There is a teenager in the house

Isabel turned 13 yesterday. She received a hair dryer, a curling iron, nail polish, a GAP hoodie, and a Lady Gaga CD, all of which she wanted. She didn't request a Snuggie, which was Owen's gift. He was very proud of his gift; she was uncharacteristically gentle and diplomatic. 

She and I also had this first-ever exchange.

Isabel: Mom, are we doing anything on Saturday night?

Tipsy: No, why?

Isabel: Because Juliet and I want to go wander around the mall.

Silence. 

Tipsy: What mall?

Isabel: Oh, I don't know. Just a mall.

Her dinner of choice: hibiscus cooler from the Mexican phase of this blog, calzones, and an Oreo bundt cake from Maida Heatter's cake book. It looked like a giant chocolate donut.

You make a rich sour cream batter into which are folded fifteen chopped Oreos; bake; top with thick chocolate glaze. Not a bad cake, but you can't taste the Oreos at all, so there is really no point. 

After cake, after my mother went home, we watched The Office. Fought over the Snuggie.

*****

It seemed unappealing to lead this post with lentil soup, but I did start cooking from Moro the other night and the lentil soup is vegan and yummy. It's also ugly and sludgy brown, so no picture. To go with, I made Moroccan flatbreads

 

that contained fennel seed and were perhaps a tiny bit overcooked hence cardboardy. Tasty, though.

Here are some Moro dishes I want to make: chestnut and chorizo soup; pheasant with cloves, cinnamon and chestnuts; grilled quail with rose petals; Malaga raisin ice cream.

Here are some Moro dishes I don't want to make: pickled turnips, turnips with vinegar, scrambled eggs with mushrooms, kidneys with sherry.