Rebuilding

Finally settled back in the US.  Its been a rather hectic and time-consuming ordeal.  As I'm sure you can guess by my lack of posting.  Eating in restaurants and staying in hotels for 2 months doesn't provide a lot of fodder for blogging about food.  That is, unless you want to hear about the 4th schnitzel that week, or Charlotte's extreme dislike of anything presented to her by a waitress.  So we'll by-pass that less than heart-warming section of our travels and come straight to the rebuilding phase.  Its a little daunting to move, especially when it involves leaving such a solid base of friends, community, and well, who can forget the pretty awesome food options in Europe.  But here we are, working on building a life in the DC area.  Of all the places to land, its pretty nice.  We're finding some routine and starting to explore a little.  And what's best is that I get to start cooking again.  So here's some of the first attempts:

Coffee
What?!  As a functional caffeine addict how can you even think of talking about making coffee?!  Well, apparently I am out of practice with using a French Press.  Couple that with barely sleeping due to a fussy two year old and an uncomfortable air mattress and it appears that my coffee making skills have suffered.  The result was highly caffeinated sludge.  Resembling the consistency of tar.  Or perhaps black colored caulk.  At one point I think it even growled at me.  And no, I did not throw it out.  I just got a spoon.

Oatmeal Pancakes
Please see my previous article about leavening.  Baking soda and baking powder are wonderful things.  And pancakes without them, especially when made with oatmeal that already has a pretty gluey, heavy consistency, came out the consistency of paving stones.  Flat, dense, hard, and a mottled brown.

So, come on over to my place in Alexandria.  Grab a glass of wine and a shovel.  Between the wine, the tar, and the new pavers we're ready for rebuilding.