The Barefoot Kitchen Witch: Typing in my Tiara

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Typing in my Tiara

We had Julia's birthday party yesterday. Family and some friends, food, cake and ice cream, and - best of all - nice weather, so people could spend some of their time outside.

Today...the cleanup. I didn't do much more than pack up the leftover food and stick it in the fridge (not that there was much of it) last night.

And that tiara I mentioned? Yes, I've been sitting here checking email and other peoples' blogs this morning wearing one of the tiaras I'd bought as favors for the other little princesses that were invited to the party. Julia told me to. So I did. Not much fight in me this morning. Thing is, none of the invitees from her daycare came, so I'm left with a lovely selection of sequined tiaras in assorted colors. And bags of assorted necklaces and rings and bracelets, too.

Right at this very moment, Julia is traipsing through the house in her underwear, adorned with a necklace, three rings, and a bejewelled barrette in her hair. She is stunning.

The party was fun - really, a nice number of people. I'm actually glad the daycare chicks didn't come, though it would have been nice if their parents had RSVP'd so I wouldn't have planned for their attendance, just in case they showed.

But anyway...Julia had fun, and that was the main thing.

The birthday cake I made is going to be the focus of my Tuesdays With Dorie post tomorrow, so I'm afraid I won't be sharing pictures of it today. I can share this with you, however: I had asked Julia several times (just to make sure she didn't change her mind) what she wanted for a cake. She wanted a "strawberry cake" with purple on the outside and pink flowers. So that's what she got, with a bit of artistic license on my part.

(Update: Julia now has 4 necklaces, 2 barrettes, one hair clip, and no rings. I think the rings were a bit cumbersome. She can only handle so much bling.

Sigh.

I'm just looking around. You know, I had the house looking so nice...but whatever. The debris is proof of a good party, I guess.

Gotta go get Alex moving along for school...and then it's time to tackle the kitchen.

Talk to you later...

Posted on May 19, 2008 in Julia, Musings | Permalink

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Comments

I had to laugh at the image of your daughter traipsing about in nothing but underwear and jewelry. I don't really have to imagine it, since I've seen it so often in my own house... =) Brianna is five, and has been going through a princess/fashion plate stage for... oh, about 2 1/2 years now. I love to see some of the things she comes up with. I spent part of last evening painting her fingernails. We had a deal--if she would really stop biting her nails and let them grow, I'd buy the princess nail polish she's been wanting. Fortunately all of the colors are really light and pretty much just make her nails look sparkly.

Posted by:Di | May 19, 2008 at 08:54 AM

We haven't reached the nail polish stage YET - but I see it on the horizon. Several of the little girls in her gymnastics class have pretty pink or purple toenails every week, and I see Julia looking at them. I know the wheels are turning in that tiara-clad head of hers. It's just a matter of time.

Posted by:Jayne | May 19, 2008 at 09:05 AM

woah.. doesn't tt look grand? i wld be thrilled to have such a pretty and delicious bdae cake! gimme it. hehe

Posted by:Sihan | May 20, 2008 at 10:23 AM

Books of Food and Cooking

Theodora FitzGibbon: A taste of London: Traditional food
Recipe mentioned: Crumpets. A bit of my history: Like "Great British Cooking" below, this belonged to my late grandmother. I like this book because of all the old photos interwoven with the traditional recipes. I also liked the flavor of this crumpet recipe better than the one in "Great British Cooking" - but I can't really say which recipe is more authentic, since I don't have firsthand knowledge of how a crumpet is REALLY supposed to taste. (***)
Jane Garmey: Great British Cooking: Wellkept Secret, A
Recipe mentioned: Crumpets. A bit of my history: this originally belonged to my mom's mother. It's interesting to me that she had cookbooks about British cooking, as she was born and raised in London, and wouldn't she just KNOW how to cook like a Brit? And of course that's a totally ridiculous assumption, as people aren't just born knowing how to cook their native cuisine. Anyway, I've also made the Yorkshire pudding from this book, and it's just as good as the recipe my grandmother and mother had/have used all these years. So that's something. (***)
Dorie Greenspan: Baking: From My Home to Yours
Recipe mentioned: As of today (4/10/08), only the Most Extraodinary Lemon Cream Tart. A bit of my history: Actually, more like the future - I've joined the group Tuesdays with Dorie - and so just about every Tuesday you can expect to see another recipe from this book. I've got a separate recipe category just for those posts, too. This is gonna be fun! (*****)
George Greenstein: Secrets of a Jewish Baker: Authentic Jewish Rye and Other Breads
Recipe Mentioned: Potato Rye Bread with Onion and Caraway. A bit of my history: I bought this book years ago, when I was in the midst of either a breadmaking frenzy or a Judaism frenzy - or probably both at the same time. Though I messed up the posted recipe when I made it recently, I've baked plenty of other things from this book which have turned out fine. Clearly the problem with the Rye bread was mine and mine alone! (*****)
Charmaine Solomon: The Complete Asian Cookbook
Recipes mentioned: Mutton Kari (Lamb Curry), Garam Masala. A bit of my history: I think we bought the hardcover version of this as a bargain book. It's a huge treasure trove of all dishes Asian. So much to explore...so little time. (*****)
Lynne Rossetto Kasper: The Italian Country Table: Home Cooking from Italy's Farmhouse Kitchens
Recipe mentioned: Apricot-Pistachio Pockets (Ravioli Dolci). A bit of my history: I have two of Ms. Kasper's books - this and her huge success - "The Splendid Table." I may have said this before, but I think somewhere in my soul there's some Italian in me. Something about the food resonates with me. I can't explain it - but there it is. (*****)
Janice A. Wilke (editor): For Days of Auld Lang Syne
Sorry - you won't find this one anywhere. I have the only copy. Before I got married, my mother compiled recipes provided by family and friends on both Bill's side and my side of our soon-to-be-joined families. The result is a cornucopia of familiar and new recipes for everything from my sister's Cinnamon Toast to Lemon Sponge Pie, to a couple of Bill's mom's German Christmas cookies. The book is a treasure trove of ideas, and clearly a labor of love. (*****)
Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine: The Best Recipe
Recipe mentioned: American Pie Dough for Fruit Pies. A bit of my history: Our friend John gave this to me for Christmas in 2002. Inside he wrote "Jayne, I'm not quite sure this will help, as you are already the best cook..." A very kind and flattering inscription indeed. Anything produced by the Cooks Illustrated people is gold. I love their trial and error approach to finding these "Best Recipes" - and the explanation of what they did, what happened, and what ultimately worked best. (*****)
Bernard Clayton: Bernard Claytons New Complete Book of Breads
Recipe mentioned: Royal Hibernian Brown Loaf. A bit of my history: I bought this years ago while I was on a bread baking kick. Not really a kick. A reunion. Mr. Clayton's tome is 724 pages of recipes and tips and history and background and culture and back story - not including the index. The chapters and the recipes they contain are well organized and easy to follow, easy to understand, and inspiring. (*****)
Brinna B. Sands: The King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook/Dedicated to the Pure Joy of Baking
Recipe mentioned: Irish Whiskey Soda Bread. A bit of my history: It's not so much a history as it is an everyday facet of my life. Not the book, specifically, but King Arthur Flour. Never Bleached, Never Bromated. I don't think I've ever bought any flour other than King Arthur, unless it was a less-popular kind of flour purchased from a small, organic mill. I receive the King Arthur flour catalog year-round. It's where I buy my 100-pack of half-sheet-pan sized parchment paper. I've been to their retail store in VT. I attended a bread baking seminar they sponsored years ago - with my mother and Bill's mother. King Arthur flour runs in my veins. Okay, not really. They'd be really clogged if that was happening. Anyway. I've made some of the muffin recipes in this book, probably a quick bread or two, and who knows what else. Everything has come out great. It's a huge book, very friendly in tone, and filled to overflowing. (*****)
Alice Benjamin and Harriett Corrigan: Cooking with Conscience
Recipe Mentioned: A Mess of Pottage. A bit of my history: I think this was my mother's book originally and somehow I ended up with it. Published in 1975, the subtitle is "A book for people concerned about world hunger." So it's vegetarian and healthy and socially conscious. I need to go through this book again and try out some of the other recipes - I've only ever made the "mess of pottage." (****)
Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck: Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Volume 1)
Recipe mentioned: Leek and Potato Soup. A bit of my history: As I've mentioned elsewhere in this blog, I grew up watching Julia Child on PBS and she and my mother were my two biggest food influences growing up. Julia was like family, somehow. She was a regular person who goofed up now and then and could laugh about it. Her fearlessness and sense of humor appealed to me tremendously (and still do) and that, combined with my mother's cooking and adventurousness in the kitchen were a flesh and blood example of Julia's message, I think. I also love cooking shows that are in the Julia tradition. Programs that teach by example. Chefs and cooks who are passionate about food and can convey that effectively, so that you are ready to rush out and buy ingredients and try that recipe right away. That, I think, is part of Julia Child's legacy. She rocked. (*****)
Howard Early: Fast Breads (Crossing Press Specialty Cookbooks.)
Recipe mentioned: Quick Onion Flat Bread. A bit of my history: I bought this book many years ago when I was obsessively buying bread books of every kind. I lived in a cockroachy apartment outside of Boston and had a tiny kitchen with a half inch of counter space, but I managed to bake a few things anyway. (***)
Rick Bayless: Mexico One Plate At A Time
Recipe mentioned: Chiles Rellenos. A bit of my history: We've made quite a few recipes from this book and every single one of them has been fantastic, such as the Ceviche (lime-marinated seafood) and the Tamales. (*****)
Betty Crocker: Betty Crocker's Mexican Made Easy
Recipe mentioned: Green Sauce. A bit of my history: The first meal my husband ever cooked for me was Mexican, and some of the recipes came from this book, which he bought as a bargain book at Building 19 for $2.99. I think it's out of print now. The Green Sauce is fabulous. (***)
Nobuyuki Matsuhisa: Nobu: The Cookbook
Recipes mentioned: Soft Shell Crab Roll; Seafood Ceviche, Nobu Style; Ceviche Sauce. A bit of my history: Actually, not a long history with this one - I've had it maybe a year or so. But I'd heard of Nobu and had seen him on an episode of Martha Stewart years ago, and we love sushi here, so it was a natural addition to the library. (*****)