Mrs. Rogers Neighborhood

Bread and Wine was a book that I loved.  The author...I just get her.  Her passion for people and food is something that resonates deep in my core.  She talks of the importance of being honest about your struggles, being vulnerable to others, being a good friend, wife and mother, and how all of this is possible around the dinner table.  Inviting people into your home and life wholeheartedly and without reservation will only make us better and will only bring others into a safe place when they spend time around us.

I stole all these images from Google images, and there were a ton more options.  I loved that because it made me feel like different parts of this book will stand out to different people.  I have already made one of the recipes the author shares, and absolutely intend to make more.  I think my generation is doing a disservice to the world by not hosting well, and I want to remedy that.  Books like this will help me do so!  It gives me confidence to remember that having people…

Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar  (I used red wine vinegar) 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for the water 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 2 pounds green beans trimmed 1 small fennel bulb thinly sliced (about 1 1/4 cups) 3/4 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped 1 4-ounce log fresh goat cheese
Directions
1) In a medium bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Gradually add the oil and whisk until well combined; set aside.
2) Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain, run under cold water to cool, and set aside until you're ready to assemble the salad.
3) In a large bowl, combine the green beans, fennel, and walnuts. Add the goat cheese and vinaigrette just before serving. Toss well and serve at room temperature or chilled.
You may remember my Chili Lime Snap Pea Recipe from Real Simple awhile back, well this …

About 3 years ago a friend of mine and I checked out a spin class around the corner from my work. I will be the first to tell you fitness was not as important to me then as it is now, although I was in denial about that at the time. I mean, sure, I wanted to be skinny, but I really didn't want to try THAT hard to accomplish it. Suffice it to say, my world got rocked. I pushed my way through the class, not having any idea what I had gotten myself into, my body wasn't ready, which was evidenced by the way that I struggled to walk the next few days, but truthfully, my mind was the bigger problem. I was not in a place to push myself and I had some healing to do. Regardless, my stubborn nature made me put my foot down and say I would never go back.
About a month ago, that same friend sent me a Groupon to the same Spin studio, and I jumped at the chance to go back and prove to myself I had changed. I wanted to see the progress and be reminded that I have grown both physically …

This Food I Ate Friday comes without a picture, because, let's be honest, I forgot as usual to take one!  But, please, do not let that hold you back from making this delicious dish.  Bill and I had a bunch of people over for Cinco De Mayo and this was one of the dishes we prepared for our friends.  It was such a hit that I sent all the leftovers home with different people.  Homemade snacks and lots of drinks were provided by friends, and the carnitas tacos flew out of the pan so fast I had to shred left over chicken in the fridge.  Our house is small, but it sure did hold a lot of good times that night. 
I will be reviewing the book in the future that this yumminess came from, Bread and Wine, and most likely trying a few more recipes from it.  Her encouragement to be in the moment and focus on feeding people to encourage their comfort, which will promote closeness and openness in a community, is something I intend to explore more fully.  Generosity is only the beginning, it is abo…

This book…  I guess I have found my genre, food inspired memoirs.  
My heart sings when I read her words.  Woman who are adventurous, go on and on about markets and fresh produce, walk you through the steps of their cooking, describe food so well you can smell it… yup I can read those kinds of books all day. 
You may remember me writing about A Thousand Days in Tuscany, and what I didn't realize when I began that book was that I was reading the second book in a series of three.  A Thousand Days in Venice is the first book in the series, and reading it was like already knowing a couple in their established marriage and their lives as one, and then one beautiful evening over a glass of deep red wine with lights strung overhead hearing about how they met.  It was genuinely so lovely to read about their lives intertwining, her life before she met him, and their romance leading to their wedding.   
Their love story is just like anyone else's - ups and downs and frustrations ad confus…