Life Inside the Music Box Ain't Easy

Oh, another holiday here in Charlotte. I am spending this Easter with the two goofballs on the left. (I adore this picture of Alex; however, Evan looks like an awkward preteen.)

So my small Easter dinner with Evan has increased by 600%. I will now be joined by Evan, Alex, Jarred, Valerie, Kevin, Lisa, and Nate. I am thrilled, but a bit nervous that my dinner won't appeal to meat eaters. Oh well, maybe they won't notice its absence.

I spent very little time making my menu, and even less time shopping. I am glad, this is a step in "hostessing" for me. I'm not overexerting myself, I'm not overspending. I even went so far as to say "forget dessert, I'm making a lot already." Actually, the dessert I wanted to make took hours of preparation, and appeared to be a recipe for early heart failure.

My Easter Menu: A List by Angela

• Beet and Feta Tart
• Roasted Asparagus with Lemon Vinaigrette
• Roasted Baby Red and Yukon Gold Potatoes
• Black Lentil Crostini
• Hummus

I am so excited for this tart. Expect pictures. Happy Easter.

What I Am is Tired of Jam

I recently read "Bread and Jam for Frances" to my kindergarten class, and I realized that I have fallen in love with the poached egg. There is nothing better, in my mind, than a poached egg. Or as Father Badger says, "I should like to think there is nothing quite as nice as a poached egg for breakfast." However, I'm pretty sure I use to sing the same song as Frances:

I do not like the way you slide,
I do not like your soft inside.
I do not like you lots of ways,
And I could go for many days,
Without eggs.

Last night I had the best serving of poached eggs. I got the recipe from orangette.blogspot.com, and was intrigued by the idea of more servings of poached eggs.

Simply put, here is my adapted version of "Bread and Poached Eggs for Angela:"

• 2 eggs, poached

• 1 cup yogurt

• 1 clove garlic

• 1/8 tbsp of butter

• 6 sage leaves

• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

• salt

• pepper

Melt the butter in a saucepan, adding the sage leaves and crushed red pepper flakes. Let simmer for a few minutes, and then turn off heat to prevent scorching.

Heat a skillet pan with water, until small bubbles appear at the bottom of the skillet. Do not boil the water. Add 1 tbsp of white vinegar to the water. Crack an egg into a soup ladle, or a cup. Submerge the ladle or cup into the skillet of hot water, slowly releasing the egg from the ladle to the pan of water. Let the egg cook for 2-4 minutes, until egg whites are formed. Remove from skillet with a spatula, and place in a bowl of hot (but not boiling) water. This will remove the vinegar.

Mince the garlic, and add to the cup of yogurt. Put the yogurt as a base in a bowl. Place the poached eggs on top. Pour the sage butter over the eggs. This is so good with a nice slice of bread. Amazing, really. If Frances had this, she'd quickly change her tune.

Red, White, and Greens

I'm at home sick on the couch. I don't know if it is sinusitis, cold and sinusitis, flu, flu and sinusitis, or a combination of all three. Webmd is of no help. So my dinner consists of vegetable broth with some flat leaf parsley, and water. And more water. And get this - I threw some water in there. I'll wrap this delicious dinner up with some Emergen-C. At least I'm not taking Airborn.

Oh well. Twittering away on npr.org, I found this podcast from a 1996 episode of All Things Considered (my favorite npr show, aside from This American Life). So Italians shop for produce not by list, but by what looks best, and then base the meal around it.

Now, this goes against my mother's budgeting crusades, but maybe not? If the mushrooms at the grocery store look kinda blah, and I plan on making a mushroom dish three nights from now, should I purchase them? I think not. However, right now all produce looks, well, gross. But my farmer's market should be opening soon. I did a stupid thing and left my bike out in the rain too often, so its in need of some work. Also, the hills here are SO HUGE, I really should buy a new, lighter bike. Either way, once that gets up and running this summer - guess who's back to biking for produce!

Despite the illness, I'm excited.

Maybe One Day, My Dreams Will Match Up With My Pay

So, going over my "budget" last month, I realized that I spent a ridiculous amount of money on groceries. $250.00. Two hundred fifty dollars. That's twenty five thousand pennies. 163 euros. 10, 105 rupees. 7,870 baht. 2,711.02 pesos. I usually wouldn't mind as much, but I have an itch to go buy a new pair of shoes.

This month, I am combating that ridiculous spending with budgeting by week, rather than bi-weekly. Shamefully, I ate all 250.00 of that food I bought in February (a short month, nonetheless). So, I preplanned my meals for this upcoming week. I know my mom is getting some sick satisfaction out of this - she lectured me for years on doing this, and is probably dancing around her laptop with glee and excitement that I finally listened to her. I'm a bit stubborn, but the apple don't fall far from the tree.

All of my meals this week are from Orangette. I could go on and on about how much I love reading her blog, but why ruin the experience for you? Check it out.

Here's my chosen recipes:

Quick Black Beans with Cumin and Oregano

Egg and Tomato Gratin

Bagnette (I am having company on Wednesday night - great appetizer; I'm considering mixing it with orzo for lunch the next day)

Warm Chickpea Salad with Shallots

Tartine Poireaux-Oeufs Brouillés


I am so pumped for these dinners. I'm a bit over-excited. Off to the store!

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Title: "Mushaboom" Feist

These Things Collide

Charleston Tea Plantation (America's Only Tea Plantation): Next stop, India.

My trip to Charleston was wonderful. I really needed the weekend away from work. Also, I would say it was well deserved - spending everyday at school from 6:45 to 4:45 - that's draining.

I had this grand idea of posting photos of all the awesome meals I had, but due to the "upscale nature" of many of these restaurants, I felt a little shy of pulling out the old Canon to take a snapshot. And when I mean old, I mean old.


Anyway, I had three fantastic meals. The first was at a small restaurant called Blend. I had Lavender Batter French Toast. Amazing - crunchy, soft hint of lavender, kinda like the best doughnut ever. Evan was exploring his southern side, and had Shrimp and Grits:

Southern Evan (but that ice tea is 'unsweetened')

This he thoroughly enjoyed. Apparently, it was his first time having it, and he devoured it in minutes. Ok, so I lied - I took one food photo. Anyway, this trip was also the first time Evan had "Cheerwine." Luckily there is no photographic evidence of that. He had such a sugar rush, I nearly pushed him out of a moving vehicle.

Next we ate at The Red Drum. Words cannot express how marvelous this meal was. I think this was the best meal I've ever had, to date. I can't even go into it all, it was just amazing. Ginger mojitos, Roasted Beet and Walnut salad with Lemon Thyme Dressing, Honey and Almond Green Beans, some type of amazing spinach, etc. etc. etc.

Our last meal was at Tristan. There I had Wild Mushroom Eggs Benedict. It was perfect - right amount of hollandaise, wonderful mushrooms, not too much vinegar in the poached eggs. I loved every bit of it.

Which leads me to my latest obsessions: salads and poached eggs. I've been eating poached eggs on everything lately. I made a great french soup that I found here on Orangette. Sure enough, I added the poached egg. I had poached eggs for breakfast at Zada Jane's. If I could successfully eat a poached egg in the car on the way to school, I bet I would.

As far as salads are concerned, I made my favorite for lunch today. I ate it all before I thought about a picture, so use your imagination!

Blustery Day Beet Salad

Field Greens/Spinach
Canned Beets, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp gorgonzola cheese
1 avocado
Lemon Thyme Dressing

Its really easy to assemble, and effortless. I make the dressing with the juice of 2 lemons, 1 tbsp vinegar, 2 tbsp olive oil, dash of salt, pepper, and about 10 springs of thyme.

If I had the energy, I would roast the beets myself. But canned beets will do when I'm sleepy and chilly. I made this two nights ago - Alex devoured, and Evan ate without speaking. The beets give it a nice earthly taste, the gorgonzola is sharp, the avocado is creamy, and the lemon thyme is light. I ran out of beets today, so I used a tangerine! Awesome, still.

So there you have it, a recent foodie on vacation - landmarked by the restaurants, the tea plantations, and the food itself.

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Title: "Long Division" by Bagheera