I’m trying to get back to this
Anybody reading this follows me on Facebook, so none of what is to follow is a surprise. My little sis, Tess, passed away on January 5th. My other sister broke her ankle at my house during her wake and needed surgery. Then my FIL had a heart attack. Cooking and photography, the two hobbies that make up about 99% of my posts, have been shoved aside. It is taking me a bit to realize that the hobbies that I enjoy are important. I’m getting back to it slowly.
Ada started dance lessons on January 16th. This isn’t something I get to witness unless I want to stand on my tiptoes and press my face against the teeny window. Parents are allowed in on the last day of class for observing. I’m fine with that. It is her lesson, not mine. I bring a book. I ran to the cleaners. I am thinking about hitting a treadmill or elliptical with another parent once I found out it was free. Plus, it is a room lined with mirrors on all sides. I haven’t photographed anything in that situation. I used this occasion to get myself to use my camera, which has stayed tucked in the studio since Christmas photos. The first photo was a false start. We had to take a break and I had to tempt my model with make-up and a prop to make her happy. She did loosen up with the addition of the scarf, but I didn’t get really good ones until I told her to dance. Then I got this one, my favorite. After her first dance lesson, we took a gift card to the bookstore. We each picked out a book and one for her brother. Then had coffee/hot chocolate while we looked through them. After the second lesson, we went to The Toy Store — the happiest place on Mass. I tossed around getting fruit and yogurt or waiting a bit and getting noodles, but I wanted to run to Target, so we went there and then to Dillons and picked up a curry couscous, brown rice sushi and a white stilton with blueberries. You have no idea how much I love Ada’s taste in cheese. Except that I have to share now. I’m not sure what we will do next week, but I’ll be picking her up from a slumber party and carting her straight to dance. She might be too tired and just need to come home.
As for cooking, I’m trying to remember what interesting things I’ve made. I actually said, “Cooking is stupid!” one day. Yeah. I’m coming out of it, and have been looking through some of my new cookbooks. I did make a polenta stuffed pepper. The polenta needs to be season more than called for, and I even tasted it, but didn’t detect that it was under seasoned until the whole thing was together. I do like the polenta part, but I’m losing my taste for bell peppers, even sweet ones. It almost made me gag having to finish the pepper. I have no idea where this is coming from, but I think I’ll keep my bell peppers to tiny diced components of other dishes. The rest of the polenta I have pressed and refrigerated. I’m going to make breaded baked cutlets with it–crispy breading on the outside, soft polenta on the inside. Hmmm…
The next things I’m going to try are a Thai butternut squash soup — Butternut squash, coconut milk, spinach, red Thai curry paste and tofu. Then I’m going to meat it up with that Boeuf Bourguignon that I never made. I still have the Côtes-Du-Rhône that I bought for it.
I also realized a couple of days ago that I have neglected my sourdough starter. I was able to resurrect it and have a loaf on the rise now.
This picture is my favorite too of that set you took!
I’ve been playing with some recipes from ‘Real Simple’ lately…a chicken posole and roasted cauliflower with gnocci…both were successes! 
Please send along that polenta/pepper recipe!