Stuff

I was just searching for a book on space shuttles on amazon. Autocorrect did not correct my inadvertent input of "space shittles"- what?? I chuckled to myself!

Today I'm going to make some pickled garlic scapes- do y'all know what these are? They're the long, snakey tops that grow out of garlic bulbs, they've got a short season and are edible and yummy. I bought a couple bunches at the FM last Sunday and just came across some more at Whole Foods. Nice. Anyway, I'm going to pickle them- think I can get a pint or two out of the amount I've got.

I also need to get going on some Batman birthday invitations and wrap my head around the fact that we are putting the children in the car for a nearly 7 hour drive to the beach next week (please send me good vibes; I do not have a good feeling about this). The last time we were in the car all together for more than 25 minutes -seriously- was a family trip to Philly 2+ years ago. It was beyond hellfire and damnation. Both kids screamed their heads off, to no one in particular but then at each other, for about 90% of each to-from drive. Tom and I felt like we were being forced to listen to fingernails on a chalkboard + heavy metal in a claustrophobically small compartment for entirely too long. We were psychotic and on-edge but at least now we are armed with iPads.

Major haul, gnudi made

This morning was such a treat: a solo expedition to the FM, lots of insanely good produce, Marisa's canning demo (strawberry vanilla jam) and a perfect mix of sunshine and breeze. Just look at my haul, and this pic doesn't include the mushrooms for dinner tonight and several other items. Isn't the crazy mess of garlic scapes fun? When I returned home, I made the gnudi, as they want to rest for 6-8 hours before cooking. What are gnudi, you might be asking? They are pillowy dumplings made of ricotta, flour and egg: think gnocchi but ricotta stands in for the potato. There's a bit of nutmeg grated in, and the sauce will incorporate baby spinach and the mess of maitakes and cremini mushrooms I bought earlier. I've not made these before but I have never made a Nancy Silverton recipe that wasn't stunning, so I'm thinking we're in for a treat, especially with the preponderance of fresh and/or from-scratch ingredients used. Aah!

It seems that Oliver is napping for the second day in a row -thrilling! needed!- and I convinced (forced) Jack to go listen to a book-on-tape in his room as he desperately needs some rest but is unwilling to do so without something like a story or music. We're going to hit the playground later on, shell some favas and prep the rhubarb and strawberries.