d.c., part II

I am back in D.C., this time for three weeks to visit Drew. I arrived last Wednesday, and I'm really glad to be back. I love big cities and most everything about them- the tall buildings, all the people, the stuff to do and see, public transportation, and how I can walk everywhere. Let me tell you about my first weekend:

We kicked off the weekend with the movie "Julie and Julia," the one where the disgruntled secretary cooks her way through Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." I had read a the book a few weeks ago, and I really enjoyed it. For one thing, I love food and I love cooking, and for another, I think it's cool how Julie Powell challenged herself and combated her mundane life by cooking every single one of Child's recipes (no easy feat). I think it's easy to get into a rut, and it's interesting to see how people get out of them. For Powell, she was able to cook her way out of a rut.

On Saturday, Drew and I went to the Museum of American History. It was educational, interesting, and we were pleased. Sure, the exhibits talked about how the US was guided by the philosophy of liberty and democracy for all, but the exhibits did a good job showing how this philosophy excluded women, African Americans, and Native Americans. We walked through exhibits on labor and industrialization, slavery, the presidency, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War. Overall, the museum did a pretty good job of portraying the minority point of view. Below, I stepped up to the podium in the presidency exhibit:

Here is Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's (first woman Supreme Court Justice) robe:
On Sunday, we went to the Museum of the American Indian. Check out the building:

The museum was cool because it talked about the history and cultural of many different American Indian tribes throughout Canada, the US, Mexico, and into South America. There was so much information that it was difficult to remember everything and remain interested. The museum had firsthand accounts of the lives, experiences, histories, and cultures, and it also discussed how the US broke treaties with the American Indians, suppressed their culture, and seized their land. After walking around, we went to the cafeteria and ate fry bread with honey and a dusting of powdered sugar. Fry bread is kind of like a funnel cake, except better. It's more dense and flavorful.

Earlier that day, we went to the Farmer's Market at Dupont Circle. We picked up some garlic cheese curds, smoked mozzarella, peaches, basil, rosemary bread, and some kickass herirloom tomatoes.

That evening, Drew used the heirloom tomatoes to make a roasted tomato sauce with roasted garlic, carmelized onion, and tomato paste. We used the sauce, basil, and mozzarella to make pizza on the rosemary bread. I can't even describe to you how good this food tasted. It smelled so fresh, tasted fresh, and was just absolutely phenomenal. Totally worth the splurge.