Friday, January 15, 2010

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens ...



Okay, so a few of my favorite things:

  • Going to Paso Robles, California in February to visit our friends and tour wineries all weekend (and getting to sample wines right in the barrel at different life stages)
  • Hosting a party at my house and cooking all afternoon
  • Getting syllabi for my classes starting next week

Well, the first one is probably a favorite for many people - who doesn't love California, drinking wine in the morning, afternoon, and evening, eating fresh organic food, and relaxing in the sunshine?  No one is unhappy in wine country.  Enough said.

Hosting a party - okay, I know that makes some people queasy, but to me, nothing is better than having friends in our house, feeding them delicious food and libations until they burst, talking and laughing well into the night.  I love my house, and I never sweat the fact that it is not squeaky clean (like my mom & grandma keep theirs), but it is comfortable and everyone always has a good time.  By the way, I'm not a recipe cook, I fare far better to use a recipe as a springboard, but go my own way.  Today I decided to tackle Julia Child's (my personal hero) Boeuf Bourguignon (yeah, I had to Google the spelling).  Well, I made a few modifications, like corn starch instead of flour, because a celiac is on the guest list and I am sensitive to people's food allergies (having my own food aversions - like cheese and eggs), and I more than doubled the recipe, since there will be 12 of us, but so far, the smell is out of this world.  It took me an hour and a half to assemble the main part of the delicious beef, red wine, vegetable stew.  It will spend 3 hours baking in its own gloriousness, then another hour to finish up.  But I fear not, cooking is one of the most relaxing things I can think of!

Let's hop to the syllabi part ... I was delighted, almost giddy, when I downloaded the syllabi, schedules, and supporting information from the online learning site for my 3 Ph.D. classes, combing through the assignments, logging them into a big spreadsheet that helps keep me organized on due dates, and reveling in the fact that once again, I will have something more meaningful than watching American Idol to occupy my evenings in this cold winter high desert rural area in which I currently live and work.  I'm feeling a little geeked out, but I am going to embrace what I love to do.  No longer will I be ashamed that I cannot snow ski, hunt, or sit in the snow.  Here I go!!!!

2 comments:

  1. Hi Cindy! It was very thoughtfull of you to make a menu thinking about your celiac friend, that's really kind! I also love to cook and I'm glad corn flour is gluten free, so they have an option! I leave you a link to my website http://www.donamasita.com/en/, I hope you like it and you can make your own versions of the recipe just the way you love!

    Have a great weekend!

    Doña Masita

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you, Dona! I love your website, you have great recipes showcased. I plan on trying them soon! Thank you for reading my blog! Cyndi

    ReplyDelete