Since I last updated, I have

 1) eaten my weight in soup,

 2) recovered from bronchitis,

 3) investigated the (unlikely) possibility of obtaining Italian citizenship, 

4) worked both on a Sunday and my first 10-hour legal day (exhaustion!),

 and 5) voted in a dismal midterm election. 

Clearly, it’s been a bit of a mixed bag around here. But fortunately these things, although the highlights, aren’t entirely representative of my life. There have been crisp fall mornings–the kind that I love–spent wearing thick wooly socks to keep the chill away, several nice meals with the Greek and his parents, who are here visiting from Greece, and even an afternoon trip to the movies. In addition to all of the hustle and bustle of the season (which always seems so misplaced), there has been a lot of online reading and link compiling for what has become one of my favorite blogging traditions: the monthly “food for thought.” 

Without further ado, here are November’s offerings: 

The photo of the leeks at the beginning of this post demonstrates my love of braising vegetables in cream; it’s truly one of the most foolproof methods I know.  If people were iffy about the eggplant I posted about a few months ago, there can be no question that leeks were made to be braised in cream (with or without tarragon; fresh thyme is just as nice and, should you not have the fresh stuff, dried herbs will work nicely, too). Molly at Remedial Eating calls them “Divine Revelation Leeks” and they are exactly that.

To go along with my recent Italian obsession (I blame Artusi, Elizabeth David, Elena Ferrante and Emiko Davies), I decided to follow Rachel’s advice and “Eat Like the Romans Do” (you won’t regret it; it’s both surprisingly easy and delicious).

Thoughts on Modern Society, Fomo (the Fear of Missing Out) and Jomo (the Joy of Missing Out). I’m pretty sure I suffer only from the latter; consider this a perk of the Facebook-less life.

I suppose you could also say I’ve been on an Elizabeth David kick; there’s something endlessly inviting about both her blunt opinions and meticulous research, which this collection in The Guardian illustrates nicely.

It’s not easy being a pet owner in this day and age.

I’m currently reading Tana French’s wonderful The Likeness, which tells the story of a female cop who infiltrates a community of English Ph.D. students to track down a murderer. It appeals to me for the obvious reasons (it’s always been more interesting to read about grad school than to be in grad school).

Speaking of PhDs, here’s the Halloween Costume that Never Should have Been: the Sexy Ph.D.

I’m ashamed to say that I read several articles on the “What happened to Renee Zellweger’s face?” question that has been sweeping various news sites during the last few weeks, but only in The Guardian did I find something substantive about the unfair beauty standards that females in the public eye are held to.

And, last but not least, the million-dollar question: would you sell your privacy for a cookie?