New Web Address!

I bought my own domain! Head on over to www.adventuresinshaw.com to continue keeping up with my adventures!

Announcing Bittman Mondays

I know I promised the first installment of Bittman Thursdays today but honestly, Shaw Girl is STILL sick.  I am thinking spending well over 12 hours out in the cold didn’t help any on Tuesday (but it was soooo worth it).  So due to illness, Bittman Thursdays will henceforth be rechristened “Bittman Mondays” (see the fancy logo…yeah that’s about as much as I could muster).  I actually made the recipe already and even took the photos.  I am just too exhausted to put together my usually (or at least in my mind) witty prose.  So check back in on Monday!  And send soup!

A Day I Will Never Forget

Yes it was freezing; yes the logistics were not the greatest; yes a lot of people even with tickets to the Inauguration didn’t get in at all.  But it was worth every bit of hassle to be a part of history.  Being a part of the huge crowd and witnessing President Obama take the oath of office brought tears to my eyes.  We met some wonderful people and everyone was so excited, joyful and happy.  The video I took wasn’t the best (and I still can’t get the video I took of Obama’s Inauguration speech to upload to YouTube or Facebook) but it is one of my proudest possessions.  I am humbled and honored to have been there.  And I wanted to share these pictures with you.  Whether you agree or not with his political stand, at least marvel at so many people gathering to celebrate our country!

I didn’t do a whole lot of cooking this past week…I was sick for a part of it and then the Inauguration excitement took over the holiday weekend.  But I will be back tomorrow with the first installment of Bittman Thursdays and I’m still on the hunt for DC’s best burger (thank you for all the restaurant suggestions…keep them coming)! Next up, my review of DC Chophouse’s burger.

A Part of History

So as you all know, I live in DC and right about now is one of the most exciting times to live here.  The city is alive with hope and promise and I am moved to tears at the majesty of it all.  Being here at this time in history only makes me love DC even more (and I wasn’t sure I could love a city any more than I loved DC before all of this).

I took a bunch of pictures yesterday while out and about in the city and I wanted to share some of them with you.  It doesn’t matter who you supported in the election…what matters is we all come together and celebrate how far this nation has truly come.  This morning, we’re heading down to the Mall to watch the Inauguration of our 44th President of the United States…and I am honored to be able to say “I was there”.  And don’t worry, I will take TONS of pictures so you guys feel like you were there too…

Whole Wheat Lemon Buttermilk Pancakes

If only all resolutions were this tasty…whole wheat flour and wheat bran accented with lemon. Enough said…

Sunday Brunch at Commonwealth

I will be honest, I had completely forgotten about Commonwealth, the new gastropub in Columbia Heights. I was invited to the soft opening back in the Summer and was delighted by its take on British food (read: making British food actually taste good). I also really liked the fact that Jamie Leeds and his partner Sandy Lewis vowed to use a lot of fresh, local and in season ingredients in their dishes. But somehow the restaurant fell out of my mind until I was racking my brain for a Sunday brunch option. It was cold outside and a bit gloomy, so what better back drop for brunch than a British inspired pub? The fact that Commonwealth was only two stops away on the Metro didn’t hurt either, so we headed out after dropping off my purchases from the Takoma Park Farmers Market (for more on my market visit, head on over to DC Foodies).

Hearty Homemade Granola

Unlike previous year’s resolutions, I decided to get started right away on my Culinary Resolutions for 2009. To the right, you will now see the “Ask Shaw Girl” box inviting readers to send in their cooking questions/dilemmas/cries for help. Hopefully there will actually be enough questions to make “Ask Shaw Girl” a monthly segment. If not, I guess I could get the kitties to offer up their queries (“Why do you make all of these things from scratch and then feed me from that bag you haul out? Where’s our homemade liver treats???”). I’ve also ordered Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything” (Amazon says I’ll have it on January 16th!!!!!) and plan on cooking my way through it in a (hopefully) weekly posting I’ll lovingly refer to as Bittman Thursdays. And most importantly, I’ve slowly started cooking more with whole grains…which brings me to the lovely granola of which this post is about…