Oh. Hi. Are you still here?

Long time no post... There are a number of factors I could blame this fact on. Planning a wedding... Crocheting shawls for my bridesmaids and me... Avoiding planning the wedding (see previous)... Assembling a guest list... Acquiring more horsefeeding clients (I am now the most popular person at the stable, at least among the horses)... Ravelry (Hi fellow Ravelers! Where your stitches at?)... Getting married... Being generally lazy... It's probably the last one that did it, actually.

In order to make myself feel slightly less of a loser, I'll post the recipe for the excellent mac and cheese I made the other night. No pictures, though (sorry!).

Macaroni & Cheese

1 - 1 /12 cups elbow macaroni (or pasta shape of your choice)
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil, divided
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
salt
pepper
herbes de provence

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook the pasta according to directions (actually, undercook it by a minute or two). Drain and set aside (or cook it while making the sauce, it works either way).

Cook onions and garlic in butter and olive oil over low heat until soft and beginning to caramelize. Season to taste with salt pepper and herbes de provence. Turn the heat up and sprinkle the flour over. Stir until flour cooks and begins to smell slightly toasted. Turn the heat down and slowly pour in the chicken broth. Cook until it begins to thicken slightly, add the milk. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring, for another minute or two. Remove from heat and add about 1 1/2 cups of the grated chedar cheese and 1/4 cup parmesan. Stir until the cheese has melted and the sauce is more or less smooth (not counting the onions and garlic). Combine the cheese sauce and pasta. Pour into baking dish (8" or 9" square, 9" round, or anything of similar size). Sprinkle remaining cheddar and parmesan on top and put in oven. Bake until top is lightly browned and it's bubbling merrily around the edges, approximately 20 minutes. Remove from oven let stand 10-15 minutes. Enjoy.

Serve with salad or roasted vegetables.

Roasted Cauliflower and Mushrooms (for two servings)

1/2 head cauliflower, rinsed
8 cremini mushrooms
olive oil
salt
pepper
herbes de provence

Cut the cauliflower florets into approximately equal sizes. Cut the mushrooms in half if they are over an inch in diameter. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and herbes de provence in a baking dish (8" square works well for this amount). Place in 400 degree oven. Roast until tender and beginning to brown. Approximately 30-40 minutes.

Yum. Baby carrots would have been an excellent addition to the roasted vegetables...