How am I different?

Devastator

I counted my cookbooks this week and there are 1,123 occupying 266 feet of shelf space. I asked Mark how he felt about this and he said, "Fine, although someone with that many cookbooks has no right to tell other people what to do with their s***."

Owen wants you to know: "That's not nearly all of my Transformers."

Mark doesn't have a lot of stuff and neither does Isabel, so I never tell them what to do with their stuff. He was talking about the daily occasions when I tell Owen to take pieces of his Transformer collection to his room. Owen has 83 Transformers and they regularly migrate around the house. After his Transformers movie marathon party, for instance, all 83 had migrated downstairs and I think I gently told him once or twice what to do with his s***.

On Friday, a Devastator (G1) arrived from Hilliard, Ohio. This was Owen's first eBay purchase and I discouraged it. I foresee trouble and I would know.

bible

He wanted to skip his trombone lesson to prepare for Devastator's arrival. I said, "Absolutely not, you have all weekend to play with Devastator." He looked at me as if I'd just tried to put him to bed with a warm bottle and blankie. He said, "Mom, I don't PLAY with Transformers, I collect them. I have to look it over immediately to make sure it's got all its pieces."

He's now saving his allowance for a first-generation Bruticus.

My heart sinks. But what can I say? I understand the ardor, if not the object.

Cooking:

Wednesday. Nancy Silverton's long-cooked greens, poached egg and fontina sandwich. I already wrote about the laborious poaching of the ham shank, parboiling of greens, sauteeing of greens, long braising of greens in ham broth. I counted the cooking vessels: ten, not including cutting boards which also needed to be washed. Mark and the kids didn't like the sandwiches on account of the greens (used kale), which was my favorite part. I would happily eat these sandwiches again, but would never make them again. After dinner Mark said, "What are we having tomorrow? Peanut butter and jelly and tuna?"

Close.

Thursday.  Gorgonzola, honey, roasted radicchio, and candied walnuts sandwich. Silverton calls for roasting the radicchio (under plastic wrap, of course) until you're left with a limp heap of incredibly bitter, blackish-purple vegetable. I can eat it, but wouldn't cry if radicchio rolled back into the pit it came out of 30 years ago. You toast walnut bread, spread with gorgonzola, drizzle with honey, top with candied walnuts and radicchio. Components all fine, sandwich bad. Discordant. Tasted like an orchestra sounds when it's warming up.

I might stretch Nancy Silverton's Sandwich Book over the last few days before spring break because I don't want to get going on a new book and then stop when we go on our big vacation. A short vacation, but big. We are going to Japan. It is the trip Mark booked and planned two years ago that we cancelled because of Fukushima. I have no idea what we are going to do in Tokyo and Kyoto, which is where we are going. Mark is doing the research. If you have suggestions, I will write them all down and pursue.

Friday. I baked The World's Best Cookies from San Francisco A La Carte. This is a brown sugar cookie that contains crushed cornflakes, coconut, chopped pecans and rolled oats. Recipe here. I used to think these really were the world's best cookies, but now think they are merely good. Book club night so I wasn't home to make dinner. Family relieved?

Saturday. We had friends over and served picadillo and black beans with strawberry cobbler for dessert. Old favorites. Can't think of anything to say about the food, but it dawned on both Mark and me how much more fun it is to have friends over when your kids -- and their kids -- are 12 and 16 as opposed to 2 and 6. Suddenly there are these thoughtful young adults at the table who have opinions on Downton Abbey and don't spill their milk. Overnight they've stopped detracting from the occasion and become the most interesting part of the occasion. It's wonderful and a little scary.

Today. I was going to make a Simnel cake to take to my sister's tonight, but changed my mind. Lots of work and no one will like it as much as Laurie Colwin's nutmeg cake so I made that instead.