Boeuf Bourguignon

Foul-mouthed Julie Powell has nothing on me.... well, at least on Boeuf Bourguignon anway. I tried this recipe today. Yep.... it pretty much took the whole day. I'm sure someone more efficient in the kitchen could have smoothed their way through it in less time, but I had fun.

I should probably mention that I have no intention of cooking my way through "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" as Julie Powell did. Nor do I need to find myself. I already know who I am. I feel a bit defensive about Julia Child. Like, "I knew who Julia Child was before that darn book or movie came out. And I am not cooking because of either!" In my defense, I did already know who Julia Child was before "Julie and Julia" came out. In fact, I had already read her autobiography. I remember watching a bit of a show here and there when I was at my aunt's house. I found her funny even then. I have also made Soupe A L'Onion (forgive the absence of accent marks as I do not yet know how to add them on here). This was simply the best onion soup I had ever had. Period. David and I had both been a bit dubious as neither of us likes raw onions or the overabundance of cooked onions. But this onion soup was to die for!

Fresh Fruit Pizza

I thought I would try to make a semi-healthy dessert though I'm not sure it counts if you add sweetened-condensed milk and chocolate. But I did use fresh fruit (and canned mandarin oranges) and the chocolate was organic and above 70% cocoa. Does that count? I used way too much fruit. One thing I really hate about recipes is that they tell you for example on this one.... I was supposed to have 3 cups of crushed pretzels and 7-8 cups of fruit. Okay.... exactly HOW am I supposed to have a clue how many bags of pretzels I need to make 3 cups of crushed pretzels? AND how am I supposed to know how many cut grapes makes a cup or how many plums I need to make a cup....? Seriously? Just a clue please........

Oh... and just a tip....drain the fruit after you've cut it up and put it in a bowl together. Otherwise, you might end up with fruit juice leaking over the edge of the pan like mine did!