Lately, my days are filled with
Shortly after returning from our New Year's Eve trip to Austin, my dad had a mild heart attack that ended with him having triple bypass surgery. I flew back to Austin to be with him, my sister, brother and the rest of my family to support him before, during and after the operation. It was a terrifying experience - for him and for us, but I'm happy to report he's continuing to recover very well from the surgery. I've been calling him just about every evening to get a rundown of how he's feeling and check up on him. Living abroad is never harder than when hardship or tragedy befall far-away family, and I know I could not have gotten through it without the endless support of my friends near and far.
I can't stop obsessing about my knit projects. There's always SO much I want to knit and never enough time to do it. Right now I'm working on 2 big projects but filling in my cravings with smaller ones, like this striped shawl and finished hat. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all just quit our day jobs and do our hobbies for a living?
3. browsing Etsy and my favorite shop, Jule’s Atelier (more on this later),
4. planning a trip to Rome that promises to rekindle my love of all things Italian,
5. cooking, eating and indulging.
After restocking the fridge last weekend, I got back into the swing of cooking this week. From salmon vapeur to yummy eggplant napoleon (inspired by my friend, Kristin), it felt good to be back in the kitchen cooking up hot meals after eating mostly on the go when I was with my dad in Austin. Gui and I spent Saturday doing our own things, but met up for a late lunch at our favorite little brasserie/coffee-and-ice-cream-shop on Ile Saint Louis . I decided to go all out and order both my favorite coffee drink (café viennois) and a new dessert that I just couldn't pass up after seeing the guy next to me finish his plate - pain perdu à la sauce caramel beurre salé with a scoop of Berthillon moka ice cream. And that was just dessert - I had a plate of boeuf bourgignon to start!
- phone calls to dad to see how he’s doing after having a triple bypass last week,
Shortly after returning from our New Year's Eve trip to Austin, my dad had a mild heart attack that ended with him having triple bypass surgery. I flew back to Austin to be with him, my sister, brother and the rest of my family to support him before, during and after the operation. It was a terrifying experience - for him and for us, but I'm happy to report he's continuing to recover very well from the surgery. I've been calling him just about every evening to get a rundown of how he's feeling and check up on him. Living abroad is never harder than when hardship or tragedy befall far-away family, and I know I could not have gotten through it without the endless support of my friends near and far.- knitting, knitting and knitting,
I can't stop obsessing about my knit projects. There's always SO much I want to knit and never enough time to do it. Right now I'm working on 2 big projects but filling in my cravings with smaller ones, like this striped shawl and finished hat. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all just quit our day jobs and do our hobbies for a living?4. planning a trip to Rome that promises to rekindle my love of all things Italian,
Gui and I are planning to spend Valentine's Day weekend in Rome with another couple we're friends with. I'm so stoked! I've been using BBC Languages to try and refresh my memory of the 3 years of Italian I've managed to completely forget. It's amazing how little I remember of a language I loved learning and speaking so much. Hopefully, it'll all come pouring back into my brain once we're sur place, but I'm not holding my breath.
5. cooking, eating and indulging.
After restocking the fridge last weekend, I got back into the swing of cooking this week. From salmon vapeur to yummy eggplant napoleon (inspired by my friend, Kristin), it felt good to be back in the kitchen cooking up hot meals after eating mostly on the go when I was with my dad in Austin. Gui and I spent Saturday doing our own things, but met up for a late lunch at our favorite little brasserie/coffee-and-ice-cream-shop on Ile Saint Louis . I decided to go all out and order both my favorite coffee drink (café viennois) and a new dessert that I just couldn't pass up after seeing the guy next to me finish his plate - pain perdu à la sauce caramel beurre salé with a scoop of Berthillon moka ice cream. And that was just dessert - I had a plate of boeuf bourgignon to start! 
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Missing you guys ... I made some boeuf bourguignon on Friday for my house warming party. ;-)
ReplyDeletemmmm berthillon icecream.
ReplyDeleteSending your father good wishes for a speedy recovery.
I hope your father continues to recover fully and quickly!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you've had a very busy time of it. That food looks delicious....mind sharing the eggplant recipe? Please? (I'm desperately trying to learn to like eggplant.)
Justin, we miss you and your DELICIOUS boeuf bourgignon, too!! Lots!
ReplyDeleteChristine, thank you very much! Isn't Berthillon the bomb?! I especially love it in the summer when they have my favorite flavors - mirabelle and Reine Claude. Miam!
Kalee, thank you!! For the eggplant I used the recipe here http://bit.ly/dL341X - using just one eggplant, replacing sliced tomatoes with canned diced tomatoes seasoned with basil & garlic (or pre-made pasta sauce would work too)and topping each stack off with another layer of tomato sauce & mozzarella. Enjoy! :)
Let me know if you cook up the Eggplant Napoleon. It was a fun, and of course delicious dish to prepare. I've been trying to cut down on my meat consumption, so I'm always looking for good veggie options.
ReplyDeleteThe food looks great! I went to Italy with my family over Christmas...the food was awesome!!! Glad your dad is doing better...continued health to him and hook 'em, horns!
ReplyDeleteSending good thoughts your way. I'm glad your father is having a positive recovery.
ReplyDeleteYour dad looks awesome! :)
ReplyDeleteImagining him home perhaps, by now, wishing your Dad to even stronger then before. I hate to think that the Docs might limit the BBQ intake, remembering the great places you directed me to a year ago.
ReplyDelete