Extra Extra: My Grand YouTube Debut

• This week I got into an accident with our trusty little Honda. And before you get your hopes up that maybe it was at least a glamorous, interesting incident, well it wasn't. In an attempt to be a stand-up citizen and NOT hit a woman walking across our driveway, I took a right turn too tightly and scraped our car door on the front bumper of a parked truck. A parked truck...yay. The truck was fine. Our Honda's right door was christened with a pretty dent and scrape marks. Sighhhhh.

• I am famous! YouTube famous (which I guess everyone and their mom is). Check me out on a friend's film contest entry here. Don't blink, or you'll miss me.

• Steve is out of town for a few days. Downside: I'm husband-less. Upside: I can play lots of Guitar Hero without competition for the controller.
  

• New recipes will be coming! I've been cooking a lot, and would post a recipe now, but Blogger's photo upload thingy is being a big lame-o. And what good is a recipe post without a picture? You know you all are the sort of people who buy cookbooks based on the pretty looking photos.
  

Sneezing Panda

Happiness is having nothing to do all day except tidy up the house, sip steamed milk, and watch some Trojan football. And post this.

Funniest Video Ever

I had an amazing time on my personal retreat. Thanks for all your prayer and encouragement.

Life is chaotic right now, so instead of a nicely written out post (which I'll get to later when I have time and well-articulated thoughts), here is my favorite find on YouTube, for your viewing pleasure. Sometimes we all need a nice dose of funny in our day, no?

Ratatouille - Meal and a Movie

We caught a midnight show of Ratatouille, the new Pixar animation about a French rat who has a knack for gourmet cooking. I loved the film, but instead of giving my personal thoughts, I'll let you read a wonderfully written review here, by my friend Justin Chang at Variety.

Ratatouille, a traditional French Provençal vegetable stew, is one of my favorite dishes to make. It is a fantastic medley of fresh vegetables and herbs, and can be served all sorts of ways - warm or cold, as a side dish or main dish, with bread or pasta or alone.

Ratatouille
2 onions, sliced into thin rings
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium eggplant, cubed
2 zucchini, cubed
2 medium yellow squash, cubed
6 mushrooms, sliced
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
4 sprigs fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesean cheese to garnish

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoon of the oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and saute the zucchini in batches until slightly browned on all sides. Remove the zucchini and place in the pot with the onions and garlic. Saute all the remaining vegetables one batch at a time, adding 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet each time you add a new set of vegetables. Once each batch has been sauteed add them to the large pot. Season with salt and pepper. Add the bay leaf, thyme, oregano and basil and cover the pot. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and parsley to the large pot, cook another 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Serve with Parmesean cheese. Serves 8.