Friday, July 28, 2006

Checking in

Posting regularly and often is nearly impossible when one is filling their time eating and cooking and planning the eating and cooking. I am remiss! But, this is what Hambone and Spice are up to at the moment:

1. Planning a dinner party to be held tomorrow evening. Despite wicked hot weather (90s-100 degrees F), we're making fish soup. I had a really great fish soup at Margaux, a St. Paul bistro, a couple weeks ago (look for it soon in an installment of Alpha and Beta's eating adventures), and I can't get the fennel and saffron out of my mind. We'll take a trip to Coastal Seafoods tomorrow morning to buy the freshest assorted white fish fillets and shellfish in stock. The uncertainty of what is available is only slightly nerve-wracking so I phoned today for a preview. The fishmongers are very nice, and even a little interested to hear what we're cooking, so I think we'll be in good hands.

2. Assembling clothes, books, and art supplies to be packed for a ten-day trip to France. Hambone, Spice, Alpha, and Beta are travelling to Reims by way of Paris (naturellement). Many reservations have been booked for bistros and many intentions have been set for lazy afternoons in cafes. And, in Reims, we will witness friends James and Ulrika as they tie the knot.

3. Spice is reading Michael Ruhlman's
The Reach of a Chef, and she knows already that she will re-read it. Go get your own copy!