The ticking of the cuckoo clock is the only sound in the room. The smell of braising short ribs is cut by the scent of vanilla wafting from my teacup. The sky is grey, the lights are one and I am feeling at peace. As I mentioned in my previous post, this is the first weekend in a very long time where I really have no excuse to leave the house and I am enjoying every minute of it. Though I did leave the house earlier today to pick up some food supplies at Whole Foods in Los Gatos, but that doesn’t count :)

My life really only has two speeds: idleness and craziness. Either everything is moving forward like an urbanite on the streets of Manhattan or slows down to the idyllic life I imagine exists in the French countryside. There is no in between with me and frankly, that’s the way I like it. I like to keep myself busy (who doesn’t?) but every once in a while, a weekend filled with nothing but tea, scones, quiet and a few good books refreshes me. Too many of those and I start to get antsy and agitated, but more often the opposite is the norm. Which is ok as I am comforted by feeling satisfied with my life.

I spent some time this morning to look through my various recipe storage devices to think about what I want to make this weekend. I had come up with this: Hamilton Squash from Jamie Oliver’s Happy Days with the Naked Chef, Braised Short Ribs with Red Wine Sauce by Traci Des Jardins, Apricot and Walnut Vareniki from Deb @ Smitten Kitten and Mini-Scones à la Carotte et au Romarin (or simply Carrot and Rosemary Mini-Scones) from Clotilde @ Chocolate and Zucchini. The meat and vegetable dish would be dinner while the dessert and breakfast item would be saved for tomorrow. Great plan, eh?

Except that I’m an idiot and realized after the short ribs had been in the oven for 30 minutes that the Squash dish required roasting at a higher temperature. Bah! Also, I can’t seem to find any light whipping cream (though finding chickpea flour was a cinch) anywhere. Man, I wish I had a double oven :)

Maybe I’ll take pictures of the finished products. Or maybe you’ll just have to use your imagination (or come over tonight for dinner–there will be plenty.)

What’s left for the day? My tea, of course. Maybe a Greek play (Sophocles? Euripides? Aeschylus?) or some English lit (George Elliot). Maybe I’ll go contemporary or just forgo the book for mindless TV. Regardless of what I choose, my batteries will be refreshing themselves and peace will fill my soul…