Outside

If I can just squeeze myself underneath this air conditioner, I know I can get outside!

Gaby

What's up? I'm Gaby. I'm chilling in a box.

Hiding

Someone's not doing a very good job hiding....

Animals

This blog clearly needs more pictures of pets. Herewith, some animals!

Chloe

My mom's horse, Dino

MM and two fat donkeys!

Zeke, one of my mom's dogs, taking a drink or taking a bath, or both

Patton!

Roasted Cauliflower with Gremolata Bread Crumbs

Thank you daylight saving time for allowing me to cook before the sun goes down! Now I have proof that I don't live in a cave.

I have already posted about this recipe here, but I thought it was worth an updated picture and a nudge to all of you who have not tried this recipe yet. Try it! It is so good! Crunchy and salty goodness. (The original recipe is from Food52.)

And because I can't help myself, here is a gratuitous picture of Gaby (working on her "serious" face):

Gaby and Chloe

How cute are these two?!

Patton is depressed that he can't climb onto the window sill.

Pasta Ponza

 My pathetic unappetizing picture of the finished dish.

I tried a recipe from Giada's new cookbook, Giada at Home (which Giada has signed, because, yes, we are besties), last night called Pasta Ponza (recipe can be found here). The dish originated from a trip she took with her family to the small island of Ponza off the coast of Naples in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Ponza is also featured in this month's La Cucina Italiana magazine.

This dish was really easy to put together and had delicious flavors. My only issue with it was the texture at the end. The breadcrumbs turned to mush. This may have been because I didn't have any Italian breadcrumbs on hand (although I could have sworn some were in the cupboard) and I didn't feel like washing the food processor, so that ruled out making my own, so I used Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs). They just didn't get crunchy enough in the oven, which is odd, because they are usually crunchier than Italian breadcrumbs. I suppose I could have left them in longer, but the pasta was done cooking and I was hungry. Because I did really like the flavors altogether: the juicy, sweet cooked tomatoes, the salty, vinegary capers, along with the mounds of Parmesan cheese (the Pecorino Romano was $11 for one tub (!) so I used the Parmesan I already had), I will make this again, but I think I will try to bake the whole thing together to see if the breadcrumbs will get crunchy.

The most exciting part of this was the gorgeous tomatoes I bought:

Kind of look like bowling balls in this picture!

And I used the ridiculous cat bowls my mom bought me:

They are Japanese and we found them at a consignment shop in RI. They just make me smile when I look at them. And everyone knows I am a crazy cat lady anyway, so I might as well have cat dishes!

Marshal Mike was feeling really sick last night (those damn bandits!), so he slept from about 7-9:30pm. When he reheated his pasta at 9:30, I asked him what he thought and he said, "I'm sick, I can't taste anything." And he shoveled some more into his mouth. Great.

Gaby

Hi, I'm Gaby. Mom is letting me guest blog today. 

My sister Chloe and I had an exciting day (that's Chloe in the sink - she's weird sometimes), so I thought I'd tell you about it.

The windows were open because it finally cooled down (Chloe and I were awfully cranky when it was so hot the past couple days), so we got to watch birds all day. Well, we watched for a little while. Then we were exhausted from bird watching, so we napped for a couple hours.

After napping, I decided that I should rearrange Mom's jewelry on her dresser. She loves it when I do that and always talks to me very loudly when she finds out about it. Can't wait for her to get home!

Then I pulled some food out of the automatic feeder. Chloe thinks it is annoying to have to do that, but I think it is fun. I do it even when there is food in the bowl! Chloe played with the water bowl while I was eating. She got water all over the floor; Mom's going to have lots to do when she gets home. I needed another nap after eating, so I stretched out in the afternoon sun.

Then I decided that I had such a rough day that I needed a beer to relax.

Look at my cool Red Sox bottle opener:

I love the Red Sox. I am so glad baseball season has started again. The Red Sox are going all the way this year. Oh look, Mom just got home! I have to go show her what I did today!