Weekend means yummy food.....

If I were childless....well, I'd probably be a very dreadful driven attorney who had little time for much else beyond early mornings and late nights at the office, gaining my greatest joy in obliterating every possible opponent in the courtroom. But in my other world, if I were childless, I'd spend my time conquering every possible culinary hurdle, taking copious notes, and keeping a huge garden and small goat farm in order to have fabulously fresh ingredients. In the winter I'd dabble in knitting and sewing in between throwing together fragrant bubbling stews and kneading whole wheat loaves of happiness.

Since I have six little people who claim that I'm their mother, and they are so darling in their only little absurd oddities unique to each one, I have a joke of a garden, a knitting bag with several projects that I manfully tackle 20 minutes at a stretch, and a kitchen strewn with cookbooks and various cooking devices that I make use of as I can, the products of which are devoured with a shocking rapidity.

Friday night I introduced the little people to whole artichokes prepared and served with hollandaise according to the mandates of Julia Child.

Saturday night I whipped up a delightful thai dish entitled noodles and greens, which certainly doesn't sound inspiring. The rice noodles were a little intimidating since the asian noodle is the bastard child of all pasta known to our Western palates--a title my asian friends would probably take umbrage at. Perhaps they feel that we have bastardized the noodle. But the soaking of dry rice noodles, and then frying them in a very hot wok in rounds forming a sticky gelatinous mass is not really for the faint of heart. Then stirring up a strange dark brew of fermented soybean paste, fish sauce, and rice vinegar with a few other random items not found at your nearby publix....well, I thought perhaps it would be rejected by my tribe. The condiment recommended for the dish (and thai cuisine is laden with wonderful palate stretching condiments that really shames the American idea of a condiment chiefly being some sort of substance including tomatoes and corn syrup) was a mixture of cider vinegar with a bit of raw cane sugar and plenty of fresh sliced hungarian wax peppers. It was a huge hit. (Recipe is from the wonderful cook book Hot Sour Salty Sweet).

Sunday morning I brought out Baking with Julia and made the Sunny Side Up Pastries. By fixing the pastry cream the night before, using frozen ready made puff pastry and canned apricots, it didn't take long to assemble them. The family gathered around the counter to watch the production and then around the oven to watch the magic of "puff" pastry. That was pretty much the most amazing concoction ever to grace our breakfast table. I did restrain myself to a single bite since my metabolism has been forever ruined by the process of reproduction, and what a bite! They were scarfed up...all 17 pastries in record time. I did make soft boiled eggs to go with it for the few who were interested. (If you are interested, egg cups can be found at World Market).

Sunday afternoon Jon grilled boneless skinless chicken thighs I had marinated overnight in rosemary, garlic, lemon juice and fresh lemon slices, kosher salt, cracked pepper and extra virgin olive oil. I made a simple salad and then potatoes that were really....what shall I say...it is tragic that I've only now discovered this preparation technique at 34. You pare the potatoes into an olive shape 2 1/2" long and no more than 1 1/4" wide, and then cook them in olive oil and butter (only enough so they don't stick) keeping the heat at a sizzle that doesn't brown the butter. Part of the time with the lid on, part with it off. The details were very exact, and for once I decided to be a good girl and follow them exactly. It is a french preparation not at all like the American fries or southern fried potatoes. We had a sauvignon blanc with dinner (though I will confess to two black and tans consumed during the process of creating dinner) which paired beeyewtifully. I think the only way to have made it better would have been to eat outside.

Dessert? Well, I was gonna make chocolate mousse, but it was either make the mousse Saturday or get some laundry done, and I dunno....but I have a thing about clean underwear.

So tonight suffice it to say, it was only frozen fruit pops, though I've settled in with spiced chai and shortbread. I'm thinking popovers and poached eggs for breakfast tomorrow.