How Can We Make Life Less Boring?

This weeks bread is Ciabatta. Scott had made this a few summers ago so we thought we'd try a variation and add caramelized onions and herbs.

Nothing like cutting onions in the morning.

 I'm really hoping Peter Reinhardt will find our blog and see that I'm making everything in his book and want to do a movie with me. It'll be called Brooke and Peter.

I'm also gunning for a movie once Mark Bittman passes away. OK, I'm not. That' just weird. We did make oatmeal raisin pancakes from Bittman's Food Matters cookbook.

Oatmeal pancakes? Yes please!

These turned out much better than the oatmeal raisin waffles we had a few months back.

I tackled this darn puzzle again. 

Peanut (our cat if you didn't already know) loves whining. Mostly he wants to go outside or in the basement. This time I gave in and he had some kind of deja vu to his alleycat youth.

Scott played on his phone while Peanut played outside. We both tried to come up with ideas for what we should do today. I hope it's just cabin fever and things will livin up when spring comes, but lately I've come to hate Sundays. Actually everyday seems boring. I feel like all I do is work, sleep and cook.

We had lunch before getting out of the house. I had leftover miso soup, an apple and peanut butter. 

Scott wanted one of my apple slices and peanut butter. I said no so he got a banana and put peanut butter on it instead. 

We finally decided to head to our favorite antique mall, Hunt and Gather, just for the hell of it.

In hindsight we could've actually used one of these mirrors. Brooke's been wanting one for the bedroom for as long as we've lived in the Queen of the North.

Brooke found some things she liked, but we didn't find anything we needed.

We had a bit of money left on a giftcard for CB2. We're cheap so most of their stuff is out of our price range.

With bread on the mind we checked out Kitchen Window just next door at Henn-Lake (that's what all the cool people call it nowadays).

After stopping by Everyday People for another Brooke dress we peaked into the soon-to-be-remodeled Uptown Theater.

I didn't want to head home yet so we got drinks at Amazing Thailand. I believe I drank a Surly Furious.

It was happy hour so appetizers were cheap. So of course we had to order cream cheese wontons. 

What I bought today. Scott didn't get anything. It's my birthday week so I can do what I want. Clockwise from left. 

 Dress from Everyday People.

Yellow cardigan from Urban Outfitters. 

Dress from Urban Outfitters.

Silverware set from CB2. 

After all that shopping Brooke needed some puzzle time.

Then I finished baking the bread. It has to steam while it bakes. Since residential ovens don't have steam settings I sprayed the walls of the oven with a water bottle.

While Brooke finished the ciabatta, I made a variation on chilaquiles.

Pretty rustic looking if you ask me.

Then we ended the night by watching some Cake Boss. We pretty much spend the whole time making fun of it. Although his cakes are getting better, he hasn't been using quite as many cereal treats.