals in a row, followed by several long, brisk walks, and I'll be feeling like myself again in no time.

Right?

Happy Birthday (yesterday!) to my mother-in-law Dot!

Yikes, where did this week go? Crrraaazy around here, as I'm sure it is for all of you too, wow. It's nice to finally see that gorgeous October sun! (Rain much?!) And all of the leaves slowly turning. I keep trying to remember to look around - and SEE - and enjoy that the leaves and birds are still here, that the grass is still green, that flowers are still blooming. In such a short time we will be living in a black-n-white photograph and I will miss all these beautiful colors. Sniff. Sigh.

I've actually been too busy to do much cooking and for me, that's pretty damn busy. I did get a solid (simple) meal on the table last night - crispy roasted chicken drummies, asparagus, and rice. Before that, it was a bit of catch-as-catch-can from our various leftovers. Which is fine too, hey, I feel like we didn't waste a thing. But I'm getting ready to fire up the ol' stove again. Or tonight, the ol' grill as it were, since I'm throwing on some lamb chops. Mmmm, nothing like crusty, garlicky lamb chops for a perfect (easy!) Thursday night dinner (I smear 'em with minced garlic, olive oil, and a generous sprinkle of coarse salt about an hour before grilling. Grill until just-pink in the center. Baaa voilaaa.) I actually have a few good tomatoes left, from my pots on the deck, so my plan is a big salad, chock full o' said tomatoes with lots of dill and feta. Perhaps some grilled pita (rub uncut pita on both sides with olive oil, sprinkle with a bit of coarse salt, grill briefly until hot and lightly browned in spots, about 5 minutes total) as well, yum. Can't wait!

Oh, a fabulously restorative dose of Cooper Cuteness this weekend, Mr. Busy himself, in a constant state of motion-giggle-chat. John, Nathan, my dad, and I settled into my sister Stacey's (check out her new website!) lovely home this evening for an early Summer Sunday Dinner. Stace and I put the low-maintenance menu together via email and it worked out beautifully. I brought a salad, full of as many veggie-share veggies as I could cram in there, ha - mixed greens topped with roasted green beans and tomatoes, fresh dill, thinly sliced kohlrabi, sauteed corn, chopped onion and green pepper, and a crumble of feta cheese. Pretty and tasty. Stace made Cucumber-Mint Raita, I brought garlic bread, and we borrowed a genius page from my in-laws, Dot and John, by purchasing deli fried chicken (in this case, the Kowalski's version, delicious) earlier in the day and then grilling it for a few minutes just before serving, to re-crisp and warm it...works like a charm. Stuffed, we somehow made room for brownies topped with Blue Sky Creamery Double Chocolate ice cream (incredible stuff). Yeah. Uff.

After a a bit of digestif swinging on the picture-perfect, front-porch swing, Cooper was ready to run again, wearing his Birthday Party Hat, no less, for maximum cuteness. And then...when his (and Nathan's) running reached the edge of almost-frantic-silliness, we took our exit cue. (Why is it that the more tired children grow, the more energy they expel? So not fair...) After clear-as-a-bell "bu-bye" and "nigh nigh" wishes, we moseyed on home and left Coop to his soft jammies and cozy crib and a Good. Night's. Sleep.

Double the pleasure, double the fun! With...two salads for lunch (sorry, not all that titillating, ha). First up a fresh plate o'bounty thanks to my LaFinca CSA veggie share - salad greens and arugula studded with chopped kohlrabi, onion, pea pods (love 'em raw) plus peppers and avocado from the grocery store.

Followed by a fruit version, nothing more than a bowl of gorgeous berries (LaFinca raspberries) and ripe peach drizzled with just a bit of cream (yum). Colorful, filling, and delicious. I figured after pizza, beer, and sweet potato fries for dinner last night - ha! - I'd better moderate my bad self right on back to plenty of fruits and veggies today. Done!

Later: uff I'm tired, bone tired, too many late nights for me again, ack. Even after my uber-healthy lunch, I had to drag my sorry ass through a few kettlebell exercises and a walk through Lowry Hill. I came home and lay around watching Sex and the City (on demand) until I finally forced myself into the shower to perk up enough for tonight's hijinxing with my minxes. Man, it's been way too long! We're all just so busy! Not even cackling with Kim & Suz could wake me up (they're wiped too, what a trio we are, ha) so here I am, going to BED! G'night!

Now this is more like it, people! Sunny and mid-60s - yeah, baby, we'll take it! And I have yet to get out there and really enjoy it, since I was kinda, er, toast today. Last night was our neighborhood women's association "meeting" - as in we "meet" to drink wine and gossip. If only every meeting were so fun, ha! Last night my neighbor Kasey hosted the event in her beautiful home. And even though host husbands usually (understandably!) disappear during this bi-monthly event, there was none of that for her husband Dan, aka the most gregarious person I've ever met. There is no way that Dan was going to hide upstairs while Kasey threw a party downstairs, just no way. So thanks to him, and Kasey's sister Kit, and several of my lovely neighbors, we sat around chatting until after 1:00 a.m. Um, so much for heading home a bit early - ouch! But totally worth it, since I had a fabulous time.

Luckily, it was a tres low-key day, I brought The Coopster over to Suz's for a modified Friday Morning Coffee with Suz - and Kim! Yay! Yes, The Maven was there too, and Suz's kids Vivian and Sullivan, and all four of them played with and showed Cooper a great time. He danced, and talked, and crawled all over the place, and played with Digby, and just plain had a blast. And so did I!

Tonight, no kids, just John and me. Did we head out for a lovely dinner? Did I cook something fabulous? Uh, no. I'm too damn tired! I did end up pulling together a very tasty entree salad, tasty enough in fact that I'll post the recipe (in comments, below). Romaine, spinach, scallions, avocado, green pepper, crispy roasted asparagus, tuna, and hard-cooked egg, tossed with a garlicky mustard vinaigrette. Purely a what's-in-the-fridge/pantry concoction that just happened to be absolutely delicious. I love it when that happens!