Has it been a week? King Cake, pasta, salad, Nutmeg

It has just occurred to me that I've not slept through the night since January 19, and even then, I was tired. Politics, the March, our kitchen, Nutmeg, various ailments racing through our house and community...I am so tired that today I watched a hilarious skit featuring Seth Meyers (SNL, The Late Show, and a former college-mate of mine) and Kelly Clarkson day-drinking and immediately wondered if I was drunk without my own knowledge.

I am that tired.

So, I have little for you except some recent kitchen wins and a kitchen update and an enormous spot of gratitude for hot tea and the fact that my in-laws have the boys tonight. Praise whomever for local grandparents being a fact of my life.

It's Mardi Gras season, y'all, and so, King Cake. This one was for Jack's family culture evening at school. Although we will have no kitchen starting Tuesday, I have promised cakes for both boys' classes on Mardi Gras Day. Hmm. As usual, I use Southern Living's Traditional King Cake recipe but I do NOT add the lemon juice to the icing. 

Last night: pasta with Brussels sprouts, speck, and parm. Amen for good carbs on cold nights. Also, it has a distinctly Mardi Gras feel, which I love. 

Lastly, a gorgeous winter salad of shaved fennel, avocado, pomelo, roasted and salted pistachios, shaved manchego, salt, pepper, basil olive oil, and blackberry balsamic. Is this not just glorious? It tasted as good!

The Nut acts as if he were never injured, and mercifully, our kitchen renovation finally commences on Tuesday with demolition day 1. If I could take the first swipe at it all, I would. Maybe I'll ask. I mean, this stupid Nunes memo nonsense has made my blood boil, so perhaps the crew wants a lady eager to crank through some cortisol via sledge hammer?!

Our new range -a stunning charcoal gray beauty from Lacanche via France- arrived last Monday. I have nicknamed her Gal Gadot because she is not only stunning but also strong and charismatic. She will anchor our new kitchen, but many other beautiful treasures will complete the room. I'll keep you posted, but here's a sneak peek of Gal. 

As an aside, why is not all language written in the beautiful scripts of Europe? Just look at those handwritten letters and numbers on the crate. Mon dieu. 

Midweek pretties

I'm teaching my last summer class tomorrow morning, and mercifully, neither Olympic swimming nor women's gymnastics appear to be airing tonight (don't tell me if they are), so I'm hitting the sack, but...

a few pretty things as Wednesday comes to a close.

It never gets old- the plum tart. 

the lightly fried pattypan squash, round 2

to say Oliver felt inspired by my plea to "make your bed" is an understatement!

Y'all, my kumquats are growing. I'm beside myself. I've been waiting forever. Kumquat vibes, please!

The Chronicles of P, vol 2

So, Ol's older gal friend, P, returned today, for 80 minutes of play/mother's helper biz. I was certain the timing was perfect because Jack, too, was having a friend over and four is always better than three. Am I right parents out there who've hosted playdates of three and want to die almost immediately? In any case, each kid and a bestie, and I was feeling confident that we would be all smooth sailing and certainly no cussing. Things went swimmingly until a game of Pictionary commenced. Because Oliver cannot read in any significant way -sure he can pick 'butt' out of a foreign Where's Waldo picture and is a master with 'Jack'- I was roped in as the assistive clue card translation service. Ol started off very earnestly; you can see that this is a fair likeness of a hammerhead shark. I'm not saying we guessed that first, but we did come to it.

Now, his picture of 'eggs' was positively incomprehensible. P guessed 'pizza.' I came up empty-handed. And then, he went rogue. He drew a butt, obviously, and then a penis, and I nearly thought I'd die. P's eyes popped out of her head, and as I write this I'm realizing that because of the lunatic mayhem that was our home when everyone fetched their children, I did not give P's mother the newest warning about just what her child was exposed to by her ward.

I am going to be honest and tell y'all that while much of this is most definitely laughable, the past couple weeks have most definitely been trying. More minute-to-minute hanging-by-toes than I'd like. Slightly intense, if you get my completely restrained drift.

T is playing Wii Sports Resort in the basement by himself right now. I can hear him doing the sword play-fruit cutting game with the mysterious 'Asian' music weaving through the experience. It's cracking me up.

How pretty is this avocado?