And the Walls Said:

LET THERE BE COLOR!

Raul put in a major day today and blasted through the whole front of the apartment: my office area, living room, dining room, entryway and kitchen! He originally said it would take 3.5-4 days, but if he keeps going at this pace, he'll be done before the end of Wednesday.

We chose Olympic paint for no other reason than they had that fun little color visualizer tool on their website. We also chose to splurge an extra seven bucks per gallon for the "low VOC" paint which, as the helpful gal at the Lowe's paint counter explained, meant "less smelly".

And it really doesn't smell like paint in here! So we cooked up some dinner and ate by candlelight among the drop cloths.

In case you're keeping score at home, that's broiled flounder with dill atop perhaps the most delicious thing I've ever concocted, which Will calls "that pile of delicious". Is it strange to put a recipe in a post about paint?

Pile of Delicious

• pancetta - say 2 thin slices per person
• 1 granny smith apple, skinned and diced
• 1 firm pear, skinned and diced
• a smidge each: maple syrup, sriracha
• a nice handful of mushrooms, sliced
• thyme, enough to put into the mushrooms
• spinach, a hearty handful per person

Cook the pancetta in a pan over medium heat allowing it to crisp up. When it is fairly crisp, add the apple and pears and cook until tender. I like to cook the mushrooms separately, which I'd do once the apple and pear are in the pan-- put the mushrooms by themselves (no oil) into a non-stick pan with thyme and cook over low heat, covered, until tender but still a little firm.

When the apple and pear are to your liking, spread them around to the edges of the pan and add just a bit of maple syrup and a squeeze of sriracha to the center of the pan. When this seemingly gnarly but insanely tasty mix just starts to bubble, mix the pancetta/apple/pear bits around into it.

When the mushrooms are cooked, drain the liquid from that pan and add them to the pancetta/apple/pear pan. Add the spinach and cook until tender.

Enjoy! You don't need to use oil or salt in this, as those bases are covered by the magic that is pancetta.