Green leaf lettuce recall

Reason #581 to shop at the farmers' market:

Today, green leaf lettuce from the Salinas Valley was recalled. The spinach ban has lifted, but bagged spinach still gives me the creeps. And maybe it should. Central processing spreads potential contamination across the United States--the same bacteria that killed a woman in Wisconsin could be in my food in California. If any one farm that supplies a central processing facility has tainted spinach, the bacteria is efficiently distributed to thousands of Americans within days.

At the Saturday farmers' market in Nearby College Town, I buy my greens from Rob. I know his practices (organic, but not certified). My risk of food poisoning by green leafys is limited to one farm--one local farmer I trust. And I'll take those odds.

Tonight, a mixed green salad with sweet pears and stilton dressed with walnut oil and balsamic vinegar.

14 weeks pregnant

In the last week, I've made macaroni and cheese with bechamel sauce, gnocchi (storebought, I'm human) with pesto (fresh, absolutely), pasta topped with bacon, countless apples topped with peanut butter, pancakes smothered in yogurt (twice), a bagel and cream cheese, potato foccacia, and an apple/cranberry pie with strusel topping. And this is only the beginning.

The limited-wheat thing? Not so much.

So, I'm hungry after three months of small bites. I ate lunch twice today. And I'm still hungry.

The master plan is to put so much weight on my ass that it will draw the eye from my stomach and I can put off announcing the big news to my boss. Not working so far. W. looks at me every morning, sighs, and says, "You know, you've really got to tell them."

Other slice of pie, and I can maybe put it off until we pass deadline.

Managing molletes

I am finally drifting back into the kitchen. Every couple days has turned into every other day, and I find myself loving the smell of a pork stew with onions and prunes or potato foccacia.

But still, the puking continues. The long list of Things That Must Not Be Eaten (hummus, meat in large chunks, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, melty cheese, fresh tomatoes and peppers, my toothbrush) is limiting my options, but as we learned in planning grad school, from constraints come opportunities.

For me, this is an opportunity to revisit the staples from years past, when I was picky and cooking was hard. I had forgotten how good these were:



Molletes: a toasted roll (bolillo) spread with refried beans and topped with cotija, that lovely Mexican hard, salty cheese, and run under the broiler. Topped with cilantro and served with salsa, these are fast and good and filling and altogether inoffensive. They are perfect for breakfast with fresh orange juice and milky coffee made with a little cinnamon thrown in with the grounds--for those lucky suckers who can still enjoy the smell of fresh-brewed coffee...