StephanieL

Finally bought Carpano Antica: $21.99 (with member discount) for a 375-mL bottle at Safeway. I don't use sweet vermouth often enough to justify anything larger than that.

Vieux Carré: 1 oz. rye 1 oz. cognac 1 oz. sweet vermouth 1/4 oz. Bénédictine 2 dashes Angostura bitters 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters Stir ingredients together in an ice-filled shaker, then strain into an ice-filled rocks or Old Fashioned glass.

N made a standout dinner for me last night, possibly to make up for the fact that she was sick during my birthday last week. Trout stuffed with lime leaves and a mixture of garlic, ginger, and lemongrass, then wrapped in banana leaves and baked; Thai curry sauce on the side Mashed purple sweet potatoes with coconut milk Sauteed Japanese eggplant (from our garden) and bok choy

And me. Cats are enough.

I put up some RG Reboseros to soak, thinking I'd make chili, but when I went to the butcher they had some great-looking garlic sausages so I changed plans. N cooked the sausages separately and sliced them up, then I cooked the beans (with the soaking water) in the deglazed Dutch oven. Because I'd ended up adding too much water, I threw in some buckwheat groats towards the end to try and soak some of the liquid up, but in the end it was still more soup than stew. On the side: rainbow carrots and romanesco broccoli that I cut up, tossed with olive oil, S&P, and dried thyme, tarragon, and rosemary, and roasted in a 400-degree oven for about 45 minutes. Kind of an autumnal meal even if I was wearing a T-shirt today and the forecast is saying it'll be 89 on Thursday.

Small comfort if you're the one who can't get back home. Or your child was kidnapped at a rave.

Bialys are not for making sandwiches. Per Sneakeater, you have them as is, untoasted, with sweet butter.

Never mind the ham--you sliced a bialy??

Chicken soup with mushrooms and drop herb dumplings.

A longtime friend of the family is in Israel right now (near Jerusalem), making her annual visit to see her daughter and family. She's supposed to be flying back to the US on Monday, but she's not sure if that's going to happen.

Ponied up lots of money to take an intensive 2-day coffee sensory course this weekend. Came down with a cold last night and now have a sore throat and runny nose, too late to cancel my hotel reservation without losing my 50% deposit. Also too late to get a refund on the course (in which I was going to be only instructee, it turns out), but I should be able to reschedule that.

I'm sitting on BART and I hear a loud crash 2 rows behind me. I think "oh, someone dropped something heavy". Two minutes later, the bottom of my bag and the soles of my shoes now have red wine on them. I suppose it could have been something worse?

That's because it is funny.

A really great Irish pub in Oakland is closing at the end of the month--the owners say it's due to a combination of lower foot traffic and higher crime. So, we celebrated N's good day with fish & chips, a Kilkenny Red Nitro for her, and a Doctor's Dilemma for me: poitin, green Chartreuse, Luxardo Maraschino liqueur, and lime juice.

N passed her citizenship exam!! Naturalization ceremony is next Tuesday. And yes, she can keep her SA citizenship.

Or a stoner.

Roasted butternut squash cooked with kale, RG Yellow Eye Beans, and sweet Italian sausage.

See the Surrealism of Everyday Life thread for the current and upcoming weather in my part of the Bay Area. Sheesh.

High of 68 today, 93 this coming Thursday, 72 next Saturday.

Our Mexican lime tree has yielded its first crop, so N asked me to make a cocktail using the juice and I had just enough for a Last Word.

If you feel the need to return to Eataly, there's now one in San Jose.

Mujaddara, using the RG Puglia lentils, with braised collards on the side.

Yeah, that might fly when you're making lots and lots of dishes that use that sauce. Not so much when you're making the recipe once.

I just got Eater: 100 Essential Restaurant Recipes from the Authority on Where to Eat and Why It Matters. While all of the recipes could ostensibly made by a home cook, some of them are insanely complicated. Interesting to read, though.

It hasn't actually been a great year for us. The only things that we got in quantity were berries and lettuce.