Meet Sadie!

We got a little 10-week-old puppy on Thursday! Her name is Sadie and she is awesome. More photos of her can be found here - Sadie's photo album

A Favorite Recipe: Penne with Fennel

When Lindsey and I were in Rome back in 2003, we ate one of the yummiest meals ever at a tucked-away restaurant where no one spoke English and there was no menu. We were simply served course after course. We could only guess what we were eating, and it was an unforgettable, scrumptious meal. One of the courses featured a distinctive vegetable I was unfamiliar with. Turned out to be fennel, and ever since then, I've had a special affection for this yummy vegetable that reminds me of our Italian adventure.

Penne Pasta with Roasted Fennel, Cherry Tomatoes, and Black Olives has been one of Rob's and my favorites since it was first published in Cooking Light a few months after W. was born. We make it for everyone. It's good company food -- delicious and a tad unusual.

Enjoy!

Busy couple of weeks

The last couple of weeks have been quite busy with first the Frosts in town and then back home in Pittsburgh for Kristen's baby shower. I've (hopefully) uploaded albums here:
Baby shower album
Whistler album

Lavender simple syrup

This summer, Eric and I have been experimenting with some mixology. It's so pleasant to sit out in our backyard on a warm summer day with a refreshing and interesting drink in hand.

I've had some culinary lavender for a couple months, and I was recently inspired to use it to make a special simple syrup to try in drinks. It's really really simple (sorry about the pun) and fun to experiment.

For the simple syrup all you do is heat 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a pan until the sugar totally dissolves. Done!

If you want to make it a bit more interesting, when you take the syrup off the heat, add something to give the syrup some flavor (like 2 tsp of culinary lavender), stir and let sit for 30 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve and/or cheesecloth and store in the fridge for up to 2 months. Some flavoring agents that I've tried or have been meaning to try include: basil, mint, lemon, organic rose petals...Use your imagination!

The syrup can be used in many different applications. Basil simple syrup over strawberry ice cream is a real treat. Or use the syrup to make an Italian soda (simple syrup and soda), a French soda (simple syrup, soda, splash of cream), Sangria or other fun beverage.