Oh my goodness Internet, why did you not tell me how delicious and easy this is? Seriously, I want to eat this for the next four nights. And it's even healthy!

I've been roasting broccoli forever, but only recently came across recipes that added shrimp. Melissa Clarke may have put the first version online, and I know Kalyn also has one. Here's my version. Because everything's better with siracha.

Spicy Roasted Shrimp and Broccoli 2 servings

1/2 lb shelled medium shrimp
few squeezes siracha sauce
spray oil or 2 tsp. olive oil
3-4 cups chopped broccoli
chili powder to taste
cumin to taste
salt and pepper
optional--1-2 teaspoons finely chopped nuts
chopped scallions

One or two hours before cooking, toss the shrimp with some siracha to barely coat. Put in fridge to marinate until you warm up the oven.
Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil, and spray with oil. Toss the broccoli onto the foil, spray with oil, and season with chili, cumin, salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes. Throw the shrimp onto the pan with the optional nuts. Roast another 5 minutes, and stir everything around.

Roast for the final 5 minutes. Pour into a bowl, add the scallions, more salt and pepper if desired, and serve..

Larry's mother has been playing the "I'm turning 80 and want to go to Switzerland" card for a few years. She doesn't have friends who travel, didn't want to join a small group tour, and isn't the sort of person who would enjoy solo travel. So, Larry is escorting her to Switzerland for 9 days; and then his sister is flying over for a week and to escort her back to New York. I'm showing up in Lugano toward the end of Larry's stint, and then he and I are escaping to Italy.

We had a very short visit to Bologna in 2005, and have wanted to return ever since. I rented what looks to be a nice apartment in the centro for our first 8 nights.
Olympia Apartment. http://www.perfectplaces.com/host_view_dtl.cfm?ref_num=168536

Besides wandering the streets, museums, food shops and restaurants of Bologna, we've planned a few things. I booked a market tour and pasta-making class with Maribel of Taste of Italy. http://www.taste-of-italy.com/ I also booked a day-long food tour with Italian Days to visit a Parmesan factory, a Prosciutto producer, and a small Balsamico producer. The fee was (in my opinion) on the steep side, but as we priced out renting a car and paying for gas, plus time, and the challenges of making arrangements...ah well, why not.http://www.italiandays.it/ We're also planning taking the train for the short hop to Parma; and possibly Modena or Ferrara, perhaps a return to Ravenna. I've made a Google Map, which I found very helpful for our London trip. https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=203608144991816870682.0004d70d1da16c9c1f07e&msa=0&ll=44.491301,11.328878&spn=0.050023,0.111494

At the end of our time In Bologna, we're picking up a car and driving to Piemonte. We loved this region on our last trip to Italy. This time we're staying north of Asti, in a less-touristed part of the Monferrato. I had contacted Toni, the owner of the lovely house we rented last time, but her places were already booked. She had a friend who was renovating a little house in the village of Cocconato. The village is lively, the house (which is finally just about finished, this was an act of faith!) has magnificent views and is extremely reasonably priced. Ca 'Ginota. https://www.facebook.com/CaGinotaHolidayRental

We're planning on a relaxing week of wandering, maybe revisiting some of the cities and towns we enjoyed last time and the little villages, some hiking, good food and wine. And here's my Piemonte Google map. https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=203608144991816870682.0004d89feb10008d77f2c&msa=0

Here's an experiment which turned out pretty well. I was looking for something to go with a Thai vegetable curry I made last week. I saw a "Pad Thai Cabbage" recipe online, and though the recipe didn't look terribly pad thai-ish (how's that for mangling two languages at once) I though the idea sounded interesting. The horror--so many pad thai recipes call for ketchup. For the real deal, use tamarind paste--it comes in a little jar from Asian markets, lasts forever in the fridge, and can be used in all sorts of ways when you want a sweet-tart taste. I mashed together a few recipes, and here's what I came up with. Interestingly, it tasted even better the next day after the flavors had soaked into the cabbage a bit more.

Cabbage with Pad Thai Flavors

2 tsp vegetable oil or a spritz of spray oil
1/2 small cabbage, shredded thickly (4-5 cups)
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
3 cloves minced garlic

SAUCE:
1 Tbs. fish sauce
1-2 Tbs. soy sauce
2 Tbs tamarind paste (from Asian market)
2 Tbs. broth, white wine or water
2-3 tsp. sugar (or more to taste)
squeeze of lime
a few squeezes siracha or other chili sauce to taste

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup chopped scallion
(optional additions--cooked shrimp, chicken, or tofu)

1-2 Tbs. chopped peanuts (optional, but really good)
chopped cilantro
juice of a lime, plus another to squeeze at table

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Sauce the cabbage for 5-6 minutes, until it begins to soften. Meanwhile, mix together the sauce ingredients.Taste and adjust to your liking to balance sweet/salty/sour. Remove cabbage from the pan, and add the mushrooms. Saute them until cooked through. Return the cabbage to the pan with the garlic, cook a few more minutes until cooked to your liking. Move the vegetables to the sides of the pan, leaving a space in the middle. Pour in the eggs, let begin to set, then scramble until set. Mix the eggs into the vegetables, and add the scallions and the sauce, and whatever other protein you wish. Let cook a few minutes, then pour into serving bowl. Top with peanuts, cilantro, and lime segments..

One morning several years ago as part of an amazing breakfast served in a friend's home in Haifa, my hostess casually threw this together. She told me it was something her Moroccan-born father used to make. Like my beloved Shakshuka, I eat it for breakfast, lunch or a light dinner. It's one of those freeform things that barely qualifies as a recipe. It's a great way to use up mesclun that may be starting to lose it's freshness. The goal is to have a large amount of greens that wilt down so the frittata is more greens than egg.

1. Prepare a small frying pan with a teaspoon of olive oil or a sprintz of oil spray. Preheat the broiler.

2. Put 3-4 cups of mesclun mix into the pan. You'll probably need to do this in 2-3 batches, adding more as the previous batch wilts. Turn constantly. Add 2-3 Tbs. chopped scallions and 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin.

3. Mix two eggs well, and pour into the pan. Let the bottom set, and then transfer the pan into the oven, to the rack in the middle of the oven, not the one close to the burner. In 3-4 minutes, the frittata should be puffed and almost done. Now put it onto the top rack for 30-60 seconds, to lightly brown. (if you like, you can put some feta or goat cheese on top before moving the pan up!)

4. Remove pan from oven, and sprinkle on 3-4 Tbs. chopped fresh mint and cilantro, or more to taste. Top with some hot sauce, chopped tomatoes or salsa, and plain yogurt if you wish.

Two of my favorite people who are yearly guests at our Passover Seder can't eat gluten. This year I wanted to experiment with making gluten-free matzah balls for them. Matzah balls, for anyone not raised on them, are an Eastern European Jewish comfort food, plump dumplings that soak up flavor from the aromatic chicken soup in which they float. Or sink, as the case may be. People are tend to be firmly in either the "floaters" or "sinkers" camp.

They're made from matzah meal (crushed matzahs), eggs, water or broth, oil or chicken fat, and seasonings. A higher proportion of egg tends to give a fluffier result, less a chewier, denser. In looking around for gluten-free recipes I found those based on potato, almond flour, or gluten-free matzahs. All seemed to have mixed reviews--the potato ones too heavy and closer to a German potato dumpling, the almond meal ones also heavy, and the gluten-free matzah meal ones exploding in the cooking water. I saw one based on quinoa flakes that had overwhelmingly positive feedback, and my Goddaughter also sent me that one as she thought it had possibilities.

I sent Larry to Whole Foods with the shopping list. The first phone call was "I can't find quinoa flakes." It hadn't occurred to him to ask a salesperson. *eyeroll* Men. The next phone call was "Do you know how much xantham gum costs?" A small bag was $14.00--and all I needed for the recipe was 1/2 teaspoon! I called my GF friend, and she said the bag she had seemed to have gone bad, with a sour odor. (it is vegetable-based, so I guess it does have a short shelf life.) Fortunately, my GF guests were happy to split the bag with me.

OK, so on to the matzah balls. I based the experiment on this recipe, with some minor changes--I added a tablespoon of broth, melted chicken fat, and some snipped parsley and dill for flavor; I also let them sit longer in the fridge and cooked the balls longer to see if they'd get a bit lighter. http://www.tamaraduker.com/2009/03/not-your-mamas-gluten-free-matzoh-balls/

The result was quite good--the balls held together, and you could only tell they were not made from matzah meal if you looked closely enough to see some quinoa shapes now and then on the surface. The taste was mild, which soaked up the broth flavor from the soup beautifully. The texture was decent, somewhat on the "sinker" side, but nothing a Grandmother would complain about. Success!

Gluten-free Quinoa “Matzoh” Balls

Makes 10-12 quinoa balls

1 cup quinoa flakes (look in the hot cereal aisle of Whole Foods or other store)

1/2 tsp xanthan gum (look in baking supplies at Whole foods)

2 large eggs

1/4 cup melted chicken fat or vegetable oil

1 Tbs. broth or water

1/2 tsp salt

A sprinkle of ground black pepper to your liking

Tablespoon of each chopped parsley and dill

Combine quinoa flakes and xanthan gum in a small bowl.
In a separate bowl, beat the two eggs. Add oil, broth, herbs, salt and pepper and beat again until combined.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix well until combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 60 minutes.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. (You don’t want the matzoh balls to be crowded).
Remove batter from refrigerator and wet hands. With wet hands, fashion a SMALL amount of batter into a smooth ball shape and drop into the boiling water. ( Each uncooked ball should be no larger than the size of a ping-pong ball… they will expand when cooking, and if they’re too big, the middle may not cook through sufficiently.)
Cover pot and cook the quinoa balls, maintaining a rolling boil, cook 45 minutes.
Remove the balls from boiling water with a slotted spoon and let sit to cool for a few minutes. Then, refrigerate the balls until ready to serve.
Before serving, place quinoa balls in pot of soup to warm them through.

Early Wednesday morning we took the train to Swindon (which I can never say without hearing Eric Idle's voice in my head), then changed trains to arrive in Stroud. And a word about buying tickets on Britain's trains--the pricing, it's wonky as Hell. You go on the official site for whichever train system you're riding , and the prices are all over the place, depending not only on what time of day you're traveling, but when you're buying the ticket. It feels like buying airline tickets, trying to judge when the prices will fall or rise. And you can also go through independent sites like Seat61 or Thetrainonline, which sometimes offer cheaper rates, and sometimes bounce you back to the Virgin site. Crazymaking.

Anyway, we headed out to spend the day with old friends Pauline and Steve, and see Jonathan and Phillipa for lunch. Pauline picked us up from the station, and mercifully the mists of the morning were starting to clear. We first visited the adorable cottage they're renting, in an old renovated mill besides a stream outside the village of Painswick. The village is tiny and beautiful, with mellow stone buildings, a "New" street from 1426, the oldest building in England to have a post office, an evocative old church and graveyard, and even 17th century stocks. http://painswick.co.uk/

We took a lovely walk through the 18th century Rococo Gardens, which is famous for its snowdrops, which were conveniently in bloom. Pretty views over the hills, long sweeps of snowdrops, cute old fanciful mini buildings, a hedgemaze where we got lost. http://www.rococogarden.org.uk/Home/tabid/103/Default.aspx

I'd noticed when we were being driven around Liverpool earlier in the week that I found the motion of cars on the left side of the road a bit unsettling. Even when walking in London the "wrongness" of traffic coming from the opposite side was hard to get used to--Larry had to constantly caution me to "Look Right" when crossing streets.And in the back of a car, hurtling on the left side of narrow country lanes, when it seemed as if we'd smash into an oncoming car that had to edge over..ugh. Definitely something for me to adjust to.

Anyway, we drove over to the pub where we met Jonathan and Phillippa, and all had a wonderful lunch together. The Woolpack is a cozy, informal place with good cooking. http://www.thewoolpackinn-slad.com/ I kept meaning to hand my camera to the waitress so she could take our photo together, but forgot.

After saying goodbye to J&P, we drove through some of the towns in the area, and across the Commons, traditional large grassy areas where cattle are still let out to roam during the Summer. The area is also marked by the remains of iron age forts and embankments. Pauline and Steven enjoy the many walking paths, which crisscross the area and go through private land as well as public. We walked through a tiny village, exchanging pleasantries with a woman out tending her gorgeous garden.

We stopped at Selsley All Saints Church, with an interior and windows designed by William Morris. http://allsaintsselsley.org.uk/

Then a cream tea in the adorable old wool village of Minchinhampton, at the Kitchen. http://www.cotswolds.info/places/minchinhampton.shtml

Train back to London, and to bed. We enjoyed our brief visit, and would love to further explore the area another time.

Tuesday morning we joined one of the London Walks, this one called "Secret London." http://www.walks.com/

We were met by the tour guide Rex, who led us and about 15 other bundled-up people in and out of the Holburn area. We began in Staple Inn, which in the 16th century was where wool was weighed and taxed. It is one of the few buildings that survived the Great Fire, although has been extensively rebuilt, especially after being bombed in WW2. The timbered facade leads into a brick courtyard, the buildings of which has been used as one of the Inns of Chancery, and are now an actuary's institute.

Rex led us into the courtyard of an ornate red brick late Victorian Gothic building, Holburn Bars, where Dickens had lived on the site of an earlier building. The present structure was built by Prudential Insurance in a time when women were beginning to work in offices--it had extra stairways so women wouldn't need to go up with a man behind her! We followed Rex through a tiny passageway to Ye Olde Mitre in Ely Place, built in 1546 when it was still the bishop of Ely's land. Then on to the oldest Catholic church in London, St. Etheldreda's (which of course was turned into a Church of England church during Henry VIII's reign) and St. Andrew's reconstructed by Christopher Wren. Love the statues of children who were educated by a school for poor children nearby. (and according to Rex, the material used is still trying to be replicated today)

We also found Dr. Johnson's house, St. Bride's church, a 19th century bathhouse, more early buildings among the modern glass and steel. All along the walk we were treated to stories about the people who lived in the area through the centuries, a lot of history, a bit of historical illustration, and a lot of fun. We enjoyed the walk, and would recommend it.

Rex suggested the Cheshire Cheese Pub nearby for lunch. It' was rebuilt in 1667, and full of atmosphere. There's a little pub area down a twisty staircase, or the small upstairs dining room. We opted for a booth in the dining room, and had an excellent lunch--fish and chips for me, sausages and mash for Larry. And a pint. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ye_Olde_Cheshire_Cheese

Afterward, we visited Dr. Johnson's house, which has been restored to its 18th century detail. The rooms have documents and artwork related to Dr. Johnson's life, the dictionary he's chiefly famous for, and his friend Boswell who chronicled his wit and life. http://www.drjohnsonshouse.org/

My feet gave out at that point, so returned to the flat for a lazy evening and some disappointing Indian take-away. Avoid Malabar in Notting Hill (Larry says it wasn't bad, but I thought it greasy and bland)

We decided to have a lazy morning, and took the bus over to Chelsea. Just walked around, enjoying the peeks at the lives of the investment bankers and trust-fund babies in the neighborhood. Beautifully manicured homes from different building eras, private gardens you can glimpse through wrought iron gates, ridiculously priced shops.

Shared a meze platter for lunch at a crowded Middle-Eastern cafe, quite good. Al-Dar, 74 Kings Road.

We popped back into the V&A, enjoyed the new Furniture Galleries.

We had tickets to see Helen Mirren in her new play The Audience. The Leicester Square area was buzzing at twilight.

After picking up our tickets, we wandered up through SoHo to a swanky dim sum restaurant, Yuancha, for dinner. Amusingly, we walked up what seemed to be the main street for SoHo's strip clubs--whose entrances looked somehow classier than their counterparts in New York or Boston. The restaurant was very sleek, with a menu of contemporary dim sum. The prices were high, but they have a good value early dinner set menu, which is what we went for. Lots of great little tastes that expanded on our usual chinatown tea house repertoire. Very good, and we'd definitely return. http://www.yauatcha.com/

The play was unexpectedly humorous, filled with light and sharp barbs as Queen Elizabeth met through the years with her Prime Ministers. Some of the references were beyond our knowledge of British politics and current events. And sadly, the gentleman who played Churchill needed occasional prompting off-stage for his lines. But Mirren was wonderful, the other actors as well, and we enjoyed the evening in the small theater.

Saturday morning we headed out early, walking down Portobello Road into the market. First blocks of cute pastel-colored houses then an explosion into antique shops and stands. From card tables on the street holding old telephones, to what looks at first like a one-room shop which gives on to a warren of tiny one-desk antique dealers each specializing in something--jewelry, furs, tools, chandeliers, ceramics, buttons, watches, lace...I was in heaven. After a few block of that is a street with food vendors, produce, baker's carts, and then past the flyover used clothes, then some really wacky things.

I violated my first rule of markets--"If something appeals to you, strike a deal then because you'll never find it later." So much for a filigree pin I liked, when turning back up the street I couldn't find that vendor again. I did thumb through antique laces for a while, so much more variety and better priced that what I've seen at Brimfield and our antique markets. I settled on a silk maltese lace collar, which I'll sew onto a sweater.

By 11:30 the crowds were horrible, swarms of Italian-French, and Japanese tourists pouring down the street. I was very glad we began at 9:30. We fought through the crowds in the opposite direction back to the flat, and had lunch of the vegetable tarts and tomatoes we had bought.

We were taking a late afternoon train to Liverpool to see Larry's relatives, so a visit to the British Library a few blocks down from Euston Station seemed logical. We took the bus through the throngs of shoppers on Oxford Street.

There's a "Treasures of the British Library" exhibit which we loved. The display is divided into types of printed material--literature, music, religious, science, maps. I especially loved the Literature section, with Beowulf, Piers Plowman, Shakespeare's First Folio, Jane Austen's notebooks. Lots of beautifully illuminated manuscripts, including the Catalonia Hagaddah. Understandably, no photos allowed. There was also a fun special exhibit on the crime novel.

We caught our train, after some amusing last-minute racing to the new track five minutes before departure. In Liverpool we were picked up my Larry's cousins, and had a fun time in a large Chinese restaurant renewing acquaintances. Larry's father and his siblings had been sent from Germany by their parents in the late 30's on the Kindertransport, which rescued Jewish children from Germany. Of the 5 children, only one, Kaye, remained in England. In 1948 she boarded an illegal ship for Palestine, spent a few months in a resettlement camp, and then lived on an early kibbutz. She and her husband Norman raised their children in Israel, and later returned to Liverpool.

The next day we had a whirlwind tour of Liverpool, which has the largest number of Eduardian and Victorian buildings out of London, and some very charming residential areas. The city is climbing out of it's gritty past, with a new riverfront development and renewed commercial enterprises. And of course, we had to see the Beatles sites--John McCartney's childhood home, Abby Road, where John met Paul, the Cavern club where they played.

Friday morning we took the Tube over toward Borough Market, walking over the Millennium Bridge on the way. Blue skies, mild breeze. The Market was just getting going at 10:30, and we wandered around enjoying the absence of crowds. There are wonderful food producers here, and I so wish I could convey the aromas as we walked by stalls--roasting chorizo and ducks, truffles under glass that when lifted sent wafts of truffle nearby, enormous wheels of aged cheese, meat pies fresh from the oven, huge paellas beginning to simmer in their pans.

We bought two sandwiches to split for lunch. One was my Borough Mecca--the toasted cheese and leeks sandwich from Kappacasein Cheeses. The other was a lamb sausage on a roll with sautéed vegetables, harissa and a zippy cilantro sauce. The market was beginning to get crowded, so we found a bench along the Embankment and enjoyed lunch while watching the gaggles of kids on school trips parade by on their way to or from the Globe Theatre. We went to the Globe and also nearby Southwark Cathedral on our last trip, so decided to not go today.

We had discovered that the bank notes we had leftover from our last London trip were no longer accepted, so had to go to the Bank of England to exchange them. Back across the bridge, and wandered past St. Paul's and into The City. From the Bank, we walked around a bit more, found remains of the Roman Wall, before landing at the Museum of London. This is a large museum devoted to the history of the city, with lots of artifacts spanning the Neolithic age to present day. Interesting, though tiring visit. Filled in a lot of gaps in our understanding of London.

While resting with some tea in the café, we found a few bus routes to get us back to Notting Hill. The V&A was open late on Fridays, so we decided to do a short visit there, knowing from past experiences that it's a place to best break off into smaller portions. We caught a bus heading toward The Strand, then Whitehall, then into Chelsea. Love sitting on the top of a London bus as it winds through the streets at sunset.

At the V&A we spent the bulk of our time on the third floor, getting immersed in ironwork, silver, and enamelwork. We were dropping and hungry at that point, so headed to the next bus home. Found a nice dinner at Amici's restaurant near Notting Hill Gate, an oasis in the middle of fast food. Family-run, competent food, enjoyable mussels and pastas.

Exactly 230 days ago, I managed to snag two frequent-flyer tickets to London. I even took two days off from work to extend our time over the February school vacation week. Larry and I had only been to London once before, and wanted more time to explore the city.

We landed on time, and took the Heathrow Connect to Paddington station. The Connect is considerably cheaper than the Express, and only takes 10 minutes more. Downside is that it only runs every half hour, so some bench time is inevitable. Once we dragged our bags off the train at Paddington, we headed to the entrance to the Underground. With about 100 other people, who formed a long, patient queue. The entrance was blocked, and officials would only let a small group of people on a time. I was astonished by how patiently and resignedly people were waiting--if this were New York, there would have been a riot. We waited, and waited more, drooping with fatigue and travel buzz. Finally we looked at each other, said "cab" and edged our way to the side to escape. Best 6 pounds I ever spent.

Our apartment is near Notting Hill Gate. It's spacious, funky, comfortable, and a bargain. The owners only rent it when they're traveling, but luckily they were headed to Mexico this week.
We headed out for a walk. The area is filled with blocks of white terraced houses, and the occasional ugly 20th-century interloper. We skirted Portabello Road, past a block of used clothing shops. This area will be teeming with stalls on Saturday, I can't wait. We wandered Notting Hill, past many uber-expensive boutiques, trendy cafes, and more-fashionable-than-I women in the uniform of leggings, high heeled boots, cashmere coats, huge cowl, and cellphones. At least I had a chunky cowl so I could almost pass as the country cousin.

Lunch was at the very nice bistro Cote with a well-priced lunch menu. Lentil salad followed by spinach crepes for me, salmon rilletes then steak frites for Larry. More walking, and we stopped into Ottolenghi's. I've loved his food for the use of vegetables, bright flavors, and unexpected textural contrast, and own two of his cookbooks. We got some takeout, which was gorgeous, tasty, and made Whole Foods look inexpensive.

On the way back to the apartment we ducked into Jaimie Oliver's cooking school, a fun-looking place where couples were sipping drinks while they prepped Valentine's Day meals together. Oh yeah, it's Valentine's Day! We bought a bottle of champagne and some desserts from the bakery on the corner.

We then walked in the opposite direction, down Kensington Church St toward Kensington High Road. Lots of antique shops along the road, and more of what I'd already seen several of--an old traditional pub now serving Thai food. Huh? Picked up some essentials at Whole Foods, and walked back up to the apartment.

Champagne, dinner, some discussion of plans for the week, and to bed.

Haven't done a knitting update in a while.

I just completed my first intarsia piece, a cowl in two different colorways of Noro Kureyon. It's clown-barf loud, but will be fun to wear with jeans or with my jacket.Pattern is Inspira, and it was fairly easy, and fun to knit.

Finally finished Dan's blanket and sent it off to him. It's a standard Log Cabin, using Cascade Ecological Wool.

Here's another cowl, in a rustic red wool from Fruitcake Farms.The pattern is A Grey Loop.

And a matching beret, the pattern is Persikkavaahtot.

Made my sister a simple scarf in Lisa Souza yarn, one of my favorite of the indie dyers.

This sweater needs, well, everything. It'll have lace down the arms and a matching lace cowl.

Here's the start of a large shawl in Manhattan Midnight, it'll have silvery-blue lace at the other edge. Cameo is the pattern, the yarn is Madelinetosh.

A beret for my mother, in Madelinetosh Vintage.

I don't know why I've never blogged about this, my favorite breakfast-lunch-dinner go-to when I want something easy, spicy, and healthy. It's an Israeli and Middle Eastern dish with definite Tunisian or Yemeni leanings with the powerful kick of chilis. It take 10 minutes to prepare. I like to add vegetables like sliced zucchini to make it more of a dinner dish when I'm eating alone. In fact, when Larry is traveling it's not unusual for me to eat this several nights in a row. Here's how to make two servings, you can adapt to make a single serving in a smaller pan with 1-2 eggs; or for more people (I love to serve it at brunch) use a larger pan and increase proportions. I've also used "eggbeater" white-only eggs in this and it's almost as good but less rich. It's ridiculously adaptable.

Shakshouka (Serves 2)

2 tsp. olive oil
1 jalapeno pepper, finely minced
1/2 red pepper, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1/4 tsp. cumin
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
optional--1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1 small can low-sodium chopped tomatoes
optional--chili sauce or red pepper flakes
2-4 eggs
chopped cilantro or parsley
optional toppings--Greek yogurt, feta, or goat cheese

Heat the oil in a small frying pam. Saute with red pepper, onion, and optional zucchini until softened. Add the jalapeno and the chopped tomatoes. Let simmer until it forms a thick sauce, about five minutes. Add the garlic and cumin, cook an additional minute or two. Taste, add additional chili to get it spicy to your taste.

Break the eggs into the pan, spacing each a bit apart from the others. Cover pan, and let gently poach until eggs are set to your liking--I like the yolks just a bit runny. Serve, sprinkled with herbs, and with optional yogurt or cheese. Good with toasted pita.

I've signed up for The January Cure over at Apartment Therapy as a way to organize some of the de-cluttering mission I've set for this year. On the first day she had us make a list, room-by-room, of trouble spots; and then highlight the ones you think will have the most impact. I've listed them here for my own reference.

If you want to play along, sign up here: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/join-us-get-organized-in-2013-the-january-cure-181703?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ATC+1413+The+January+Cure+Day+3&utm_content=ATC+1413+The+January+Cure+Day+3+CID_af1a390a4a2735fe768af6c7603d73ee&utm_source=email_newsletter&utm_term=Sign%20up%20for%20our%20January%20Cure%20emails

Entry
Basket of shoes and old sporting equipment by front door
Shoe basket by stairs
Bottom of coat closet--clean out

Kitchen
Pantry--organize and label shelves
wash lace curtains
clean out little basket on table--do we need this basket?

Family Room
Pile of books under coffee table
Filter books from big bookcase
piles of books on end tables
get attractive trash can for Larry's desk area
paper storage solution for Larry's desk--2 baskets, 1 for home, 1 for work

Living Room
Small desk--junk on top

Bathroom
New wallpaper or paint
Clean out cabinet

Hallway
coat rack
bench---put things away
find better storage for grocery bags
stairs to basement--better storage for canning supplies
box of Larry's computer stuff
laundry basket in hall

Laundry/Pantry room
shelves--organize by type of food, label
Clean out towel shelves

Stairs Upstairs
Papers on step
Painting Needed

Guest Room/Office Urgent!
Papers on bureau
Weed out linens from bureau
electric radiator--put in basement
box of photos on floor
top of file cabinet--piles of papers to be filed
cluttered shelves under window
Book shelves--weed out, organize
Amy's file cabinet--weed out
Amy's desk--clean
Move Evan's old desk to basement, save for kids apartment if needed

Second Floor Bathroom
Glue loose cabinet strip
New wallpaper or paint
New mirror/light strip

Evan's Room
Closet

Dan's Room
Closet

Stairs to 3rd Floor
Pile of clothes

Master Bedroom
Clothes in basket
Old Clothes to Goodwill

Master Bath
New Bathmat
Clean out cabinet and drawers

We followed Walk 18 backwards in our "Great Walks in Barcelona" book, up through part of the Eixample and into the Gracia neighborhood. Loved all these buildings along Carrer Gran de Gracia, which looked like a prosperous city neighborhood with many shops and people strolling.

This part of Gracia felt like a "regular" neighborhood, not a tourist in sight. And there were many little passeges between the big avenues, and we also passed two covered markets, unfortunately closed on Sunday.

We happened into a large group of people enthusiastically swing dancing in Placa de la Virreina, very cool. We stopped into a cafe for a light lunch of tasty sandwiches and beer in one of the cafes in the Placa.

We walked a bit further, and found Casa Vincens, one of Gaudi's first residential commissions, built for a tile manufacturer.

Took the subway home. Larry and I went out for an early evening walk through Parc de la Ciutadella, which was full of people strolling, using the playgrounds, visiting the zoo, enjoying being with their families on a nice Sunday.

Home to finish some shopping (in the wonderful spice store for more saffron and smoked paprika, and some chocolates) and to begin packing. Sad.

For dinner, the restaurants in the neighborhood were packed, so we went a block further past the end of Passeo del Born to some new places that opened across from where the old Born market is being turned into a museum. Landed at the very stylish Llamber, at Carrer de la Fusina, 5. The menu is modern Catalan tapas, lots of creative dishes meant for sharing. While some of the dishes were really good (salmon carpaccio with ginger ice cream and coriander; a special of a little crock of favas and pork stew; a sushi-like marinated bonito) a few others just didn't work for me. (fois gras with corn, with the foie served icy cold; pork rolled around an extremely sour cheese) It was also the most expensive meal of the trip. Still, an interesting option for when you want to move away from traditional tapas yet don't want to go up to the Eixample where most of the modern Catalan restaurants re located. http:
//llamberbarcelona.com/

Goodbye, Barcelona. We'll be back.

Oh, if anyone might find it useful, here's the Google Map I put together of places we planned to go. https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=203608144991816870682.0004c72b4e628bb5ee955&msa=0