fun snacks.

Last evening, we had some friends over for noshy snacks before we went out for dinner. I made a batch of cheese straws from a recipe that Mom had sent me, and they came out so well that upon pulling them out of the oven, I grabbed the food processor, measuring cups and rolling pin and made a second batch. Which, as it turns out, was one batch too many. That's more for us.

For years, I've been making cheese straws from a recipe that Mom and Grandma both use with great success, which calls for running the dough through the star plate of a cookie press. The trouble is, my cookie press pretty much blows, where their old Mirro models (from probably the 50s or 60s) work marvelously.

This new recipe calls for rolling the dough into a rectangle, then using a pizza cutter to make long, thin strips. Which worked perfectly. This is my new go-to.

Cheese Straws
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor, pulse together: 1 1/2 cups coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar, 1 cup of flour, 6 Tablespoons of cold butter, cut into pieces, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a generous 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne. Add 1 1/2 Tablespoon of milk and pulse repeatedly until the dough forms a ball. (This takes more pulses than you think; I added another dribble of milk to help it along.)

Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-by-10-inch rectangle that's 1/8 inch thick. Using the rolling pin as a straight-edge, take a pizza cutter and make 1/3-inch-wide strips; transfer strips to 2 ungreased baking sheets.

Bake about 17 minutes, switching position of sheets in the oven halfway through. The straws should be nicely golden. Let cool on baking sheets before transferring to a cooling rack.

where has this been all our life.

Angela, proprietor of one of our fave spots at Findlay, recommended the following: Gorgonzola Dolce, a drizzle of honey, toasted whole walnuts, fresh bread. OMG. Angela, we love you.

first of the season.

Today we took advantage of a warm(ish), if blustery, day and walked up to Carl's for a #2 (warm ham & American on a soft bun with tomato and shredded lettuce). There is always an extra slice of cheese for the dog on a lunch date at Carl's. Always.

today.

In case you haven't checked your datebook, today is a national holiday called Be Kind to Bryn Day. I get the day off to recognize this special day. In fact, I'm the ONLY one who gets the day off—or who participates, observes or celebrates this day. Which is just as I want it.

I'm taking the day as a respite from a crummy stretch at work. Today is as much about what I'm not doing as what I am. I am not: taking the reins of a heinous project not of my own making, dealing with nasty customer comments as a result of said project, being frustrated by a general lack of respect, and enduring countless little workplace annoyances like microwaves and toilets that don't work properly.

I am: Sitting at Coffee Emporium with an exceptionally good latte, treating myself to a facial, bracing myself for a kickass workout at noon, anticipating a good lunch (more on that in a moment), looking forward to a haircut and planning to enjoy a walk with my boys and a good dinner. Hooray.

So, lunch: From 101Cookbooks, my fave food blog, a salad of spinach, white beans, toasted walnuts, goat cheese, drizzled with good olive oil and sprinkled with a generous touch of coarse salt and ground pepper. Yum.

eat your greens.

On Mark Bittman's new blog on the NYTimes website, which I'm liking (sorry, Bill -- I know you think he's a dunce), he posted a recipe for a simple vinaigrette. It's OK, but I'm not fond of raw shallot in dressing, especially because I tend to make it in a decent quantity and keep it in the fridge for a week or so (at which point the shallot gets too sharp and overpowering). I like this instead, my own variation on a Martha Stewart recipe that I make almost exclusively:

3 T dijon
1 T honey
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
1/4 to 1/3 cup of good olive oil
S+P

I dump it all into an old jam jar with a lid, then shake it all up (really shake it). The oil emulsifies just as if I'd taken the time to whisk it carefully. Come spring when the herb bed wakes up, I'll add some chives, parsley and tarragon -- or, even better, just snip the herbs right into the salad bowl along with the greens.

At Findlay Market last weekend, we came across a local grower who's doing hydroponic lettuce this winter -- she had a huge table of small bushel baskets filled with butterhead and red oakleaf lettuce. Delish.

It really made me (even more!) itchy to plant my vegetable garden. I took graph paper, pencil and my garden-plotting template and, with my Cook's Garden catalog for reference, sketched out how the veggie bed will come together. Here's what's to come:

Tomatoes -- one plant in each of the 4 corners
Zucchini and cucumbers -- on the short sides of the bed, trailing up on the same support system that will manage the tomatoes. I hadn't considered growing them vertically, and was pleased to come across that handy solution.
Lettuce -- four varieties, to be planted in succession during spring, early summer and fall
Beans -- the haricot vert style Triumphe de Farcy that I love, plus a new yellow filet bean that'll be fun to try
Bell peppers -- two red ones
Carrots -- a lovely mix called "Kaleidoscope" that has red, yellow, orange and red ones

Currently, my kitchen windowsill holds a pot of 5 or 6 fragile basil plants, which I'm carefully nursing along in hopes that I can transplant them back into the herb garden in May. I plucked the tiny seedlings out of the ground after last summer's basil had withered from cold; it had gone to seed, and as I was digging up the dead plants I spied these little guys and decided to tuck them into a pot with a bit of mulch on top, to see if they'd grow inside. Basil is just about as grumpy as I am to be locked up indoors during these cold, short days of winter. I keep talking to it, telling it that the days are getting a bit longer and that soon I might even be able to leave it outdoors on the driveway on a sunny afternoon. I think we've come to some kind of understanding that we'll both hold on fast, in hopes of warmer days to come.