Culinary Enjoyments

So, dear blog readers, I figured out that Friday nights after the baby goes to bed are great times for getting groceries! Money saved at Winco! No frumpy dumpkinses! And I was able to find all but one of my hard-to-find ingredients at Market of Choice. The deli counter guy was more than happy to cut the end off of his prosciutto for me. Even better: only one other customer in the produce department! I even took some phone pictures of the pristine condition of the store. (I even spied truffles stored in rice, but couldn't justify spending $11.00 on one mushroom.) And the wine and cheese departments! Even though I had already reached my budget limit, I couldn't help but stand and admire the wares a bit.

On today's menu: making glace de viande from home-made brown stock, attempting to make minestrone from scratch, and locating the one ingredient I couldn't find yesterday: some sort of dried fish used in the making of miso soup. I have determined--in this lifetime--to cook through two of my favorite books in order to improve my overall cooking skills, but sometimes the ingredients prove hard-to-find. Some of those recipes won't be made more than once unless they're REALLY worth it. Taste and time will tell!

Happy Saturday, and good eats to you all, dear blog readers!