Where's the Boeuf?

Pics from the girls are in. Crockpots of melt-in-your mouth, gravylicious, Julie Child goodness.

Haley, Left. Hannah, Right.

BUH - MAZING.

Excuses I've made so far as to why I have yet to attempt:

- Car is in the shop. (TRUE)

- It's been 100 degrees outside and probably 105 inside. (TRUE)

- I have leftovers I want to get through before heading to the store. (TRUE)

- Big foot stole my oven. (Umm...)

Okay, so the majority of these are valid. I truly want to do this! Now the pressure is really on. We are out of here on Thursday. So before then hopefully I can get it together.

*I love cream cheese, cake, bananas, and hummingbirds. How coincidental that I stumbled upon these today! Thinking along with the beef, they're going to be making their way up to the cabin with us in a few days.

Hummingbird Cupcakes.

http://www.yumsugar.com/4415567

Amigas, por favor.

Below, an email forward sent to me by Mom on Friday which, little did SHE know, was girls night. Making it oh-so-much-more appropriate.

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day,

drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother.

As they talked about life, about marriage, about the

responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood,

the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass

thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance

upon her daughter.

"Don't forget your Sisters," she advised, swirling

the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass.

'They'll be more important as you get older.

No matter how much you love your husband,

no matter how much you love the children

you may have, you are still going to need Sisters.

Remember to go places with them now and then;

do things with them.'

'Remember that "Sisters" means ALL the women...

your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other

women relatives too.

'You'll need other women. Women always do.'

What a funny piece of advice, the young woman

thought.

Haven't I just gotten married?

Haven't I just joined the couple-world?

I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake!

A grownup!

Surely my husband and the family we may start

will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!'

But she listened to her Mother.

She kep t contact with her "Sisters" and made more

women friends each year...

As the years tumbled by, one after another,

she gradually came to understand that her Mum really

knew what she was talking about.

As time and nature work their changes

and their mysteries upon a woman, "Sisters" are the

mainstays of her life.

After more than 50 years of living in this world,

here is what I've learned:

Time passes.

Life happens.

Distance separates.

Children grow up.

Jobs come and go.

Love waxes and wanes.

Men don't do what they're supposed to do.

Hearts break.

Parents die..

Colleagues forget favours.

Careers end...

BUT...........

"Sisters" are there, no matter how much time

and how many miles are between you.

A girlfriend is never farther away

than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you

have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life

will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on,

praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on

your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the

valley's end.

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk

beside you... or come in and carry you out.

Girlfriends, daughters, grand daughters,

daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers,

Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended

family, all bless our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and

neither would I. When we began this adventure called

womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or

sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we

would need each other.

Chasing Julia.

I saw Julie & Julia on Friday with Haley and Hannah. Friendship, food, family, labor, love, closing in on thirty, knowing when it's time to make a change, time to take a risk, time to let go - it all hit home.

Entertaining, inspiring, therapeutic. Thank you Julie & Julia for your stories. And recipes.

In lieu of the drooling and "ooing" and "aweing" at every frame of eats shown on the big screen - a challenge for myself this week: I will be attempting to whip up Ms. Child's Boeuf Bourguignon.

The girls are already on the case and passing down tips and suggestions from their mothers and sisters who have also seen the movie and had a craving to attempt this beast. They say to prepare to sweat. Wish me luck - I'm certain I'll need it. Pics to come.

And if you dare to try...

Boeuf Bourguignon

Ingredients

One 6-ounce piece of chunk bacon

3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 carrot, sliced

1 onion, sliced

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons flour

3 cups red wine, young and full-bodied (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy)

2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups brown beef stock

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cloves mashed garlic

1/2 teaspoon thyme

A crumbled bay leaf

18 to 24 white onions, small

3 1/2 tablespoons butter

Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf, one-quarter teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)

1 pound mushrooms, fresh and quartered

Cooking Directions

Remove bacon rind and cut into lardons (sticks 1/4-inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and lardons for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Sauté lardons in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a flameproof casserole over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.

Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat fat in casserole until almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the lardons.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the excess fat.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes.

Toss the meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes (this browns the flour and coves the meat with a light crust).

Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in wine and 2 to 3 cups stock, just enough so that the meat is barely covered.

Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove.

Cover casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3 to 4 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with one and one-half tablespoons of the oil until bubbling in a skillet.

Add onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling them so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect them to brown uniformly.

Add 1/2 cup of the stock, salt and pepper to taste and the herb bouquet.

Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but hold their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet and set onions aside.

Wipe out skillet and heat remaining oil and butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add mushrooms.

Toss and shake pan for 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as they have begun to brown lightly, remove from heat.

When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan.

Wash out the casserole and return the beef and lardons to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms on top.

Skim fat off sauce in saucepan. Simmer sauce for a minute or 2, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.

If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons stock. Taste carefully for seasoning.

Pour sauce over meat and vegetables. Cover and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times.

Serve in casserole, or arrange stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice, and decorated with parsley.

A Sneak Peek.

One word: ENGAGED!

Overduueeee.

From our trip in Palm Springs over the 4th...

Chasing Darling Nikki.

Yesterday we celebrated Miss Rye's 29 years on this planet. Sunday funday at the Malibu Winery.

Dana + Pat = Love.

Dana and Pat are very recently engaged and, clearly, very in love! We decided to play around a bit with some pics before they move to San Francisco next week. So sad to see them go BUT now we have yet another excuse to make more visits up North.

Had some issues with our settings as we were fighting the sunset, bigtime. But that's what being an amateur is about and, nonetheless, we got some great shots of the two frolicking! You can see the sparks, can't you??