weekending and other notes

cassava pizza is really rocking our world. my current recipe is 1 c cassava flour, 2/3 c kefir, 2 eggs, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and a dash of oil. spread onto the smooth side of a silicone sheet, bake 15 minutes or so, then let cool. elevate on an oven-proof wire rack (as pictured), rub with a bit of extra oil, then dress and bake till cheese is as you like it.

paleomom's plantain muffins are amazing. going to try a vegan version this week with ripe plantain and flax.

salad for dinner - with hard-boiled eggs, just-cooked broccoli, cubes of mozarella, thinly-sliced peppers, apple, lettuce, and a balsamic dressing.

new batch of kraut fementing away - with red cabbage, rutabaga, carrot, jalepeno, cranberries, ginger and garlic.

the table set for valentine's day

valentine menu

Sunday supper - mussel pasta dish based on nonno's mussel linguine in Jamie Oliver's Italy, except we have no anchovies, so I used smoked herring, it was just so delicious, prominently but not overwhelmingly smoky, with the sweetness of the tomatoes and the fresh garlic - definitely a keeper. with orange and endive salad and white wine - fabulous.

I am reading French Women Don't Get Fat - as you may recall, I have a major thing for French food culture, so I am enjoying it very much. I knew I would like it because I once picked up the sequel at a second-hand store and gave it to my mom as a gift. It is all about pleasure, n'est pas? I have realized, reading it, that I do sometimes eat mindlessly or out of stress. Oui, meme moi! I am very determined to slim down my portions, say no to seconds, savour every morsel of calorie-dense food I indulge in, and lose 5-10 pounds by May (as I don't have a scale I suppose I'll have to be content with fitting better into my black wool skirt, which has sadly gotten a little tight at the waist). So I turned down a second dish of pasta last night (while Tony had THREE, which if you have observed Tony eat, you'll realize is  an enormous quantity for him), and did not eat my third egg at breakfast, but instead kept it for my slumbering husband. I cannot wait for the spring to come, to start seeing early greens and fresh goodies at the Atwater market, bien sur! I am so done with winter. Anybody with me?