dinner and a movie

Usually when I cook I listen to one of a few podcasts. It's a great way to do some passive learning and it keeps me from getting bored when there is a lot of chopping, stirring, or waiting to be done. I'll tell you about them some time. The other night, however, I watched the film Julie and Julia while I was in the kitchen. This is not the kind of movie that I usually watch; I figured it would be a bit too kitsch, nonetheless, the situation somehow called for it. It turned out to be an adorable film and I found myself occasionally squealing with delight. I loved getting to see the scenes in Paris and I felt like I could totally connect with Julie - starting a blog just for fun and feeling like it was kind of weird because there might be nobody reading it. But, like her I'm doing this for myself as well so it's okay if I'm just typing into the void.

Every now and then I had to pause the movie to read a recipe, and the sound of the rain outside was so beautiful. I haven't had time for an evening like that in quite a while and I was so glad that I decided to just stay home and keep it to myself. The food was delicious also, here's what I made:

• warm lentil & butternut squash salad with tahini dressing
• old fashioned blueberry cake
• roasted broccoli

Roasted Brocoli Recipe:
as simple as this is, it was so good that my husband and I ate about 1 1/2 heads of broccoli between the two of us.

1 broccoli crown, chopped into large florets (I left almost all the stems on, they get nice and tender)
1-2 Tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425
Arrange broccoli in a small casserole dish, so that it's a bit crowded but none are completely covered
Drizzle with a good amount of olive oil, salt and pepper
Mix everything around a bit with your hands so that the oil is somewhat evenly distributed
Roast for about 20 minutes covered with foil or glass lid
Remove lid and roast for another 10 minutes

                                                                                                       
At the end of the film Julie decides that even if she can't ever meet Julia Child, the idealistic Julia in her head is the one that is more important. Interestingly, I found myself doing the same thing with the character of Julie. I started to read a little bit more about her online and I did not like much of what I read. So I decided to stop and stick with the Julie played by Amy Adams. I was happier that way. This seems like a dangerous habit to get into, and I've been trying to recognize any other areas of my life where I do this. I haven't found any yet but I'm definitely on the lookout.