Another week of shopping at Whole Foods- we found some yummy eggplant, stinky olives (Mark's fav), and organic ground beef. The beef was for potato ravioli. Making pasta by hand is a long process of love. Potato ravioli was a quick and fun process. We found the recipe in "Potatoes & vegetables" a book from my folks one Christmas. The idea is to make mashed potatoes, mix a bit of flour and egg- rather like making latkes (which I can't get enough of). The thick mixture is your "pasta" that you just flatten out fill with the meat mixture. They were amazing and quick!

Our second dish this week was a simple and delicious baked pasta with tomato sauce topped with bread crumbs- just mix and pop in the oven.

On Valentines day, Mark made reservations at Otto's- a friend of Mark's recommended it for steaks and they were right! We started the meal with a creamy feta bruchetta. With our salads we had a wonderful loaf of sourdough bread. I had a mouth-watering New York Strip with a side of fabulous white mushrooms, creamy mashed potatoes and julienne veggies with a dill sauce. Mark chose pork chops stuffed with fennel and vegetables, mashed sweet potatoes with a cherry glaze.

I got Mark a copy of the newly printed Reef Encounter- a rather complex game about the fascinating world of corals. Mark got me two wonderful mushroom logs. They arrived last week and we have been enjoying sautéed oyster mushrooms in butter for the last week- next week will be the delights of shitakes.

Wednesday night and Thursday morning we had a wonderful snowstorm- delivering about 9 inches total! Looking through our window was a beautiful white sight- but it is now bitterly cold- so I think we will keep the admiring via windows.

We were happy to have Burr and Natalie come over Friday night for some games and snacks. We had cupcakes with strawberries and ice cream followed by some movie butter popcorn- what a delicious sweet and salty combo! We played Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde- a trick playing game girls vs. guys. The only other trick playing game I have played is Euchre- this one was a bit more complicated but very interesting.

Saturday we enjoyed a nice lunch with Mel and Sasha at Lulus. I got my fav- couscous and beef stew while Mark enjoyed his favorite chicken fate'. It was so exciting to hear about all of their wedding- it is going to be beautiful! We can't wait to see them the next time they are in town.