Cooking--Hooray!

Paul and I have finally moved to Wichita and I have returned to cooking dinner (every night so far!). We're still getting to know the city and trying to find places to put all of our stuff. So far, we like it here but we miss everybody back in Norman and Oklahoma City. I have spoken to my parents and grandma and Erika on the telephone, though, which has made me very happy.

Everything is pretty cheap here. I think the food at the organic market was cheaper than the SuperTarget in Norman. I'm looking forward to the big farmers' market Saturday because they supposedly not only have produce but beef and poultry as well. We tried going to the Tuesday farmers' market, but all they had was rhubarb.

I don't have a driver's license yet (the one place to get one in the entire city of Wichita is on the other side of town) but I do have a library card. (You can tell what I think is important!) Tuesday I checked out Nigella Express which I've really been wanting to check out since I've become addicted to the show which I have to watch on YouTube because we have no cable and since I absolutely adore How to Be a Domestic Goddess. I really like reading the blurbs that come before the recipes. Oh and I happen to have Nigella Lawson's Living Kitchen measuring cups and spoons. I get a kick every time I watch her show because "I have those measuring cups!"

I also really like Giada de Laurentiis (Paul- I don't care if she has too many teeth)and the pasta below happens to be covered in her Salsa All'Amatriciana (from Everyday Italian) with some asparagus roasted in olive oil and then topped with kosher salt and lemon juice.

Below is the first recipe I've tried from Nigella Express: Steak Slice with Lemon and Thyme. The side dish for this was blanched asparagus rolled around in the sauce made with the steak. We were also supposed to have Carottes Vichy from Jacques Pepin's Simple and Healthy Cooking, but they did not turn out so well (think horribly burnt matchstick carrots). At least the steak and asparagus turned out really well and we have half of it left over for steak salads.

For dessert, I chopped up some strawberries and then drizzled them with lemon juice and let them sit and then topped them with homemade whipped cream (1/2 c heavy cream, 2t sugar, vanilla). This was so wonderfully yummy, especially since I've been wanting strawberries for weeks. I'm even planning on embroidering a Strawberries and Cream apron.

Back to the subject of Nigella. I just find her wonderfully charming and amusing. Here's a clip from the Nigella Express TV show. She's making Caramel Croissant Pudding, which I can't make because croissants are never allowed to go stale at our house.



That's all for now. I am planning on getting back to my gloves. I only have to finish the pinkie on the first one and I will be finished. Then I have to start the second glove...