One of the main sources of strife in this house is ice. Either I’m happy Chris brought some home, or pissed I have to go get some, it’s all melted and dripping everywhere, it’s hot I’m thirsty and THERES NO ICE. Why do we never have ice? Why can’t we just have ice like normal people? It’s a rollercoaster ya’ll and I’m not helping.

I’m pleased to announce, however, that I have unleashed onto this kitchen my last sudden onset of Ice Rage. After running away from home to Best Buy* in response, my husband returned with a refrigerator balanced on his back like Atlas, man of stainless steele – a vision of strength and dual cooling power to the rescue. Yes, not only do we have a shiny new silver side-by-side with delicious filtered water and a touchscreen – we have ICE ladies and germs. Crushed. Cubed. At your service. In the door. I am beside myself, this is HUGE. So women of the world, the lesson here is stick to your guns. Nag your man, don’t give up when his ears bleed and his eyes bug out – thats exactly where you want him… Oh sorry, I must have spaced out to the sweet sweet sound of ice cubes forming then falling, forming then falling…

*Also known as the battered husband’s shelter.
{This post has been brought to you by: Dyson – The vacuum that actually fucking works}

I thought I’d share with you guys what we’ve been eating lately around here. These were two photo ops that came out both pretty enough to post and delicious enough to write about.

As you can see, the veggies, while uninspired, *are* roasted too perfection. I have a new plan of attack where I steam everything together in salted water untill just slightly tender. Adding the veggies in stages of thickness – potatos, then carrots, onions and more delicate items last keeps everything moving forward nicely. Then into a glass baking dish they all go with 2-3 swirls of olive oil. Roll everything around to coat lightly with olive oil, add salt and pepper and roast slow and low intill the highly sought after golden caramel color is achieved. I love the way the carrots curl up, don’t you?

Alternate title for this post is: ‘Fo’ Sizzle’. Oh no she did NOT go there!

{tags scallops halibut roasted veggies cannellini puree bechamel}

After Max and Noosh provided the necessary grief counseling required to welcome another pocket sized pet into the family, enter the hamster amsterrr aammsterrr: Francisco*. It was his unbridled enthusiasm for EVERYTHING that first struck me, but it was most definatley his hairdo that stuck me. Notice the bed-head displayed above, it’s perpetual and toe-tinglingly charming.

*After his dangerous and maddeningly honorable namesake Francisco D’Anconia. Sorry for all the instant reader alienating flashy objectivist references, I’m just feeling all baaad because I read a 1,200 page book. It took me four months so I’m not that tough, but still.

{tags siberian dwarf hamsters francisco}

One of Los Angeles’ best kept secrets is the happy little gang that sells flowers outside of a certain 711. And NO, I cannot divulge the location, I already GAVE you a hint. Anyway, they have the freshest, prettiest, most inexpensive flowers in all the land. They come packaged in these humongous bouquets which are so big that from one, I fill every vase in my house and still have plenty of leftover stems for the bathrooms and such.

So, whenever Chris comes home carrying one of these most desirable bundles (which to his maaad flower cred, is all the time), its a big moment here in the Bell house. Me with the ooh!’s and holycow!’s and Max the Hammer and Babaganoosh with their very own pieces that don’t make the cut stashing them all over the house for later use. When all is said and done, our person and our place is totally ensconced in flowers. After we finish doing whatever the hell it is we do, we all collapse in the livingroom totally strung out on nature. Hippies, I sware.

{tags weekend cat blogging cute kitty}

{tags the magnificent dr. chen absynth dentists}

One of my favorite things is interrogating Chris while he’s sleeping. He always answers with som brilliant nonsense like “Robot armies like maple syrup.” or “The tuna sandwich is under the porch, follow my tracks.”

Often he sings, usually it’s some sort of battle cry, like he’s launching an attack on middle earth or slaying all the dragons of dreamland. It’s most definately all that Doom and Quake he plays during waking hours but no mattter, it’s completely adorable. This morning I so wanted to lay in bed and question him. Especially since as I got up and walked to the shower, he gave me a da-da-da-doot-doot-doot-doooooo, like the royal guards introducing the queen of England.

To all the sleep warriors of the world: Go! Fight! Win!

{tags doom quake tuna sandwiches}

{tags happy birthday, i love you.}

Every week I end up with leftover veggies that I never cook. The proportions are never that which I can make a full dish – a carrot here, some green beans there, a wee bit of squash stashed under my pillow for safekeeping. So I’m always looking for ways to prevent perfectly good produce from going down a bad road.

I went through my quiche-like tart phase, then roasted veggies morphed into terrine-ish creations, which brings us up to speed on my obsession with soup. Surely this all began with the staggering payload of kitchen gadgets bestowed upon me over the holidays. The main player of course being my immersion blender, which liberated me from the bondage of my stand blender. Yet, burdened me and mines with a compulsion to reduce even the most innocent self-respecting vegitable into a shameless puree.

This weeks installation is a soup involving a whole gang of vegetables, with chicken, sans blender. Some of these ingredients might seem like strange bed-fellows but it turned out so delicious. Take what you have left and be fearless!

Saute mushrooms in olive oil until just brown. Add wine and reduce by half. Add carrot, squash, onion, garlic, and cook untill softenned a little. Add stock, bring to a boil and add chicken. Cook for 10 minutes. Add zucchinni and swiss chard and cover to wilt and soften. After a few minutes, adjust salt and pepper and add water if needed so the broth covers the veggies by 2 inches. Simmer for ~30-40 more minutes untill everything is tender and the flavors are deliciously blended.

{tags vegetable soup recipe}

Babaganoosh and Max the Hammer.

{tags weekend cat blogging cute kitty}

It’s been a long week ya’ll. Our water-heater stopped working and I shaved my legs in the sink. Now, I’ve got razor burn something fierce and it stings like hell. On Wednesday, I was rushing to work and get this; I had my geriatric clogs on because I have to hike up this hill every morning, so I look down and I’m wearing one navy blue and one black shoe. Lucky for me too because when I got back to my car I saw my reflection and my effing shirt was on inside out. Brilliant.

Today, I left work carrying my laptop in my arms because my bag was full. I set it on the roof of the car while I put my bag and coat in the backseat, forgot it was there, and drove off with it still on the roof. Uhhh duh. I didn’t realize untill I got home when I called work, and the security guard actually found it in the parking garage. Amazing. Who knows how banged up it is, but still – I’m lost without my lappie.

It wasn’t all bad though, I went in for a much needed processing. Processing being manicure, pedicure, and waxing. My nails look pretty kick-ass and so does my you know what. Eyebrows people, eyebrows. I’d never mention such things on my blog. Ever.

We also made some cash on the market, thanks to C, so we ordered a new 6 megapixel camera. I know it’s tacky to brag but its really neat, plus I’m not here to appease your bourgeois social anxieties now am I? Skaaahhahaha! And C got some good news that I can’t share with you guys just yet, but soon.

Now dear readers, I’m leaving you for artichokes. Buttery delicious artichokes. I’ve been craving them for days and who am I to deny myself? I’ll get to it just as soon as I go to the market, lock my keys in the car, lose my cellphone in the bulk pistachio bin, and abandon my purse on the bread aisle. Hugs and Kisses.

{tags lumix-fx9 powerbook los angeles sanita clogs}