Spring weekends are busy, busy, and busy!  I have reached a point in the process of writing my novel where I have temporarily stopped mechanically writing and immersed myself in more research, which (believe it or not) gives me a bit more time to cook , blog, and read

So, first thing this morning (while listening to podcasts on the rise of the Roman Empire), I set to cooking!  

I made an egg salad.  While the organic eggs boiled away in the pot, I made mayonnaise.  I took two uncooked egg yolks, some fresh lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, some Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and whisked it in the food processor.  I slowly streamed in a mixture of grapeseed and flaxseed oils until it transformed into a creamy delicious spread.  Then, I chopped some fresh spring chives and flat leaf parsley and mixed it into my mayo.  After I peeled and cooled the eggs, I chopped them and folded them into the mayo mixture with a touch of paprika and more salt/pepper to taste. Voila! Egg Salad.



Then I set to shredding carrots for one of my favorite spring recipes, Carrot and Raisin Salad.  I make it in the spring and eat it all summer long.  This recipe also requires mayonnaise… only I omit the mustard for this batch, and add lemon zest instead.



Now, I needed some whole wheat bread to go with my egg salad… I opened the King Arthur Flour baking book and perused the bread recipes until I found one for 100 percent whole wheat bread.  Followed the book… with a few exceptions, of course…  instead of adding sunflower seeds and walnuts, I added flax seeds and honey, and instead of whole wheat flour, I used their white whole wheat flour.



Of course, I needed a soup for the week as well.  I had a ham bone with a lot of meat on it from my last smoked ham waiting to make split pea soup .  However, when I reached into the cabinet to pull out the split peas, I didn’t have any!!!   So, I ran out ( still covered in flour) to my favorite farm/gourmet store to buy them… only by the time I got there, shopped and left, I forgot the Split peas!!  Oh well *sigh*

After I returned home feeling a bit foolish, I peeked in the pantry to see what I could find… a ½ package of red lentils, a ¼ package of cannelloni beans, a ½ cup of couscous and some Orzo.  I thought… well…. Why not make a variation of Pasta Fajole… and that is what I did.  I added leeks, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, fresh parsley, spinach, cherry tomatoes, homemade chicken stock…  a little bit of everything including the hambone.  A few hours later, I had a big pot of soup.



So, as I sit here, sharing my cooking experiences with you, I am enjoying an egg salad sandwich on whole wheat bread with a side of carrot and raisin salad, and a bowl of pasta fajole soup.  Now, to watch The Curiosity Shop on PBS.  G’night folks