Not Pictured: The Great Gumball Fakeout!

A number of weeks ago, I attended the opening for Dan's installation (and the new Andy Warhol exhibit) at the Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, NJ.  You may recall I helped "weed" stickers for his piece a while back.



The photos I took of the artwork look great, but the photos I took in the reception hall came out either dark and murky (no flash) or harsh and unflattering (with flash).  So I'll just tell you (instead of showing you a crummy picture) that there was a nice selection of flavored puddings in shot glasses and delicious cookies to enjoy, as well as fruit, vegetables, and cheese.

There were also tall glass vases filled with large, round balls.  Attractive as decoration, the vases contained serving tongs, so the "balls" were clearly meant to be eaten.  And my dad and I both took some assuming they were malted milk balls or chocolates of some sort.  But they were gumballs.  Giant gumballs.

Gumballs, when one is in the mood for them, can be delightful.  BUT gumballs are chewed over time and keep one's mouth occupied.  You don't just eat a gumball and then move on to the pudding.  And a gumball is seldom found on a buffet at a reception.  It made for a surprising moment in my mouth, and (because I stood near the table and watched other guests) in the mouths of many attendees.  Most of the adults chewed a few times, looked surprised, and headed for the trash can.

It wasn't bad gum, of course, but there were cookies to be eaten!

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Photo Essay: Our Baby Shower (February)

Host: Rachel





Spread: Cheese Fondue with fruit and vegetables, pickles, spice cake. I enjoyed the food so much I didn't get any photos of myself, and very few photos of any of the guests!




Decorations: Tissue paper garland (made by me), flowers and butterflies (made and donated by FEAST organizers).  Flowers.




Activity: Draw a picture for our homemade alphabet book!



Thanks, friends!
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"We'll eat you up, we love you so."

Here's to the people and restaurants who provided special snacks and meals in the first several weeks after I gave birth to my son (three weeks ago today).

• My smarty-pants husband had Thai delivered from Cheers for the two of us, our doula, and the midwife, an hour or two after our home birth.
   
• Moss, Rachel, and Hero brought fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, biscuits, and slices of pie from Pies 'n' Thighs for dinner that first night.  Turns out that two pieces of fried chicken was EXACTLY what I wanted after 8 1/2 hours of labor.
  
  
• Nick came by with dark beer (good for milk production, they say) and ice cream and chips and...numerous other good things.  Matthew C. also brought beer (which turned out to be more for my husband than for me).
  
  
• Tim and Holly made lasagna and fennel salad, and delivered it with chocolate cake (and brought their gorgeous 6-month old daughter).
  
  
• David and Molly donated homemade chicken pot pies, ready to cook, and chocolate-coconut hand pies (pictured above).  Oh, yum!
  
  
• Carmine's was the first place we "ate out" with the baby.  We only purchased two slices of pizza at the counter, but they still let us sit in the back (which is usually reserved for people ordering from the menu), away from the construction noise on the street.

Inedible but Lovely "special mention" goes to Willow and August's cherry blossoms and two bunches of flowers from Matt C. -- not to mention all the other friends who stopped by or mailed cards and gifts of rattles, blankets, onesies, books, lullabies, and more.  Sorry I haven't named you all here!

I feel really, truly blessed. 

A few notes from the cookie jar...

5 1/2 days old!

"Cookie" was my grandfather's nickname when he was a little boy (and, as he became an adult, people also called him Cook).

As of Thursday, March 24th at 12:34 pm -- a good time for lunch or anything delicious to come into one's life -- I have my own little boy "Cookie." Cook is his middle name, officially, and I hope my grandfather, who passed away in December and is very missed, would be pleased to know that.

This little boy is tantalizing and sweet, of course, but I'm also working out how to fit blogging into my new routine.  I have no intention of quitting the snacks, so fit it in I will.  And, I realized, a new vista of snacking has opened up before me once the kid is on solid food.  How exciting!

Coincidentally also regarding cookies (and also of the non-edible variety), Rachel's 2 1/2 year old daughter was playing with my phone last night.  She and I enjoy the app Cookie Doodle.  It's pretty fun.  You can (virtually) bake, decorate, and eat a whole cookie jar's worth of treats.

Here's a photo I found in my inbox this morning.  I guess my little friend accidentally emailed it to me (she's smart, but not smart enough to have done it on purpose).  It features just a few of the cookies we've made using this app.

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Early Birthday Presents

I love the day that Easter candy first makes its appearance in the stores -- or, at least, the day I first notice it.  That day was yesterday, and I snagged a couple of my favorites because today's my birthday and I "deserve" a treat.

Though I prefer an original Cadbury egg over the other flavors (the filling is always creamier in the former), orange is nice for a change.

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Shower Power!

Jeff and Michelle are having a baby (they beat me to it).  I felt privileged to attend one of their baby showers last weekend -- and not just because the food served there was excellent.



But it was.







The party was held in the back room of, and catered by, a charming local bar called The Richardson.  They laid out a great spread of grilled sandwiches/panini, veggies, pickles, cheese, deviled eggs, pretzels, and meats.



I believe I ate quite a bit. 





Seriously intense, moist, and attractive cupcakes (chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, and carrot cake) were provided by another local favorite shop, The Blue Stove.

Congratulations, Jeff and Michelle!  And thanks (also to Jeff's mom, who hosted) for the party!

One last gasp of cookies

I made the leftover Mrs. Fields dough into cookies (102 of them) and cut up 60 pieces of double-decker fudge to take to church today.  And now I think I'm due for a little cookie-making break.  Maybe I'll concentrate on eating the leftovers.

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Brunch Bunch

I digress: A short film with our hosts -- unrelated to today's brunch, but v. nice.










(photo by Dan)


(photo by Dan)



Anna and Mike hosted the most charming all-day New Year's Day "brunch" I've ever attended. Seriously. Well, it was also the only all-day brunch to which I've yet been invited, but it was better than I could have imagined -- and I do tend to get my hopes up when it comes to holiday food.

The day started with fruit and doughnuts and egg dishes (etc.), transitioned to chili around lunchtime, and when we left (late in the afternoon) there were promises of spaghetti and meatballs for evening stragglers.

Oh. My.


(photo by Dan)



Babies, dogs, adults -- everybody seemed to be having a lovely time. I certainly did. The food was plentiful and delicious, and it didn't hurt that their (under renovation construction) apartment is gorgeous, too.


(photo by Dan)


(photo by Dan)

My favorite dish? Mike's Hash Brown Casserole (recipe on Epicurious). I will be making this for myself. It was crunchy outside and creamy inside. I had two enormous helpings, with hot sauce.


 


These fancifully-flavored doughnuts from "Dough" were also a big hit.

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Photo Essay: Thanksgiving Flashback

(some photos by Dan)

Did you notice what's missing?  Dessert!!  For the first time in my life, I was too full to eat any Thanksgiving dessert.  I blame the baby.

I had pie for breakfast the next day.


A few of our recipe links:
Bacon-Jalapeno Stuffing
Cranberry Horseradish Dressing
Green Beans with Balsamic-Shallot Butter


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