The Barefoot Contessa

Just finished making a lemon yogurt pound cake from an Ina Garten recipe.

I absolutely  adore Ina, aka the Barefoot Contessa. Her show is the epitome of understated food elegance.

Here’s why she’s the best on Food Network: Not as annoying as Rachael Ray, not as plastic as Sandra Lee, not as ostentatiously obese as Paula Deen, and not as, um, big headed as Giada diLaurentiis.

Her Hamptons farmhouse is always gorgeous and her huge garden is fabulous. She uses locally grown food to make simple, delicious food. She does not use prepackaged crap like other chefs and takes her time in cooking.

My only problem is that her food tends to be geared to the palate of a picky child, or fearful adult- lots of chicken and rice/potato type dishes, perhaps with a bit of lemon or pesto to provide variety. Even so, the food pictures are gorgeous.

The stab at a whole Barefoot Contessa dinner has yet to be made, although I always am looking for roast chicken guinea pigs.

If you’ll excuse me, I have a cake to attend to.

You Don’t Own Me

Lesley Gore, Ladies and Gentlemen

and of course, Veronica Mars

New Duvet

As I complete my portfolio cover sheets and consume vast quantities of Thin Mints I am consumed by a searing, irrational hatred of my duvet cover. It’s hideous, an Ikea monstrosity that I thought was cool when I was 9. It’s this awful dusty turquoise with pea green swirly stripes. Factor in 6 years of sun damage form a skylight, and there you have it. I try to cover it up with a very hep purple leopard print quilt my grandma made, but even the quilt cannot hide the ugly duvet. My anti-materialistic self doesn’t want to buy a new comforter cover, even though I really want the one that Tony on Skins (excellent show) has. It is printed with a giant photo of two naked people from the back. Alas, such a smutty duvet would look ridiculous on my monastic twin bed.

Anyone know where to get a comforter cover that is actually comforting?