greetings from...

We've just returned from a week at the Jersey shore so filled with ups-and-downs that it made my stomach flip-flip the way it did when I rode the tilt-a-whirl with M & m. When we returned to our house, it wasn't necessarily calming. Painter's tape was still up in the alcove; the woodwork had not magically cleaned itself (as I had hoped); and the bathroom was still un-primed. At least our bed was back together; Mr. Beeton assembled it mid-week when he was back in D.C. for work (just before leaving we had split the box spring ourselves so that we could finally get it up our narrow stairs).

And, of course, the refrigerator was bare when all we wanted was a little comfort food to make it seem - on some level - that we were home. I rummaged around and found some arborio rice, and of course, we always have white wine and parmesan cheese. A quick stop off to the grocery store for chicken stock while on our walk with Ella completed the necessary ingredients for this easy risotto I found at ThinkInsideTheIcebox.com. We've done risotto before, but I think this one is my favorite. It's good enough to make the ugly tiles on your kitchen floor disappear - almost.

Keep sweeping, Martha

PS - Look for a future post about a really sweet little homemade cookbook I received! I'm hoping to debut some of the recipes at our housewarming party.

Finished reading The Shadow of Your Smile by Mary Higgins Clark and Little Bee by Chris Cleave. Watched Hot Tub Time Machine.

1/30/11 Update - Yikes! I linked to my favorite risotto recipe tonight and a scary SPAM message came up! Sad, too, because we tried to find a replacement recipe, and the one we settled on wasn't nearly as good. What happened to you - ThinkInsideTheIcebox.com???