I walked with Rainey this morning, and then did yoga at 1:30.  After that I started cooking my beef bourgignon for Eliza's birthday tomorrow night.  This was her choice for dinner.

She had just seen Julie and Julia and wanted to have the beef stew experience.  We dug out my old cookbook of Julia Child's and Simone Beck, the one I learned to cook from when I was first married.  The copyright is 1964 and I probably bought it that same year.  I taught myself to cook from The New York Times Cookbook, Escoffier (too hard, too French) and Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  Wow, brings back old memories.

Sigrid was saying she'd love to have my old cookbook, so I will give it to her.  She is such a fabulous cook--far better than I.  She made us a first class halibut and vegetable dish when I was down there last week.

The smell of braising beef permeates my house tonight.  I was just outside watching the boys swing and giving my succulents a little dousing.  It's cool, with the fog rolling in, but a quiet, delicious twilight. 

I'm looking forward to getting into bed and continuing to read Marlena de Blasi's book, The Lady in the Palazzo.  I read her first book, A 1000 Nights in Venice, where she moves to Italy and marries an Italian.  She's a chef and author. The books are filled with descriptions of markets, meals, and local, rustic food.  She and her husband, Fernando make friends with a woman who opened her own simple restaurant, where she cooks local bounty like rabbit, lamb, chickens, and harvests whatever arrives in the spring--watercress, grains, and other lovely things.  Marlena and Fernando sometimes sit in the evening with two nearly silent shepherds who befriend them. They grill olive-oil drizzled bread on the fire, drink wine and enjoy the deepening evening.  de Blasi is a very sensual writer.

Gotta run and take out the stew.  It is surely done after four hours.  I just need to throw in the sauteed mushrooms and braised onions and I'm, done for the night.