A Cheesy Valentine's Day

Ever since our very first February 14 together, Forest and I have "stayed in" to make and share a meal at home to celebrate St. Valentine's. I remember one year, before we were married, our schedules required us to opt for a Valentine breakfast instead of dinner. Early that morning, Forest snuck over to my apartment while my three roommates were still asleep. We were quiet as mice in our kitchen endeavors--until we set off the smoke alarm in full force after burning a pancake over the stove.

Just as our cooking continues to set off the smoke alarm on a regular basis, it also makes its traditional appearance every Valentine's Day, including this year.

The above photo of goat cheese pesto may not look terribly appetizing on its own, but we enjoyed it as a coating on some angel hair pasta for our Valentine dinner . . .

. . . along with bruschettas, salad, . . .

. . . and Dorie's Hidden Berry Cream Cheese Torte to top it off for dessert.

Reading for pleasure

When I was a child, I used to be quite the bookworm. I remember passing much of my free time with my nose buried in a book at this stage in my life. At some point the amount of reading I did for leisure diminished considerably, especially after I got to college. Now that I'm taking a break from school and more or less just waiting to have a baby, I find myself in the middle of five different books, with a stack of ten piled up on my dresser. It would appear that I have taken up reading again. Although most of these books are pregnancy or childbirth-related, I've tried to throw some other subjects in the mix, not wanting to get overdosed on this one topic (which I've been told is quite possible). This past week I finished "The Cellist of Sarajevo" by Steven Galloway--needless to say, it was the title that initially caught my eye. I thought it was quite beautifully written, and loved the way the author described the thoughts and memories of characters in the novel. I also appreciated its depiction of the human spirit in the midst of war, and its tribute to the restorative, healing power of music.

calzoni fatti a casa

Forest made calzones on Sunday . . . I thought this one turned out quite pretty.

Let's do Lunch

With another high school friend, Aubrey

She's living in Peoria and since I'm in Champaign, we met in the middle in Bloomington. I missed a chance to see her over the holidays and am sensing the need to get these types of visits in now before my belly brings me to a state of immobility.

Groovy

As a teenager I used to love going through my mother's closet looking for vintage articles of clothing from the 1970's. I was thrilled when she recently went through the closet herself and found me some dresses that would fit over my growing belly. This is one of my favorites--I really should have parted my hair down the middle and stuck a flower behind my ear to do the look justice.

Dorie Treats

If you know my sister-in-law Maria, you probably know she is a food blogger and a huge fan of Dorie Greenspan. For Christmas she gave us her famous baking book, and this past week I finally gave some of her recipes a try.

Caramel-topped Flan

Raisin Swirl Bread

Bittersweet Brownies

I was a little nervous about the flan since I have never made it before, but I think I managed an acceptable first attempt. Forest and I devoured the entire loaf of raisin bread in two or three days and it looks like the brownies will be disappearing soon, as well. Thanks, Maria!

Black Pasta

Above is a shot of cuttlefish ink pasta I enjoyed in Venice while we were on our honeymoon over a year and a half ago. This dish is typically referred to as "spaghetti al nero di seppia--" more or less meaning "spaghetti made black by cuttlefish."

My mother brought me back some packets of squid ink from Japan a while ago, so we decided to make our own version of black pasta. We just made a basic tomato sauce with tilapia and shrimp, added the squid ink . . .

. . . and watched as it engulfed the entire pan in blackness.

Here is what we got: