Two things. First, we had sandwich #5 at Zingerman’s and we didn’t like it that much. Shocking, right? This one is called Rodger’s Big Picnic. Here’s the description: oven-roasted asparagus, grilled portabella mushrooms, cheddar & Dijon mustard on grilled farm bread. Erik thought that it would taste better with a slice of ham or something like that, and not just because he’s a meat eater. I though that the cheddar and mustard didn’t really go with the vegetables. We both agreed that to make it better and keep it vegetarian, the thing to do would be to replace the cheddar with some goat cheese and lose the mustard altogether. To be fair, there was nothing wrong with any of the individual parts. I really did like the mushrooms and loved the asparagus, especially the little tips that stuck out of the edge of the bread.

We did find the place upstairs at Zingerman’s Next Door (the café part of the operation) that has a lot of the sandwiches described and annotated, like this one. They also have the retired ones. Now I can stop waiting for that list.

The second item on the agenda today is a little bit of whining. We haven’t been able to move into our new house because the people renting it have decided they don’t want to leave yet. Lawyers and judges are getting involved. We’ve had to leave the lovely apartment near Zingerman’s that we stayed in all summer because Jeremy is back from his archeological dig in Bolivia and he needed it back (thanks again for everything Jeremy!). For now we are staying in a temporary place. It’s in an apartment complex that was built in the 70s. The walls are paper thin, the carpet has definitely seen better days and the kitchen, people, is hideous. I had to spend two hours cleaning before I could even consider putting any of my stuff in there. The first time I turned on a burner on the stove, the flames licked half way up my enamelware pot. I’m afraid to try the oven. Plus, there’s no table or chairs. That’s right, we are reduced to eating at the coffee table for the next who knows how long. I feel like I’m living someone else’s life.

Not much cooking has been going on over here, let me tell you. I had a couple of fried eggs and some sliced tomato for lunch yesterday. We’ve been eating a lot of quesadillas. Last night, I cooked what I would consider the first real meal I’ve made here; chana masala and rice with peas, but I didn’t make all of the other accoutrements that we usually have with Indian food. No naan, no chutney, no side dish of muglai saag. Erik missed the raita the most. Note to self: do not make anything remotely resembling Indian food ever again unless there is yogurt on hand or the boy will be very unhappy.

We went to the one brother’s house a couple of times, and then to the other brother’s house. I called my sister-in-law Sara today and said, "Um, if you guys aren’t busy tonight, can I come over and cook dinner at your house?" I’m really happy she didn’t say no, because I have these rancho gordo santa maria pinquito beans that I’m really wanting to cook with some pork neck bones and sofrito.

One more thing, we don’t have internet here, in spite of waiting around all day today for the Comcast people, so the posts might get a little few and far between in the next couple of weeks. I’ll try not to let too many days go by. I do have a few recipes to share and I will be thinkin’ about you all.