The world is shrinking again. I just had a video conference with a peer in Italy. From a laptop in my house. In my pajamas (though I did throw a sweater over the top so you couldn’t tell). For free. All hail the mighty interwebz!

Also, I cooked last night. With only a minimum of carrot prepping assistance from Mym, I made an entire meal, from appetizer to dessert. As if that weren’t miracle enough, the meal was vegetarian, largely organic, and the appetizers included stuffed crimini mushrooms, of which Mym ate at least three. (Mym doesn’t generally like mushrooms if he can taste them.) I made at least one mistake following the instructions per dish, but nobody went hungry and nobody died (or wanted to). Win!

Appetizers: green seedless grapes, stuffed and baked mushroom caps

Main Fare: roasted cumin carrots, baked artichokes, couscous with apricot vinaigrette, edamame, french bread

Dessert: brandied peaches with whipped cream

Baked Artichokes (from my sister)
3-4 large globe artichokes
½ c. olive oil
8-12 sprigs of fresh thyme
salt and pepper
¼ c. balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp honey mustard (or Dijon mustard and honey)

Preheat oven to 350°F
Wash and cut the artichokes into 4-8 pieces each and place in a baking dish. Combine all other ingredients and coat artichokes. Bake covered for 45 minutes, turning the artichokes once about halfway through.

Edamame
1 package frozen edamame

Open package and dump contents into a microwave safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and nuke for 4 minutes.

Brandied Peaches and Cream (from my mother)
1 jar of Mom’s homemade brandied peaches
½ pt heavy cream
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Whip cream with mixer. When it begins to thicken, add sugar and vanilla; stir. Spoon over peaches.