apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i'm thinking i'm going to cook some pasta in stock and toss it with sauteed rainbow chard and some goat cheese. what else does it need? lemon? vinegar? an herb? a complementary vegetable? i have some italian turkey sausage, but i wonder if that might be overkill.

I am baking that no knead bread(mark bitman) for the second time, this time with whole wheat flour...the white flour version was amazing!

I'm going to make this lentil soup:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/dining/091arex.html?ex=1357534800&en=7e3288ae1d72556f&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

I also want to make the popovers from the other day:
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/breakfast/recipe-easy-ethereal-popovers-043019

How would it be if I substituted oil for the 1 tablespoon of butter? I don't want to have butter around, because I'll eat it all (even if it's in the freezer, I'll know it's there.) I just don't keep it in the house.

i am smoking some chicken thighs with my stovetop smoker and caramelizing onions to make filling for some phyllo bundles for a catering gig this weekend. then some empanaditas with black beans and plantains. again, more catering prep. i rarely cook for myself anymore!! well, other than omelets & lots of salads, i don't cook. oh yes--i do cook a lot of bacon. one can never have enough :)

thinkingwoman---what shape pasta? orecchiette with sausage is delish and classic. maybe add some lemon juice/zest to brighten things up a bit. and a whole bunch of flat leaf parsley. yum.

pixie--oil will work just fine, the popovers just won't have the rich taste of butter.

We've made the classic beef stew from Joy of Cooking.

A love-at-first-taste aside: Bar Tartine in SF is serving up this amazing blue cheese:
http://www.cheesestoresl.com/cheese/blue_cheese/rogue_river_review.html
It is insanely good when matched with Tartine's bread, honey and Marcona almonds.

beckaroo - thanks! I'm making them tonight, with olive oil.