Birds and Macaroni

Birds seem to be a recurring theme in my life, and I think that's because I don't like them. Most recently, my dad noticed that a goldfinch kept flying in and out of an empty pitcher-shaped planter in the back yard. Upon discovering that a nest had been built inside, he convinced me, against my better judgement, to look. I expressed my concerns about the bird being inside, and he told me, and I quote, "It's not in there-- I just looked in there and I didn't see it."

So I, too, looked in the planter. I saw the nest. I did not see the bird...

I heard it first: the deafening WOOSH! WOOSH! WOOSH!!! of its wings, and the ca-CAW! ca-CAW! ca-CAW!!! as it seemed to be saying, "I'll peck your eyes out, bitch! That'll teach YOU to look in my house!!"

So what if my dad claims that it made no noises whatsoever as it flew out, in the direction of the sky, not my eyes? I know what I heard, damn it!

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My mom has always made the most delish baked macaroni and cheese, and though I have watched/helped her many times, and she has talked me through it on the phone, and written it down for me, well, it never comes out quite right for me. I have thus began the Great Search for the Second Most Delicious Macaroni and Cheese.

So far I have tried:

• this recipe by Giada. Outcome: Meh. Fontina cheese was way expensive, so I ended up subbing sharp cheddar, and maybe that's why it was only Okay. Alex thought it tasted more like an alfredo than a mac and cheese. Two days later, she made the recipe on her show, and he drooled over how delicious it looked, not realizing it was the same one I had already made. Me: That's the one I just made. Him: Yeah, but hers looks GOOD.
• this recipe by Paula Deen. Outcome: Also meh. It tasted okay, but the eggs gave it a funny texture. It wasn't firm enough to be quichy, but it wasn't creamy enough to be a mac and cheese, either.

Do you have an amazing m&c recipe? A secret ingredient? A special technique? Please share!

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Kid-Bit

I took my class to the circus last week. Aside from being more fascinated by things like, "why are there so many black and brown people here?" than the actual circus, and aside from a couple of them not even having an attention span long enough to watch 20 things going on at once and changing themes every 4 minutes, it went pretty well.

Quote of the day:

ChowDownKid: Oooohhh! A HORSE!!!

Me: ChowDownKid, that's an elephant.

CDK: ... a real one?