Zen and the Art of Elevator Maintenance

That's right friends, after nearly three weeks of exhaustion, I once again have a functioning elevator in my building and no longer have to drag my weak ass up 7 flights of stairs. And just so you know, I did not take those three weeks lying down. No sir, I took those three weeks sitting down sampling various cakes and pies. Why you ask?

Well, I work at Redbook magazine where our fabulous food editor keeps us well fed by allowing us to sample recipe upon recipe currently being tested in the kitchen. Last week those recipes included the delicious cake seen above (already half eaten, sorry!), the lightest strawberry shortcake known to man, and a white chocolate cake. The week before that brought a sampling of several fish dishes (sure to be seen in future blog entries), chicken thighs came before that, and before that came our favorite time of year, recipes for the November (Thanksgiving!) issue, which included no less than FIVE KINDS OF PIE. I know, it's a miracle I didn't have a coronary every time I tackled those stairs, especially since my gym attendance has been sporadic at best.

But the fun doesn't end there, I also sampled a most excellent mascarpone pumpkin pie this week (not from the test kitchen, from Alyssa) and of course sampled the recipes that I test at home in my spare time. All of this amounts to a lot of food in my belly that was (*fingers crossed*) hopefully burned climbing all those steps. Not that I have to worry now, as I've taken full advantage of my newly repaired elevator. I even took the time to stock up on some fresh ingredients, so you'll have a two brand new recipes to look forward to tomorrow.

Also tomorrow, look for the first installment of the Olive Tree Mail Bag, where I'll make dishes specially requested by readers! This week you'll get two of them in a row, starting with a request for the classic Spanish dish, gambas al ajillo. Then we'll get in the holiday spirit with a request for a fun vegetarian side dish for Thanksgiving dinner (it'll be so quick and easy, you'll love it!). Meat eaters, don't fret--as a bonus I'll also be making green beans Spanish style, with chorizo, garlic, paprika and ham. If you'd like to request a dish, you can do so in the comments section, or email me at olivetreelaura@gmail.com.

Sorry there is no recipe today, but I'll make up for it with tomorrow's double post!

-Laura