Slow-Cooked Root Vegetable Soup

I love root vegetables. I love to roast them, microwave them, steam them, and smash them. And I also love to make soups out of them.

I was recently given a beautiful, blue, enameled, cast iron Le Creuset oval French oven. These pots are versatile. They can go on the stove or in the oven, and thus easily transfer from one to the other for braising or slow cooking. I decided to make a slow-cooked root vegetable soup by chopping up a bunch of root veggies, covering them with broth, then cooking them at a low temperature over a long period of time in the oven. The result was absolutely fabulous.

Slow cooking really brings out the sweet flavors in root vegetables while mellowing out any of the harshness. The result is a rich, almost buttery tasting soup that has absolutely no fat in it. It's perfect for lunch or dinner!

Feel free to substitute any other vegetables (whether root veggies or not).

Slow-Cooked Root Vegetable Soup
Serves about 6

8 oz celery root, peeled and chopped into 2-inch pieces
1 rutabaga, peeled and chopped into 2-inch pieces
3 carrots, chopped into 2-inch pieces
3 leeks, white and pale green parts only, washed well and chopped into 2-inch pieces
1 small onion, roughly chopped
3 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
6 cups vegetable broth
low-fat Greek yogurt (optional garnish)

Preheat oven to 275˚F.

Put all ingredients into a large, ovenproof pot with a lid. Bring to a simmer on the stove, then place in the oven. Cook for 3 hours, then remove from the oven and take off the lid. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Remove the bay leaves, then puree the soup with an immersion blender.

Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Soup's On: Spiced Parsnip and Apple Soup with Parsnip Chips

It's starting to get chilly out there! I love winter, because it means that the soup pot will be put to more regular use. Soup is so comforting, so versatile, and so delicious.

Last year, Karl and I started using parsnips more often. The parsnip is an overlooked vegetable, and I just love the tangy and earthy flavor. If you've never had one, it tastes a lot like a carrot, but stronger.

Well, Karl and I have used parsnips in bean stews and we've roasted them (side note: roasting parsnips is amazing! It changes the flavors subtly and makes a tasty snack), but we've never had a dish in which parsnips were really featured. So, I was excited to try out a parsnip-based soup!

This recipe comes from one of my many soup cookbooks, "The SmartCook Collection: Soup" by Delia Smith. The soup was excellent. The original recipe called for 1 1/4 tsp of coriander seeds, but I couldn't find any at the grocery store on short notice (not sure what was up with that), so I just left those out. It turned out for the best, I think: the more spices added into this dish, the less the parsnip will shine. I also made some other substitutions (margarine for butter, curry powder for turmeric, etc.) both to accommodate my vegan roomie and to avoid buying unnecessary spices. The soup as I made it perfectly exhibits the potential of parsnip. The apple grated in at the end was a nice touch, but maybe wasn't absolutely necessary.

I don't usually bother with soup garnishes, but this time, I made an exception and fried up some thinly sliced discs of parsnip into parsnip chips. It is well worth it to go to the trouble of making the parsnip chips for a garnish (or just for a snack): they are so flavorful and add some interest to the puréed soup. If you're pressed for time, or just don't feel like heating up a pan of oil, you can use potato chips, veggie chips, or croutons. If you're into presentation, I think it might also be pretty to garnish with a spiral of apple peel, or even a wedge of apple.

Eat up, and stay warm out there.

Spiced Parsnip and Apple Soup with Parsnip Chips
Serves 4-6

1 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
6 whole cardamom pods, seeds only
3 TBSP margarine
1 TBSP canola oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/4 tsp sweet curry powder
2 tsp minced fresh ginger root
1 1/2 lbs parsnips
5 cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste
Parnsip Chips (fry thin slices of parsnips in a 1/2 inch of oil until light brown and crispy)
1 Granny Smith apple

Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Dry-roast the cumin and cardamom seeds in the skillet (this "excites" the flavors"). This only takes 2-3 minutes (don't burn them!). Crush the spices finely in a mortar and pestle, or use the back of a spoon to crush them in a bowl.
Peel and chop the parsnips into chunks (the smaller you chop, the shorter the cooking time, but it doesn't really matter what they look like as long as the pieces are approximately the same size).
Heat the margarine and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until the margarine foams a little. Add the onions and gently cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in the toasted, ground spices, and also the curry powder and ginger root. Stir, and cook gently for a few more minutes.
Add the parsnips to the saucepan, stirring well, then pour in the stock. Add salt and pepper, then let the soup gently simmer uncovered for about an hour, or until the parsnips are very tender (fork will pierce easily).
When the soup has been simmering for an hour, remove it from the heat and cool it slightly. Use either an immersion blender, upright blender, or food processor to puree the soup. Return the pureed soup to the saucepan and taste to check the seasoning.
When ready to serve, reheat the soup over medium heat. Grate the apple into the soup and stir. Serve hot, garnished with parsnip chips.

Outer Banks Brewing Station

The Outer Banks Brewing Station
P.O. Box 2584; MilePost 8.5
Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a family reunion in Nags Head, North Carolina on the Outer Banks. My dad's side of the family squeezed about 30 people into a beach house, and fun times were had by all.

I was extra excited because Karl tagged along for the first few days (and didn't break up with me after meeting the more temperamental and volatile half of my family). Since Karl was there, we of course had to explore the edible and drinkable possibilities brewing on the Outer Banks.

On recommendation from Gene (our favorite Church Brew Works bartender), we sought out the Outer Banks Brewing Station (on the sly, of course: my family is a bunch of teetotalers!), a brew pub at milepost 8.5 on the main highway (Croatan, or the Bypass, or "The Big Road"). When I asked my former missionary grandmother, who lives on the Outer Banks, for directions, she looked horrified, and said, "You're going there? But that's a joint!"

Oh well. We promised her we'd stay away from the bar, which seemed to satisfy her.

The Brewing Station resembles a church more than a pub (on the outside). It's a large white building with architectural aspects that suggest a nautical theme. The coolest part about the pub is that they have a windmill! I read on a blog somewhere (I'm sorry I lost the link!) that the windmill doesn't actually power the Brewing Station, but they sell the electricity it generates to the main grid and thereby receive a credit on their electricity bills. An ad we saw in one of the travel mags touted the Outer Banks Brewing Station as America's first wind-powered brew pub, which is a little misleading, but I think that this is a step in the right direction!

After being seated in the dining area (well away from the bar, Grandma!), Karl and I split a bowl of mediocre crab bisque ($5.99). Besides containing far too little crab meat, the bisque tasted cheesy. Crab bisque should have no cheese, or at least shouldn't taste like nacho sauce! It should be creamy and silky, with nice lumps of crab floating just below the surface. That bisque made me long for the she-crab soup at Soby's in Greenville, SC.

The fish (flounder) and chips ($8.99)were much more delightful, and there was plenty for Karl and me to split the lunch entrée and be stuffed. I am of the opinion that it is difficult to mess up fish and chips, but Karl has apparently had some bad experiences. The OBX Brewing Station pulled through well enough to satisfy Karl's tastes (and mine!). The batter wasn't too heavy, and we got about 5 good-sized pieces of flounder. The wedge fries were perfect: crispy and flavorful on the outside with pillows of soft potato on the inside. The fish also came with a delicious remoulade on the side.

Of course we tried the beer, too! Before ordering any pints, we ordered a tasting flight of four 5 oz. servings of their current selections ($6): Ölsch, Old Knucklehead Nut Brown Ale, Shipwreck Stout, and one that I cannot currently remember. I'll have to update when I do. The Ölsch was pretty plain. If you like light beers, go for the Ölsch. The Nut Brown Ale, on the other hand, was insane: I could appreciate what an interesting and well-crafted beer it was, but I still didn't like it. I took two or three sips and could not figure out why I didn't like it, but there it was! It is unlike any brown ale I have ever tasted. It has a strange roasted cereal taste that is juxtaposed by resiny hops. It makes a very, very strange and great beer that I, nevertheless, could not bring myself to enjoy.

The winner for me is the Shipwreck Stout. It definitely made the trip worthwhile: it's one of the tastiest and smoothest stouts I have ever had the pleasure of imbibing. The description on the menu is fairly apt: "Fat and chewy oatmeal stout with a sweet silky finish." I'm not sure that it's chewy, but it is a full-bodied beer that ends up feeling incredibly light and, yes, silky by the time you swallow. So well balanced! It's chocolate-y and slightly sweet, but not to the point of being a dessert beer. One of the things that often turns me off about stouts is that I have difficulty finishing even one pint because they are so heavy. The Shipwreck Stout is light enough that you can eat a meal and have your beer without risking explosion of the innards. It is absolutely worth the trip to the Outer Banks Brewing Station just to try the stout.

Karl also tried a pint of the Hefeweizen, which was alright. The waitress served it in a very tall hefeweizen glass with a slice of orange for garnish. Though the presentation was lovely, the beer had a little TOO strong of a banana flavor for my tastes. If you want the best brew pub hefeweizen, you should try the Church Brew Works' Heavenly Hefeweizen: I swear that it is like drinking a refreshing banana split (pineapple, strawberries, and nuts included) in a glass.

Soup's On: Lentil Soup with Bacon and Cabbage

Delia Smith, in the "SmartCook Collection: Soup" cook book from which I prepared this recipe, says the following as a preface to this delicious soup recipe:

"This is a very substantial soup, best made with the tiny French, greeny-black Puy lentils. If you can't get these, use green-brown lentils, which don't have the depth of flavor of the Puy lentils but are still excellent and can be used in the same way."

Absolute bunk, I tell you!

Now, granted, I didn't do a side-by-side comparison, but I don't think it would make one iota of difference in flavor if you used regular "green-brown" lentils, which are much cheaper. The depth of flavor of this soup comes from the pancetta, the Savoy cabbage, and the heavenly trio of carrots, celery, and onion. By the time you add the garlic, the lentils' flavor is out of the picture. I will use some of the leftover Puy lentils to do a side-by-side comparison of them with regular lentils by themselves (not in a soup) and get back to you to confirm or debunk this theory of "depth" of flavor.

Anyway, back to the soup: it is AWESOME! I could eat this soup twice a day indefinitely and never tire of it. I'm going to try making it without the pancetta next time to see how much of a difference it makes to the flavor. The broth turns out so rich, and adding the cabbage toward the end creates such a lovely texture and the illusion of substance. Yummy, warm, and comforting at the end of a long day of fruitless job searching.

Lentil Soup with Bacon and Cabbage
Serves 4 to 6

1 TBSP canola oil
4 1/8-inch thick slices of pancetta, finely chopped
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
1 cup lentils (Frency Puy lentils, or regular lentils)
1 14-oz can plum tomatoes, chopped or whole
2 garlic cloves, crushed through a press
3 14.5-oz cans of vegetable broth
3 cups (or one small head) of Savoy Cabbage, finely shredded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley (substitute 1 TBSP dried parsley flakes)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the pancetta in it until the fat begins to melt. Then stir in the onions, carrots, and celery. With the heat fairly high, toss the vegetables around in the pan. Cook, stirring now and then, until the vegetables are a little brown around the edges (about 6 minutes).

Next, stir in the lentils, the tomatoes (with the liquid from the can), and the pressed garlic. Stir everything together, then pour in the broth. As soon as the soup comes to a boil, cover and simmer, as gently as possible, until the lentils are tender (30-40 minutes). Then add the cabbage and cook for about 5 minutes until the cabbage wilts. If using dried parsley flakes, add them with the cabbage.

Taste and season with salt and plenty of pepper. If using fresh parsley, add it just before serving.

Coriander-Scented Carrot Soup

Did you know that when you toast coriander seeds, they smell like Trix cereal?

The SmartCook Collection: Soup, the cookbook I was using yesterday to create "Coriander-Scented Carrot Soup" described the scent as "orange-like," but I beg to differ. While there is a distinct citrus element to the scent, if you really get your nose into the seeds after you've pull them from the hot pan and ground them up a little in your mortar, you'll be transported back to Saturday mornings when you were allowed to have the sugar-laden cereals (at least, that's how it was in my house!).

Anyway, this soup was a tad underwhelming. It really just tastes like carrots. And the somewhat strange title is apt: the soup is only coriander "scented": you can't taste the coriander at all. I was surprised at the absence of onions from the recipe, but I tend to give a recipe one chance before I try to improve ie. Next time, I'll definitely sauté some onions with the garlic, because this soup needed something.

The only changes I did make to recipe were:
1) I didn't peel the carrots. I just gave them a good scrubbing.
2) I substituted Greek-style yogurt for the crème fraîche, since I already had the yogurt. Enjoy!

Coriander-Scented Carrot Soup


1 TBSP coriander seeds
2 TBSP butter
2 lbs carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small garlic clove, crushed through a press
5 cups chicken stop or vegetable stock
3 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro, plus sprigs for garnish
2 TBSP crème fraîche or heavy cream, plus more for garnish
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Begin by dry-roasting the coriander seeds in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring and tossing them around for 1 to 2 minutes, or until they begin to look toasted and start to jump in the pan. Place them in a mortar and crush them coarsely.
2. Next, heat the butter in a large saucepan, then add the carrots, garlic, and three-quarters of the crushed coriander seeds. Stir well, then cover the saucepan and let the vegetables cook over gentle heat until they begin to soften -- about 10 minutes.
3. Next, add the stock, season with salt and pepper, and bring everything to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, partially covered, or until the vegetables are tender. Let the soup cool a little, then puree it in batches in a blender or food processor (a large bowl to hold each batch of pureed soup is helpful here). After that, return the puree to the saucepan and stir in the chopped cilantro and 2 TBSP of the crème fraîche. Reheat the soup, then taste to check the seasoning, and serve in warmed bowls. Garnish each one with a swirl of crème fraîche, a sprinkling of the remaining toasted coriander seeds, and a sprig of fresh coriander.

Where Frugality and Nutrition Collide: Beans

Karl once told me about a clash of food philosophy he once had with his home economics teacher in high school. His teacher had been talking about living within your means by sticking to a budget. When it came to food, she said, it was best to eat average, moderately priced food all month long, always having enough as well as variety, rather than to blow the majority of your monthly budget on one grand meal then scraping by with meager monotony the rest of the month.

Karl is of the opinion that eating frugally most of one month is a small price to pay for having one extravagant, luxurious, and delectably pricey meal. The contrast makes him appreciate the good stuff all the more!

I think I agree with him, in theory. In practice, however, I have difficulty eating the same thing over and over, even with the promise that, every 30 days or so, my bored taste buds will experience sensory overload in a culinary Las Vegas.

Now that Karl really is operating on a budget, he has put his philosophy into practice. He received a 5-qt Rival Slow Cooker for Christmas and has made good use of it.

For example, for the past two weeks, he has been eating almost nothing but rice and beans for lunches and dinners. He didn't calculate the cost of those meals, but he has just whipped up a fresh five quarts of bean-veggie stew that will feed him, presumably for another 2 weeks, along with rice, for the stunningly low cost of about $12 (see below for a recipe and a breakdown). To mix it up for a bit of variety, he adds various hot sauces (Sriracha is the current favorite) and spices.

As if the cost alone weren't enough to drive you to a diet of rice and beans, think of the nutrition side! Karl's stew contains no added sodium, or even spices. There is no oil, and it is vegetable- and protein-rich. As long as he drinks some milk and eats some fruit every day (an apple a day with lunch, milk with his raisin bran in the morning), Karl is eating ridiculously well-balanced meals for about $0.50 each.

This is all well and good. I know I should be jumping on the rice and beans boat, but I just love having variety in my diet. At some point (probably two days into the two week marathon of beans), I would be craving something else, and the sight of a bowl of beans would make me feel ill. This is probably a purely psychological issue that I can, and should, overcome, in the interests of saving money and actually eating better as a result. I guess I'm just not ready.

In the meantime, I do enjoy a bowl of Karl's delicious stew every once in a while. But I'd rather eat a Swad Microwave Curry with my rice (paneer a must!) one day, and a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich the next. Variety, for me, seems to be a little more indispensable than for Karl.



Karl's "Budget Bean Stew"
1 32-oz bag of dried mixed beans (15-bean mix) (follow soaking instructions on bag)
1 16-oz bag of dried lentils
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 yam, cubed
1 medium parsnip, chopped
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
3 or 4 packets Trader Joe's low-sodium vegetable broth concentrate (or low-sodium bouillon cubes)
2 or 3 cups shredded cabbage
3 or 4 cups water

Put all ingredients, except water, into a 5-qt slow cooker. If you have a smaller slow cooker, you'll probably want to pare down the amounts or your slow cooker will be overflowing.
Once you have all the ingredients in, pour water in until you can see it approaching the rim. Set your slow cooker to low, and cook for 8-12 hours. You really can't over-cook this.

Enjoy with rice, or just as a stew!

Spanish Cuisine in Pittsburgh: Mallorca

Yesterday, after feeding our spirits at Shadyside Presbyterian and feeding our inner-outdoorspeople at REI, Karl and I feasted mightily at Mallorca, a Spanish restaurant on E. Carson and 22nd in the South Side.

The Pittsburgh City Paper named Mallorca for "Best Outdoor Dining" and "Best Spanish Food" in Pittsburgh. While it was a bit chilly (17˚F) to test the former, I certainly agree with the latter award!

Right next door to Mallorca is its sister restaurant, Ibiza, a tapas and wine bar that Karl and I enjoy frequenting for its delicious and varied array of tapas and inexpensive wine flights ($10 and up for 4 half-glasses). We were pretty excited to explore the heftier Spanish fare at Mallorca.

Mallorca would clearly have been out of the question price-wise for two poor graduate students (entrees $17-$40) had it not been for the uber-generosity of Karl's parents. His father, while in town for a convention a couple of months ago, had chanced across Mallorca for lunch, enjoyed the goat immensely, and consequently promised Karl that he and I could have a meal there on him.

Well, we didn't get his goat. We had all the best intentions of ordering goat for lunch, but the first special we heard in our waiter's thick, Spanish accent changed our plans: wild boar.

Neither of us had ever had wild boar previously. We briefly considered the rabbit entree but settled on Plan A: splitting the wild boar ($36, with an extra plate costing a mere $6.00) and ordering two bowls of soup ($4.95 each). It seemed like it would be a nice light lunch. We assumed that the wild boar entree would be a lunch-sized portion...

Though the wine list doesn't list any, Mallorca does offer wine by the glass. Since we didn't want a bottle, we ordered two glasses of their house Rioja ($8 each) in anticipation of a good pairing with the boar. The Rioja was delicious: the nose smelled obviously of chocolate-covered cherries that carried over into the taste. The bottle had clearly been open for a while, allowing the tannins of this Tempranillo wine to soften and highlight the bright berry notes with faint spice.

We started off with salads of mixed greens, onions, tomatoes, and hearts of palm in a mustard-y version of thousand island dressing (included in the price of entree). I nibbled at mine, picking out the hearts of palm (my favorite!). I didn't want to spoil my appetite, after all.

Our soups arrived shortly after the salads: one Sopa de Ajo (Garlic soup) and one Caldo Gallego (Spanish Vegetable Soup). The Sopa de Ajo was delicious, with the traditional soft-cooked egg in the bowl. I enjoyed the Caldo Gallego soup, too. The hot soup chased the chills from our bones.

Then came our "light lunch."

Two legs of falling-off-the-bone boar in a delicious sauce with lima beans , a plate of yellow rice, a plate of freshly fried potato slices and a bowl of mixed vegetables later (most of which we had wrapped up to go), we ordered a piece of almond cake (who can resist almond cake, I ask you?). The waiter also brought us two complimentary almond liqueurs from the bar. Did we feel like royalty? Oh yes!

Waddling out to the car, our bellies full and with the promise of a repeat meal (due to our sizeable doggy bag), we decided that we'd definitely return some day to taste the goat.

Hearty Seafood Potage and a Weird Wine

I wanted soup.

So, Karl and I braved the impending ice storm and horrible drivers and went to the store to gather all the necessary ingredients. It was well worth it. One of the ingredients was wine, so we stopped by the Wine & Spirits shop to pick up an irresistible Italian Pinot Grigio/Chardonnay blend ($6.99) and a Bandit boxed-liter Pinot Grigio ($9.99) as a backup.

Check out that bottle! Supposedly, this bottle, which I have mixed feelings about, is an homage to the glass-blowing traditions of the region. It just looks weird to me. The wine itself is a really yellowy gold color. It almost looks like melted butter. It smelled nice to me, like melons and white grape juice. Karl said it smelled like pears and that was it! I didn't smell any pears.

It did taste like pears, though! I really didn't know what to expect from this blend. I'd never heard of a Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay blend. This was clearly not aged in oak, so that was a blessing.

We concluded it was good but not awesome, and we did get what we paid for. I've had worse white wines, but we probably won't buy it again. I just had to try it, if only because of the ridiculous packaging!

On a side note: try Bandit boxed wine!! Great value, eco-friendly, simple-but-delicious wine (at least the pinot grigio). Check it out!!

The soup recipe follows: try it! It's simple, hearty, and pretty decadent for a $15-20 effort (depending on how much shrimp you put in).

Hearty Seafood Potage
(serves 3-4)

2-3 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 onion, chopped
1 14-oz. can of quartered artichoke hearts
1 14-oz. can chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 TBSP fresh, flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3/4 cup half-and-half (or light cream)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 lb to 1 lb raw, peeled shrimp

Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, and cook until softened (about 5 minutes). Add the artichoke hearts, broth, and white wine, then increase the heat to bring to a boil. Cover, and reduce the heat. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat, and, using an immersion blender, puree the soup. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a food processor or a regular blender, but do it in batches and be careful to take the necessary precautions!
Return the pureed soup to medium heat, and slowly whisk in the half-and-half. Add the parsley, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring the soup to a simmer, and let simmer for 5-10 minutes.
Add the raw shrimp to the soup and cook just until the shrimp are done (about 3-5 minutes). If you let them cook too long, though, they'll be tough and rubbery, so remove the pot from the heat the earliest you dare!

Enjoy hot with fresh parsley as a garnish.

Two Finals, Four Beers, Three Soups, a Book, and a Movie

Today was a very busy day. I was up at 6:30 and cramming at school by 7 a.m. (after waiting in a calm, cold drizzle for the 54-C, which blessedly was on time!).

Two final exams later, I was on my way home again. The first two things I did when I got home were crack open a Dogfish Head 60-minute IPA and look up a Thai takeout menu: I was craving some Thai soup!

Karl and I ordered Chicken Tom Yum, Shrimp Tom Kar, and Shrimp Jurd Sari from Thai Gourmet for a grand total of $10.70. I just love cheap food. The soups were delicious. I didn't get to taste the Jurd Sari, which I had never had, because that was Karl's and he's fighting a bit of a cold, but it smelled delicious! It was a seaweed soup with spinach, onions and scallions. The Tom Yum was very interesting: it actually smelled like rigatoni with marinara sauce to me, but it was a broth soup with mushrooms, tomatoes, chicken, and lemon grass with chili flavoring. And of course, the Tom Kar was awesome. Any coconut milk based soup is going to be a winner in my book!

I was reminded, however, that shrimp in soup just doesn't work for takeout. Because shrimp has such delicate flesh it cooks up very quickly and can easily be overcooked and become rubbery. Because of the transit time when you get takeout, the shrimp in your hot soup will just keep cooking until you get home...so you're almost never going to get that tender shrimp that is so tantalizing. I suppose I'll stick with vegetarian or chicken options next time!

After we ate our delicious soup, I had another beer and we watched Wine Library TV. Then Karl left to meet up with his study group, and I decided I wasn't studying tonight!

Instead I started J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan (or Peter and Wendy and Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens). So far, it is quite delightful! A few chapters in, I opened another beer.

Karl came home and we decided to watch Jackass 2. Too many snakes for me...but another beer helped calm my nerves.

A rather delightful day, except for the 6 hours of exam-taking!