recap

after a very pleasant visit with my parents (I even managed to sleep on the airbed for four nights without serious back pain!), which included very successful shopping trips for Mom AND for me (a j.crew blazer and a pair of paper-bag-waist jeans from anthro on killer sale), I haven't done much this week. I think I'm a little down, missing them, and also feeling like everything I was working toward (preparing the house for my parents to see and be proud of) is kind of over. I think I just want school to start now, and I don't know what to do with myself in the meantime ... despite the obvious options of finishing those projects I haven't yet finished!

I think radishes might be even better instant-gratification-in-the-garden than growing peas. Scarcely a month from sowing to harvest. I took a bunch of these over to a friend's house this am and just left them on her porch. A lot of them are still small, but it seems every day there's at least another pair (or two) of round red shoulders ready to come out. Man, they grow fast!

I mentioned that I finished those pillows. Here's what they look like together, in daylight. I think over Christmas break I'd really like to do a little bolster pillow for the couch, maybe in teal velvet, and beaded or something? Hm.

If you haven't heard of Donna Hay, I highly recommend her cookbooks. This dinner during my parents' visit came together in a flash. You'll recognize the goat cheese and beets from my previous post. The pasta is simply topped with steamed asparagus and a brown butter that takes all of 4-6 min on the stove. It's so good that Cass insisted we make it again this week. All three recipes are from the garden lunch (I paraphrase, probably incorrectly) section of Ms. Hay's Entertaining cookbook. Don't let the title fool you - though entirely suitable for guests, Hay's recipes are simple (most have around 6-8 ingredients) and quick (a good many take less than 30 min to whip up) and thus equally suited to a rushed midweek dinner. I think I may have to look into buying all of her cookbooks at some point, hm.