Cute things!

Tiny cupcakes are cute 

Cookies shaped like onesies are cute

Macarons are cute - especially in little
paper cups

Tutu-inspired skirts for little girls at Baby Gap made me
want to be six again they're SO CUTE.

And I didn't manage to take a photo of the gift I brought with me to the baby shower (a hand-knit touque, and Gap-knit mittens) as I was finishing the pom-pom for the touque on the way to the shower, but I assure you it was adorable.

This Week's Obsession: Christmas Cards

I know I'm pretty much a grownup, because for the last few years I've been getting Christmas cards in the mail from old friends. I love getting cards, but I have yet to send cards because once I start I'm committed and people might notice when I stop. I would like to start sending cards this year, as long as I'm careful not to overextend myself and draw up a list of 50 potential recipients in a fit of holiday enthusiasm.

The logical thing to do would be to go to any one of the 100 000 000 000 gift shops in Montreal and buy a little pack of 10-15 cards, but obviously I haven't done that or else this would not have been a week-long (and counting...) obsession. I can't pass up the opportunity to design my own cards, and with all the wonderful custom printing options around these days, it's easy to do so - but alarmingly expensive. $1.99-$2.99 for a card + envelope, before shipping.

Another problem is that these photo cards are clearly meant to have sweet family photos or baby pictures in them:

It just looks weird to have photos of yourself (and cat):

So maybe I'll send out Christmas cards this year, if I ever decide what to send.

Spinach Penne with Ricotta

This is mostly for you, Anna.

For mom and dad: admire the "Food" setting on my new camera.

Prep time: 0 minutes

Cook time: 11 minutes

Deliciousness to time ratio: ridiculously high

Official Ingredients

• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 1 lb (450 g) spinach penne
• 1-1/2 lb (700 g) baby spinach, washed
• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• Kosher salt + freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 cup ricotta cheese (preferably light)
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Liz Ingredients (modified for 1)

• A few handfuls of pine nuts (enough to garnish generously + snack later) 
• A little less than one serving of penne (I used whole wheat)
• 3-5 handfuls of baby spinach (pre washed in a tub, hello)
• About 1/2 a cup of ricotta cheese (light cheese is not worth it, this is a substitute for a cream sauce so just figure it's healthier than a cup of whipping cream and butter)
• Grated parmesan cheese to garnish (put down the parmesan powder, and get a decent block of parmesan. It lasts forever and it's a healthy snack)

Directions

1. Put some water on to boil for the penne
2. Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees
3. Do some dishes or surf the internet or something
4. When the water is boiling, add pasta
5. Put the pine nuts on a baking sheet (I used a 9" round cake pan, extra high rims minimize chances of spilling) and put the baking sheet in the oven
6. Stir pasta occasionally
7. Toss pine nuts occasionally
8. After about 8 minutes, remove the pine nuts from the oven. (If they look burnt or smell bad, take them out earlier next time.) 
9. When pasta is almost done, start adding handfuls of spinach to wilt (If you use white pasta, it might cook faster than the pine nuts)
10. Stir it around until nice and wilty, then drain
11. Put the pasta and spinach back in the pot and add ricotta
12. And oil, if you're listening to the original instructions
13. Season with salt and pepper (a lot)
14. Transfer to plate, garnish with pine nuts and parmesan
15. Serve and enjoy immediately
16. If you eat slowly while blogging, it will cool and be less delicious.

Yum.