Robb + Jessie Married & in the Badger State
The Immortal French Chef
I am re-reading Julie & Julia this week.* This is the story of Julie Powell, one of the first food bloggers, who decided to cook her way through Julia Child’s famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, in a year.
Today I pulled out a DVD of Julia Child’s cooking show, The French Chef and I fell in love. I cannot believe that I have had these discs for several years and haven’t watched them. Her show literally puts Food Network to shame.
Now, as I am snuggled in bed watching a few more episodes of the show, I decided to pull up the Wikipedia article about Mrs Child. I am shocked when I look at her birth and death dates. Which brings me to the reason for this blog post:
Seriously? 156? Someone can add. Perhaps what the author of the post intended was for us to realize the immortality of Julia Child’s legacy. While I do not have a copy yet (and I really would like one), I implore you to read Julia’s cookbook. Her intention was to teach Americans, regardless of class, age, gender, etc. to understand that French cooking techniques could be understood and applied by anyone. So please, get out there and master the art of French cooking. You too could be immortal like Julia.
*Note: Julie & Julia, the movie is coming out in August 2009. I cannot wait.
Good News Everybody
We are signing the lease on a new apartment tomorrow. That means we will be moving to the Eastside of Madison (aka the granola/hippy part of town).
Our move-in date is not until August 1, but that gives us time to weed out unnecessary items in our current apartment.
Granola
Last month, I picked up a copy of Bon Appétit in San Diego before our long flight home to Wisconsin. As I just adore lists, 50 Was to Eat Green immediately caught my attention. After reading all 50 of the ways, I decided that Robb and I do eat rather “green”. But one area we had been lacking in was our love of cereals. To cut down on packaging, we could make our own cereal – granola, even!
In the past, my granola attempts have usually burnt, been too heavy, or contained weird dried fruits. I am not a huge dried-fruit-in-the-cereal kind of girl. (I prefer fresh northwestern blueberries, but hey! it’s winter in Wisconsin.)
How could I resist attempting this easy omega-3 rich granola? I tried it out four weeks ago and have been making it weekly since. With a few minor adjustments to suit our tastes.
Quick Omega-3 Granola
adapted from Bon Appétit, February 2009
4 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1/2 cup egg whites (about 2 large eggs)
zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup walnut halves and pieces
1/2 cup flaseed meal
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup agave nectar (or honey)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush heavy large rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Whisk 2 tablespoons oil, sugar, molassas, egg whites, vanilla, orange zest and salt in large bowl. Add oats, walnuts, cinnamon and flaxseed; toss well.
Spread mixture evenly on prepared sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Using silicon spatula, stir granola. Bake 15 minutes longer. Stir again. Drizzle with agave or honey. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes longer. Stir to loosen. Transfer to clean baking sheet to cool completely.
Store in a airtight container (I like a large Mason jar). Keeps for 1 week.
Makes about 6 cups
Emerging From the Cave
No. We did not fall off the face of the earth. We have simply been busy.
If we could just bring you up to speed on a few things, here is what we’ve been up to:
(1) You will notice fewer photographs. Our favourite lens broke while we were visiting our families in San Diego. We do have another lens, but it just doesn’t give us quite the same photographs.
(2) Robb has begun TA-ing a genetics course this semester which means that he is pulling double time in the classroom. Attending lectures and leading two discussion groups not to mention holding office hours for any extra questions. It is a good opportunity for him to see if he enjoys teaching and always being one step ahead of his students.
(3) With the hopes of getting an abstract accepted for an upcoming dairy science meeting in July at Montreal, I have been working tirelessly on gathering a second round of data to demonstrate my experiment is repeatable. It’s fun to play the roll of a scientist, but also challenging to do so while being a student with classwork, etc.
(4) We have been sick. The dramatic changes in weather (from being in the teens one week to the negative teens the next) have really messed with our immune systems and in the past month, both of us have been pretty ill. Thankfully, we are starting to feel a bit better.
(5) We are searching for a new place to live next fall. Right now, our prospects are bleak. But, God will provide.
(6) We are searching (also) for a new church. Presently we simply want to commute to Seattle and return to our home church, Mars Hill. But, God will provide.
How are you doing, this winter?
The Best and Worst Interview In the World
Sigur Rós is interviewed on NPR’s Bryant Park Project.
Awkward.
Redeemed.