I feel like the last week or so has been a mish-mosh of stuff. Nothing that singularly lends itself to a blog post, but together, gives a glimpse of Montpellier life.
- Last week’s Weekly Veggie was parsnips (and turnips 2.0). I roasted them with sweet potatoes and regular potatoes and some rosemary. They were ok. Parsnips have a bit of a black licorice flavor, of which I’m not a huge fan, but Dave liked them. It was mild enough to where, if I play my flavor cards right, I could probably mask it. The turnips on the other hand, were tasty, so score one for turnips.
- This week’s Weekly Veggie is artichoke hearts. I know. It seems like I should already be familiar with this one, as Molly’s Country Kitchen often served artichokes when they were in season. But I always let my parents my duke it out over who got my artichoke heart after I ate most of the leaves. It just never seemed appealing to me. So I figured it was time to give in…and I found a recipe that sounded good, even though I couldn’t pronounce part of it at first pass: Linguine Avgolemono with Artichoke Hearts and Green Beans. I had to buy jarred artichoke hearts, so bearing that in mind, I think I was right to shy away from them in my youth. It’s not that they taste bad…it’s the texture. I feel like I’m eating an artichoke leaf that won’t allow itself to be chewed up. (You’re welcome for that description.) Anyway, I have a weird thing with food textures. I love raw tomatoes any way, shape and form. But I hate cooked tomato chunks. The texture just….ugh. Not for me. Blend it up in a sauce? Good to go. I’m weird, I know. But back to artichoke hearts. I think I’m going to rank this Weekly Veggie up there in the category of “if it’s served to me, I won’t turn it down, but good news for Tom & Molly, more artichoke hearts for them.” The recipe, above, by the way, was tasty and an easy weeknight dinner, even if there are words I can’t pronounce without sounding it out like a second-grader.
- Speaking of things I can’t pronounce, I’ve started teaching myself Italian. I gave up on French because really, we’ll only be here a few more months, then it’s off to Italy for a year, along with the distinct possibility of frequent return visits after. So far, I can say: hello, goodbye, ‘do you understand English?’, ‘where is the street?’, ‘where is Saint Mark’s Square?’ (I have no idea where Saint Mark’s Square is—unless the answer is ‘here’ or ‘there’— or why I should need to know, so I suppose it’s a good thing I know how to ask) and finally, I can say, ‘I don’t understand Italian.’ Seems like I’m off to a good start.
- I don’t know if you’ve heard but they found King Richard III’s remains under a parking lot. They have recreated a bust of what he might have looked like. Which, if you ask me, is like Lord Farquaad from Shrek.
- If you’re looking for some good TV viewing, I recommend House of Cards from Netflix. It’s about politics in DC and we’re hooked around here. It’s well done. And with Netflix I don’t have to wait for weekly installments— we can watch at our leisure. I like that.
- I am a champion at maximizing the number of garments on a drying rack. Just sayin.