DIES. DYING. (Julia Child Remixed)

GUYS. YOU GUYS. THIS. THIS HERE.

Throw it in a bowl. Call it something fancy. (Panzanella con sardine)

Dear Joanne and Jenny,

I HAVE QUESTIONS.

How does an adult woman:

• Feed herself a balanced diet?
• Balance a social life with necessary time alone?
• Keep her room relatively clean at all times?

• Find time to write a blog?
• Remember to take her vitamins?
• Remember to buy gifts for peoples' birthdays?
• Preserve her youth?  

• Have a productive argument with a man?
• Have a productive argument with a female friend?
• Be friends with her parents?
• Balance the urge to nurture with the urge to be nurtured?

• Find time to work out every day without it becoming something that defines her?
• Dress herself well enough to give off the illusion of competence?

• Figure out what the hell she's going to do for the rest of her life?
• Be okay with that/those decision(s)?
• Get rid of painful cystic acne?

• Drink enough water so that her pee isn't as bright as Gatorade?
• Figure out how to get people excited about her weird-ass, esoteric art?
• Remember to shave both underarms before donning a sleeveless dress?

 
 I NEED TO KNOW.

PANZANELLA CON SARDINE

"Pan" means bread. "Zanella" therefore means awesome way to consume. "Con Sardine" because sardines are delicious and full of great things. Eat them.

I make this every time I get my hands on ripe, heavy, heirloom tomatoes.

Quality matters! Because this is a simple recipe, each component must be delicious enough to eat on its own without any dressing up.

INGREDIENTS

one large, delicious tomato, chopped (1-2 cups)

1 cup really good croutons or stale/crusty bread

3-4 green onions, chopped

1 can sardines in oil

1 tsp kosher salt

Pepper to taste

(lemon juice--I don't add this, but you might to balance out the sweetness of the tomato)

Directions:

Chop, mix, enjoy. Adjust seasonings as-needed.

You can make a pretty amazing salad by varying any of the four ingredients.

For tomato: Zucchini, Avocado, cucumber

For green onion: White/yellow onion (Chop finely and use less), basil, shiso (whatever herbs you like)

Sardines in oil: Tuna in oil, fresh fish, chicken, soft white cheese (mozzerella, feta, etc. Add olive oil to taste if you go the cheese route), beans (white or fava or chickpeas or black-eyed peas

Breakfast for Dinner

Hello Ladies,

I am navigating the whole new world known as "Motherhood" with my daughter Kristen,

my husband Jonathan,

and our dog, Busy

We started off our marriage in good ol' Utah, but it was not meant to last and after Kristen was born we ran back to California.

Kristen is now 6 months old and we have just started her on solid foods. I am so excited for her to experience the wonderful dishes that Joanne and Shelly will create for her. The poops will be nuclear but watching her turn from a blob infant into a toddler will be worth it.

Completely appealed by the presence of broccoli

Offering her a piece of peach

Rejecting the peach (it was good, her lose is my gain)

One night Jonathan told me he'd like french toast for dinner. I didn't have any bread suitable for french toast plus I didn't have any recipes (I like recipes. I like planning. I am not a spontaneous person). A few days later I had gotten a loaf of sourdough bread from Boudins for free (yaay free!). I decided to make a casserole instead of a traditional french toast because I don't have the time to stand in front of a stove when I need to watch Kristen.

This recipe turned out so good Jonathan now refers to it as my "amazing french toast recipe"

French Toast Bake

• 1 loaf sourdough
• 8 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 TB vanilla
Topping:
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces

Instructions

1. Cut loaf into cubes and place evenly in a greased 9x13 pan.
2. In a bowl, mix together eggs, milk, heavy cream, sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread.
3. Make sure all the bread is evenly coated and set aside while you make the topping.
4. Mix together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.
5. Cut in butter with this mixture until crumbly.
6. Sprinkle crumbly mixture evenly over the bread.
7. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on how soft you like it.

Jonathan was nice enough to take Kristen with him while he ran an errand after work, so I was super focused on getting this in the oven before they got back. I was so focused that I forgot to take pictures as I made the french toast bake. I even forgot to take a picture of the finished product. Instead of food I offer you pictures of Kristen :) She's fucking awesome <3