May the organic produce be with you.

I'm pretty sure this isn't exactly new, but I just came across it thanks to L who forwarded it to me on behalf of her friend C who I believe worked on its production. Please do yourself a favor and watch this...and beware of (organic) food particles that may shoot out your nose as a result.

Comfort food

I didn't do a single thing all weekend except sleep on the sofa and watch endless hours of mindless television. It used to be that I'd brood about this for a week: how could I possibly have let an entire weekend go by without doing anything productive?

Shame on me! Sure, it was kind of hot and unbearable out today, but I should have at least gotten up and gone for a walk with the bf or something. Alas, I'm letting it go. I'm allowed to just chill...especially when my body is telling me I need to.

And so are you! So, rest up, breathe, don't think about tomorrow, and cook up a big bowl of baked rigatoni.

Today's recipe:
1/2 lb cooked rigatoni (or penne or ziti)
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1 c milk
1/2 cup grated pecorino cheese (or any sharp, Italian cheese)
1 c mascarpone cheese (or any soft cheese)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter over low heat; whisk in flour until well blended. Add milk and raise heat to medium, regularly whisking to avoid burning, about 4 minutes. Add cheeses and stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Pour over rigatoni and stir until well blended.

Spoon pasta mixture equally into 4 small, ovenproof bowls. Place under broiler until cheese browns and bubbles, about 4 minutes.

Mmm, lobster.

Where we ate for Marc's birthday:

Fork it.

Marc and I took a wonderful walk on Sunday through Greenwich Village. It was a rare, unseasonably warm day for April. I've been struggling with some obscure stomach virus for about 2 weeks--which didn't stop me from having a bite at Peanut Butter & Co.--and was grateful to finally be out of the apartment. This is also a rare photo of Marc with a near-smile on his face, so I'm thrilled!

Yum, yum, yummy, yum, peanut butter, yum, yum. I love peanut butter, yummy, yum, yum, yum. This is my peanut butter song. Yummy, yum, yum.

Vive la French Toast!

Not many meals can give me such a warm and fuzzy feeling as French toast. Since childhood, I look forward to Sunday breakfast to include freshly-squeezed orange juice and thick, buttery slices of bread dipped in batter and grilled, leaving it oh-so-crispy on the outside and soft, warm, and gooey on the inside. It's one of those meals that leaves me feeling so stuffed at the end of it, but sad that there's no more when I'm done! As Italian as my parents were (both of them immigrants), French toast was always welcomed on Sundays. Back then, though, we had plain white bread instead of the brioche used in the recipe below. Over time, I've "sophisticated" my taste and am glad I can appreciate the heavenly goodness of the French toast I eat now, with all due respect to my mom.

Today, Marc and I celebrated two weeks since he quit smoking by heading over to our favorite brunch place around the corner, 7A. We used to have their French toast practically every week, but then we realized it wasn't the healthiest thing to do, so it's been a few months since we've been there...and, oh, how we enjoyed going back! I'm sure the recipe that follows is close enough to the awesome one they serve up, but I have to admit I've never made it myself as I'd rather walk 50 feet and have them serve me instead.

After our brunch, we quickly showered and took off for a day of shopping in the 'hood. Memorial Day weekend, as most of summer, is fairly quiet here in the East Village, so we took advantage of going around town while everyone else was gone.

I was totally digging roaming about until we ended up in midtown, only to find out, apparently, that THIS is where everyone goes when they're not at the beach. We ended up in H&M and Bed, Bath & Beyond, but it wasn't as bad as I feared, with the exception that I spent nearly $300 and still never ended up with the vacuum cleaner we had set out to get in the first place. But, I have a really pretty camisole, and a nifty blazer, so who cares about a dirty apartment when I'm looking so cute?!?

Today's recipe:
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
6 slices brioche
2 bananas, ripe
1 stick butter combined with 2 Tbsp rum (or 1/2 tsp rum extract) warmed and melted over low heat, about 5 minutes

Beat first six ingredients in medium bowl. Dip each slice of bread into batter, coating both sides well. Grill in pan coated with 2 Tbsp butter or oil over medium heat until crisp, about 4 minutes per side. Serve with sliced banana and drizzle with rum butter.