According to the newly added category cloud in the side bar. I put it there because I like to trawl through the different categories on other people's sites, depending on my particular mood that day, and thought it was time enough to have one of my own. I didn't really assign categories before the end of last year, so it's not comprehensive, but never mind because, really, I think it's rather safe to say that it's all pretty much just one big ramble.

I can't remember any longer how I found my way to this mujadara recipe, and even less why I tried it (just lentils, rice, and onions? how good could that be?) but I thank all things foodie that I did. It's my new favourite lunch. Truly delicious (though you really do have to heed her instructions re. cooking the onions long and slow, it's absolutely crucial). You can see what I thought of it by the empty plate above - I had made two servings, one for that day, one for the next. Hah, yeah, good joke.
I also thought an email I received today was a bit of a good joke the first time I read it, which brings me nicely to explaining the other new (and rather premature, but I've told you before how hopeless I am at waiting) addition to the sidebar. If you've lived on planet blogland for more than a few seconds, you'll no doubt know of the Julie/Julia project that Julie Powell started nearly 7 years ago. Then came the book, and now the movie. The movie website is featuring a 'blog of the day' each day until the movie's release on August 7th, and the scent of water will be there in all its foodie-wanna-be glory on July 8th (why me? I have absolutely no idea. I figure if we all keep quiet, no-one will realise I'm a total fraud. So ssssshhhh.)
I think it probably makes me and Ms. Streep practically best friends, wouldn't you say? I have mentioned before the way I feel about her. Check out the movie trailer on the website, it looks like a great one.

As obsessed as I am with food (and I am, very), it doesn't show up on this site as much as it does in real life, but I did have one idea a few months ago that I have never gotten around to doing, and now seems like the perfect time to give it a go.
According to a national paper, it should cost somewhere around NZ$350/week to feed a family my size on an average food budget. If I shopped at an organic store instead of the supermarket, I wondered, and left out all of the processed gloop I lazily shove into my trolley far too often, could I still keep it to this average budget? I'd like to try.
On Monday I will take out $350 in cash and see what it will get me for the week. I'll catalogue what I make and what it cost me, etc., and so forth. I have both Julie's and Julia's memoir on my bedside table to read as encouragement when I can't be bothered to pull together yet another meal, and a ridiculously large number of cookbooks to look through for inspiration. Rock on.
(In other news, I bought an older style second hand Bernina today for almost half what it would have cost me to repair my newish flash computerised one. It'll arrive in a couple of days, and I've already decided on my first project: produce bags like these. Everything's coming full circle, baby. And I'm still rambling.)