Five Things

I'm off to Chicago this weekend to visit some friends and remind myself why I don't live somewhere that is 90 degrees in the summer.  Here are five of my favorite things for this week - brought to you from a Norther California 70 degree day.

I was in between books this week and I decided to read this cookbook, given to me by John's mom, as my bedtime reading.  Consider it a Cliff's Notes version of Mastering the Art of French Cooking - one that is much more readable in a week.  It has a bunch of base recipes and slight adaptations for when you change meats or vegetables.  It's a great way to further your understanding of French cooking and to inspire you to seek more precise methods to your everyday cooking.

At the Mendocino craft fair we also picked up this nifty device.  Don't know what it is?  I didn't at first either. It's a garlic keeper that is supposed to help your garlic last longer by keeping it away from light and still allowing air to circulate.  I'll let you know how it works when I get a better idea.  For now, I just like the idea of having a place for all my garlic.

And lots of garlic I do have.  Garlic is in season, and I picked up this bunch at the market last weekend.  Needless to say, I was enamored by the fact that the stems remained attached.  Too bad I have to remove them to fit into my garlic keeper!

I finally get it!  The nuts in oatmeal thing came to be a bit late.  I had sliced almonds leftover from a recipe and have been throwing them into my oatmeal all week.  I love the crunch and flavor they add to my morning routine.

In Boonville I picked up these gorgeous bowls at one of my favorite stores of all time, Farmhouse Mercantile.  They have a slightly rough aesthetic now that the owner said would smooth out through use.  I wonder if they were intended to be used with sour cream and onion corn puffs...like I may or may not have just done.