Friday Night Playlist

Tonight, I’ll be listening to “My Maudlin Career“, by Camera Obscura, an indie band from Glasgow, Scotland with a really great sound.

I hope you all enjoy the upcoming weekend.  See you on Monday.

Fresh tomatoes, in season, heavy and sweet with juice, dressed and garnished simply.  Delicious.

There’s a blog movement going around at the moment called “Things I’m Afraid To Tell You” about getting real and exposing ourselves to ourselves and to others.  No great food, fashion, interiors, lifestyle photos or shoots, no glamour, just bare bones.  So in the spirit of transparency, here’s some of my story.

Things I’m Afraid To Tell You:

STATE OF MIND
I have suffered from anxiety for most of my life, ranging from mild to debilitating.  After my daughter was born, it was so bad that my Mum had to come and look after her while my husband was at work because I couldn’t get out of bed.  I was afraid all the time;  afraid of getting sick and abandoning my young children by dying.  This is still my greatest fear in life and my heart is racing as I type this.  I know what it stems from and I’ve worked on it a lot and gotten help for it.  It’s much better now, but it’s still my default thought process.

FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE
My husband James and I have been together for 21 years and married for 18 of those years.  I would say that I am happier with him now than I have ever been, even when we were dating.  We had some very serious problems about 4 years ago that could have resulted in divorce.  We both loved each other so much and believed in our  relationship that we tried everything to make it work, including individual therapy, couples therapy and a short trial separation.  It was the best thing that ever happened to us.  Our relationship is now truly better than it has ever been and we nurture it every day.

NEGATIVE SELF-TALK
I’m often really hard on myself.  I get into funks about different things:   my appearance, my lifestyle, my blog, my parenting, joy about staying home and raising our children, guilt about having the immense privilege of not working outside the home etc. and I just have to ride it out.  It never takes a long time and James is always very encouraging and supportive.  

I’M A BRAIN SNOB
My Dad was a member of Mensa.  He didn’t suffer fools gladly, and neither do I.  I have a low tolerance for ignorance and stupidity and I know that this comes across as very arrogant. It’s something I’m conscious of and something that I work on constantly.  We were brought up to speak properly, pronounce words properly and spell things properly.  As a result, I’m a bit of a grammar snob as well (sorry if there are any mistakes in this text – it’s late!).

IMPATIENCE
When patience was handed out, I was at the back of the line.  Again, it’s something I’m aware of and something I try to cultivate, but honestly, it’s really hard.  I get angry quickly but I get over it quickly as well and I don’t bear grudges.  I am a very forgiving person – I definitely believe in 2nd and sometimes 3rd chances, but when I’m done, I’m done.

I am living the life I want to live and I am doing it with a wonderful loving, supportive husband and 2 beautiful children.  I’ve had several people tell me over the years that I’m so lucky, that I have a great life, a wonderful marriage, nice “things”, and you know what?  It’s all true.  However, I have also had a lot of heartache and suffering in my life, starting when I was quite young.  Both of my parents are dead, my only sister-in-law was tragically killed at age 30 a few years ago, I’ve endured immense stress in my marriage and then some.  I’ve become quite philosophical over the years.  You have to play the hand you’re dealt – sometimes it’s great and sometimes it sucks.  Life ebbs and flows – there are highs and lows and you have to take the bad with the good.  You gather up your strength when things are going well and you tap into that strength when life throws you a curve ball.

Thank you for listening.  I hope I don’t regret publishing this.

Marie 

Enjoy!

Carbonara is traditionally made with pancetta or bacon, but this Donna Hay recipe uses prosciutto instead.  Truly inspired.  I really gilded the lily for this – I crisped up a few slices of prosciutto on a cookie sheet at 350˚F for about 8 minutes, let it cool, then crumbled it over the pasta like bacon bits.

“Some Nights“, Fun
“Come Back Margaret“, Camera Obscura
“Walkin’ On The Sun“, Smash Mouth
“Eyes Wide Open“, Gotye
“Cry Baby“, Cee Lo Green
“King Of Anything“, Sara Bareilles
“Some People Ride The Wave“, Devendra Banhart
“Heaven“, O.A.R.
“Zou Bisou, Bisou“, Jessica Paré
“From Me To You“, Walk Off The Earth

Have a great weekend.  See you on Monday morning.

Note:   the cream makes the biscuits go soft after about an hour or two so don’t make these too soon in advance.

Making hummus at home is a 10 minute proposition and it’s really inexpensive.  I know it’s a real hassle to get the food processor out and wash it afterwards, but it’s really worth it.  Below is a basic recipe that is an amalgamation of several recipes.  I don’t know how authentic it is – all I know is that it’s delicious served with warm pita crisps.  Once you master the basic recipe (which will take you no time at all), you can tweak it and customize it to your liking.  You can substitute the chickpeas for white beans, you can add fresh coriander, you can add roasted red pepper, and so on.  The options are many.

“Bil-hanā’ wa ash-shifā” (may you have your meal with gladness and health).

Root vegetables get a bad rap.  They’re neither pretty nor glamourous like the artichoke or the asparagus.  They can be elevated to great things though, like this soup, which comes from epicurious.  It’s perfect for a weekday meal and elegant enough for friends.

Let me tell you a little secret…… I am terribly intimidated by pastry.  I always steer clear of recipes that call for homemade pastry.  Well, I think my fears have been put to rest.  This dough came together beautifully and was a treat to work with – no cracking or breaking.  It was tender, sweet and slightly biscuit-like.  It contrasted so well with the not-too-sweet, lemony mascarpone filling and the huge, juicy blueberries.  A definite “do-again”.