Breakfast is the most important meal of the day

On the menu at Chez Rylander this morning.
- Pancakes made with vanilla soy milk, toasted walnuts, bananas and maple syrup
- bacon
- 4 egg omelet with thyme, sauted red bell peppers and green onions

My friend Ben has suggested that I take a snapshot of the meals once and a while. I agree. Unfortunately, I've forgotten every time this week. Even the chicken tacos and guacamole we had last night. And for this morning, I forgot until I had cleaned up. All that was left to capture were a handful of toasted walnuts. Enjoy!

Pregnancy cravings

She really wanted pulled pork. I don't know why, but she did. We have our usual pulled pork spread - Alabama baked beans and cole slaw. She wanted to so badly she made the beans and came home with the bag of slaw. I just did the rest; the actual cooking of the pork. Which, by the way, turned out better than usual. I attribute this to the fact that, (a) I bought the pork shoulder from the Lincoln Market, and (b) I dry rubbed it at least 8 hours before cooking.
She was happy. I was happy with it.

Chicken Soup

I read that chicken soup really can help a cold and that it's not an urban legend. Since Alisha and I both have lingering colds I decided to make some.
I admit, I didn't have 12 hours, plus 8 hours to cool, to make perfect chicken stock. But I did have a high quality chicken base and some boneless breasts. I used Martha Stewarts chicken noodle soup recipe as a template, which I then added chopped oregano and thyme.
I poured it over Farfale pasta, bow ties to some, which made it fun, as Alisha says. Her only complaint that was vocal was that the noodles were to al dante....which translates into: "not mushy enough for soup." You can't win them all.