Food, food and more food.

Wow. I figured it was time for another blog, and really all that I have to write about is food. I've been cooking more from that Quick Vegetarian Pleasures cookbook from my sister, Doug finally got me to try the Half-Way Cafe in Dedham, and as a treat after a couple of very stressful days back at work we got dinner from Blue Ribbon. I have pictures of all of the above, of course.

First up - my own cooking adventures. I am a much better baker than I am a cook, I'll say that. Why? I think it's because if I overcook something like a cookie or a cake it's not going to burn. It will just get tough and won't be as tasty. But if I overcook something like a steak, or some kind of vegetable, I'm likely to practically burn the house down. Such was the case with my eggplant sandwiches, but I'll get to that. Here's a few photos of my Irish Golden Raisin Bread, a variation on an Irish soda bread. The bread is quite good, and even better warm with some melted butter. It has wheat germ in it, as well as raisins, so I don't feel quite so much like a sugar-saurus when I go back for a second slice.

Next up - photos of the eggplant sandwiches. They started out with such promise, and they ended up pretty good, but the in-between part was a little touch-and-go. I was supposed to broil the sliced eggplant (that was dipped in mayonnaise and parmesan cheese), but, not surprisingly, my broiling turned into burning. Yes, the smoke detector in our house did the usual blaring and screaming of, "Fire! Fire!", but I was able to salvage most of the eggplant to make the below sandwiches. Warning - they're very garlicky, so only eat them if you're not going to worry about your vicious breath. Thankfully, Doug and I were only breathing on each other that night (and our breath even with garlic fumes will always been a thousand times fresher than any of that of our cats) so it didn't really matter to us.

Okay, so as you may have read in my previous post, Doug was sick for the New Year's holiday. I felt a little bad for him so I thought we could get his spirits lifted by seeing a movie and then going out to dinner. We saw Gran Torino, which was very good, though not really an uplifting film. I left the theater with tears running down my cheeks, but I won't say any more about that. Doug suggested we have dinner at the Half-Way Cafe in Dedham (he thinks Mikey Adams goes to the one in Dedham), and since he said it was his dying wish to go I was obliging and went. We ate what we seem to eat everywhere... sandwiches. The sandwiches were fine, the fries were fine, the atmosphere was cramped but fine, so all in all the experience was fine. Is Doug sorry he used up his dying wish? Possibly. Here are a couple of photos.


And, of course, lastly we have our most recent Blue Ribbon experience. I love, love, love Blue Ribbon, but this time it was not so good. Possibly it was because we had to drive the meal about 10 miles back to our house so by the time we got to eat it the food was cold (and I'm sorry, but food reheated in a microwave never, ever tastes as good as the original), but it could also just be because, for whatever reason, the food was not as good tonight. It didn't help that Doug ordered the meat loaf platter and he got some kind of salad with a couple of slices of meat loaf on it, and that one of our cornbreads was left out of the order (and that the one we got was the nub - who likes to eat the nub?). This experience won't keep me away, of course, but it does make me disappointed. Here's a look at some of our Blue Ribbon not-so-goodness.


What will we be eating next? Spit pea soup. Haven't made it yet, but after a doctor's appointment (I've waited almost 9 months for this appointment!) and our mattress delivery, I think a good homemade meal tonight will be a treat.