The first!

olive oil and garlic with a tomato basil sauce,
eggplant, mushrooms, onions, spinach, mozzarella,
and fresh Parmesan. So delicious, it was devoured
while enjoying the final episode of the first season
of Saving Grace, the intriguing detective show with
Holly Hunter- I totally reccomend it if you haven't
seen it...fascinatting and thought provoking.

This is the official post for the first pizza made in the new apartment. I decided pizza sounded great around 6pm and we didn't have any yeast in the house. After a trip to the co-op, eggplant mushrooms and onions getting sauteed, and a few hours to let the dough rise we ate a delicious pizza. I am a bit sad that I gave away a bunch of my cooking items before I moved to vermont; most noticeably my pizza stone. Also on my list to locate from the depth of boxes in St.Louis are my garlic press and microplane. Those are the two tools I use most frequently in the kitchen and notice when I don't have them. Especially with the microplane it made it so easy to throw a little bit of lemon zest in this sauce or chocolate on top of that dessert, or cheese on top of anything.

through mountains of snow

A recap of meals over the holidays. My favorite is the Christmas eve dinner I made for 8: salad with greens from my parent's garden- in Missouri in December they were still growing under just a light sheet of plastic. main feast. risotto with sauteed veggies, roasted eggplant slices, finished with fresh parm cheese, with a roasted tomato (also from their garden) reduced whit balsamic vinegar sauce. Served with roasted Brussels sprouts, roasted root veggies and steamed broccoli. Finally, my parents and I spent the night before making pierogies, a traditional polish dumpling, filled with sweet or savory goodies. We made sauerkraut and cabbage ones, cheese and potato, apricot and prune. for dessert
I made a flour less chocolate tart in an almond date crust. delicious! (sorry no photos)

Here in Montpelier I woke up to snow, went to work to snow, and as I write this still snow. They have little plows that plow the sidewalks, many folks were in the cafe this afternoon who took off work and wanted to be cozy with a hot beverage. I am settling in well to my new life here. I absolutely love working in a job where I feel competent, respect, and have lots of fun. I love cooking for myself at night, making breakfast in my pajamas, using my cell phone- simple things I haven't been able to do for a year.
The holidays in St. Louis were really lovely, but far too short. An update, in photos, of food from the holidays. The night I got back to st. Louis was the annual Christmas caroling on the street where I grew up and my parent's still live. I spent some time talking to a neighbor who's daughter I grew up playing with. When I was little they opened an amazing bakery in town that had focaccia to die for. We use to bring it as a gift when we would visit out of town friends, and I have vivid memories of driving to Nebraska, and Minnesota sitting in the back seat of the van with these amazing smelling breads next to me and not being aloud to eat any. The way this bakey made them they were like little pizzas, made with tons of olive oil, coarse salt and piles of onions, sun dried tomatoes, cheese and other delicious toppings. Anyway, the night of caroling, Julie who owned the bakery, gave me the super top secret family recipe for their focaccias. It was the best gift ever. I made them for the party we have after Christmas eve mass, and again for New Years Eve. Amazing!!!

The sadness that has been with me this week comes in the form of the loss of a dear family friend, John Wiedmann. Our families have been friends since long before I was born, and I can't imagine how hard it is for his family, friends, and all the students he has taught over the years. He was an English teacher, musician, outdoors man and just a really good human. I remember being in highschool and trying to understand Thoreau. He came over for dinner and talked me through he finer points of appreciating Walden Pond... Sending much love to the Wiedmanns and the whole St. Louis family today.

love, Lylee

the dough once it relaxed; the secret is dimpling it. finished focaccia!!

Hello 2011 (and hello friends!)

It's been a busy few weeks!
Between the scramble of holidays and the chaos of moving my life and starting it over in a new location I am pretty tired, but really excited to have a fresh start in the new year. My 'resolution' for the new year is to have more fun and worry less. In that spirit I have decided to keep writing the blog, and make it wittier, have more photos, and more stories.

After two days of moving, cleaning, and unpacking and with the help of two amazing friends, and my partner in crime, Lindley, we are more or less in the house. I sit in a pile of boxes and scattered clothing, as the only furniture we have includes: a bed, a bench I made, a half finished end table, and a nightstand. Appropriate to who I am, the house is in shambles, but the bedroom and kitchen are both put together.

I spent today doing adult like things (switching over the propane, changing my mailing address, calling the plumber to fix our toilet, fun.) I took a break to duck in to the cafe I will soon be working at and ran in to two friends, and saw a third in his car as I was walking across the street. It feels so nice to be in such a friendly city, and have connections here already.
I'm still working on all the photos of crafts I made for the holidays and will post them as soon as my life is back in order.

best wishes for health, happiness, and fun to you in 2011.