Happy Belated Birthday to me....

There is a German deli that is right in between the liquor store we go to, and the produce mart that I usually shop at. I've been meaning to go in this place for years, but I have not.

WHY???

Took a walk through there on Saturday, and I found something that sung to me....



Hello, you Very Pretty Wooden Spoon!

I've been wanting to get some good wooden/bamboo utensils since I got my Le Creuset pot, but haven't made it to Crate and Barrel to have a look. But I saw this spoon, and I had to get it. Only five bucks. When I was checking out, the lady behind the counter remarked that these only came in last week and all the ladies that work at the shop already bought one and love it. I hope I love it as much too.

While I was at the produce mart, waiting at their deli counter, my eyes wandered over to the fresh cheeses (feta, mozz) and salads case, where they also had fried eggplant. I've even seen ladies who look like they're audition for the part of a mobster's wife in "The Sopranos: The Musical" (and I suspect a few of them already passed their audition) buy this stuff.

"How badly can you mess up fried eggplant?" I thought. I asked the deli dude for 9 slices, then doubled back to the meat case for some veal. Veal is actually pretty reasonably priced here, especially for thin slices for veal parmesan.

I knew the hubby'd be happy. He loves it when I Parmesan things.

And I was glad I decided on this meal plan after I fell asleep on the couch for three hours and wasted away my whole afternoon. Whoops.



Sauce, eggplant slices, veal, parm, romano. The building blocks of a tasty meal.

The eggplant slices looked pretty nice... on top of a layer of sauce, a spoonful of sauce spread over each....



Top with cheese... I also had a couple bags of shredded cheese to use up.




It was kind of clear while I was getting my deli order that the guy was having some trouble with numbers (twice gave me 1/4 pound when I asked for 3/4 pound) and I did ask for 9 eggplant slices, so I could do three stacks of three. He gave me eight, so there are 2 stacks of 3 and 1 stack of 2.

Ready for the microwave (I usually heat up stuff like this in the microwave... the hubby is a fan of gooey cheese and not crunchy browned cheese, and as much as I love crunchy browned cheese, I am happier when I don't have to hear him mumble and groan about crunchy browned cheese)....



Breaded my veal (I thought I took peektures, I guess I did not) and threw it in the pan...



Flip!



It then gets the same treatment as the eggplant... some sauce and some cheese.... and I did heat these in a hot oven to quickly melt the cheese.



While I was out shopping I did also stop at the Italian deli (more of a food service place than a deli counter, the German place is more a store/deli counter) and I could not help but buy a loaf of bread. Is this not Beautiful Freakin' Bread??



The kind of crusty loaf where you cut it, and shards of crust go all over the place. Nice and chewy, wonderful flavor. So yummy.

I forgot to take pictures of everything done... we were ready to eat. The hubby walked into the kitchen to see what was for dinner and just said "NICE." He loaded up his plate, we ate, and we were happy.

Luckily, some leftovers that might become sandwiches for dinner at some point...



Today was a post-birthday celebration with my family. We picked up some of the good Chinese food on the way to my mom's and had lunch and cake, and watched the kids and the dog run around like idiots.

The hubby and my brother went searching the attic for some of my brother's old toys, but found only my stuff. They did take down this one treasure, though...



It wasn't from my first kitchen set, but many happy hours were spent playing with that stove.

My mom also pulled out some of my old cooking-related stuff, and there were a couple gems I had to snatch from the kids. Sorry boys, these were a big part of my past, and I want them.



My old measuring spoons and cups, and some other utensils. I didn't just play with these... I used them a LOT when helping out or making stuff myself.

I also got some more fun stuff from my mom... there is a resteraunt supply store near where she works, and she got my some wonderful bamboo tools and a few new pairs of tongs.



Um, yeah, I think I had just enough time for my mom to snap a picture of me with my new stuff before the kids were all over them (what is more fun than wooden spoons??) and playing with them. Hey, gotta break them in somehow, right?