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It’s Not Just the Macaroni and Cheese

2 Aug

I got a shocking phone call on the way to my hotel a couple of days ago. I’m in California for work, and my boys are…doing those things boys do when mama is away.

Aidan, little sprite, is all, “Mama, I ate macaroni and cheese for the first time. And I liked it!!”

I responded with appropriate enthusiasm, “Really?! Wow, that’s great, honey! It makes mom so happy when you try new foods.”

What I really wanted to say was,

“Shit, kid! I’ve been waiting YEARS for this moment. I fly out of town and you’re all, ‘Sure, Kyle! I’ll eat a whole bowl!’”

I have to hand it to my husband – he scaled a mountain with picky pants Aidan there.

There’s not even a small part of me tempted to be envious of his ability to get Aidan to do something I obviously could not – even with repeated effort. For starters, parenting isn’t competitive in my book, Kyle and I will forever be a team and the overall outcome is awesome.

But beyond all that – we’re different. Kyle can be things to Aidan that I am not.

Kyle taught Aidan to ride a bike.

Kyle gave Aidan the little pointers that turned him from an almost swimmer to a bona fide fish in the water.

Kyle can play the guitar and serenade us to sleep.

Kyle can make Aidan laugh harder than I can (for which I am eternally grateful).

Kyle shows Aidan how to treat a woman wonderfully.

A couple of years ago I would have told you I could do it all. I firmly believed that, lived it.

But I realize now we all need someone. I’m not specifically referring to marriage or partnership, though that certainly applies. What I mean is that we all need to reach beyond our own bubble. We thrive with more than one teacher. We all need someone to help fill in the gaps.

Even for stuff like pasta.

Beer, Sheep, L’Etoile…Birthdays are for Trips

17 Apr

A couple of months ago I decided I liked the idea that birthdays could be for trips.  Kyle celebrates a birthday this week and I planned a weekend getaway to celebrate him and provide quality, relaxing time for us.

Birthdays are for trips is my new motto.

There’s something incredibly satisfying about creating memories together and not needing anything tangible to mark the days.  The only thing we brought back from our second stop, Wisconsin, was beer and cheese.  We spent our first night in the Windy City and the rest of the trip in the southern part of Wisconsin, enjoying the stops I had carefully planned, and each other.  I highly recommend the following places we visited:

New Glarus Brewing Company - Unless you live in Wisconsin, you probably haven’t heard of it.  They’ve grown so fast they can only keep up with demand in their home state.  We went on a tour – by FAR the cleanest brewery I’ve ever experienced – and enjoyed sampling the Spotted Cow, Belgian Red, Fat Squirrel and more.  Despite the fact that we ran into some light snow while driving there *cringe*, the place was pretty packed and I’m not surprised.  Kyle and I chatted at length with the brewer (they make 300 bottles a minute and are the state’s largest producer, only behind Miller) and stocked up on liquid goodness not available in Michigan.

Speckled Hen Inn Bed and Breakfast – Though the website showcases how lovely this place is, it’s really one to be experienced.  I’m a huge fan of bed and breakfasts and the various touches of this cozy place will stick with me. I wouldn’t necessarily describe myself as a “dog person,” but I adored the golden doodle, Happy.  Kyle and I had way too much fun watching the lambs jump all over the sheep in the pasture outside our window seat, and my mouth waters at the thought of the dried blueberry and white chocolate scones we had this morning. The innkeepers talked to us about our own desire to be bed and breakfast owners in the future and simply smiled when we called them at night because we locked ourselves out of our room.  (Oops!) We will definitely be back.

L’Etoile – The specially printed, “Happy Birthday Kyle” on the menu and the view of the Capitol were nice.  But. Oh. My. Godiva.  THE FOOD.  It was one of the best meals I’ve ever had.  It’s not at all surprising that the chef was just nominated for a James Beard Award.  We had food like the Petit Frère crostini with Montgomery cherries, frisèe, arugula, clover honey and black pepper to start, followed by Black Goat Truffle cheese risotto with toasted hazelnuts, pea vine, sheep’s milk blue cheese, grape must and lemon zest followed by a couple more amazing courses.  I wish, very much, that I could get food like this in my town.

Pre-trip I just thought that going on trips for birthdays, in lieu of any other gift, was a promising idea.  Now I’m totally convinced!  What are your thoughts?  Do you and your significant other do gifts, trips or some other tradition for birthdays?

Graduating to Dinner on the Floor

10 Jan

A towel from the 30th anniversary of a 25K my fiancé ran, butternut squash soup made from scratch, a little margherita salad, wine and the movie THE TOWN.

Ah, date night.

I’m tempted to say it’s because I’m getting older (and therefore hopefully wiser) that an old-fashioned date night in boasts great appeal, but I think it’s just because it’s the right person.  There are some awesome things about being comfortable in a relationship, and not needing bells and whistles to make an enjoyable night is one of them.

It’s weird though–not very long ago at all, I was all about making the plans.  Buying concert tickets, arranging dinner nights out, attending events downtown…that was me!

In our culture, I think “What are you doing this weekend?” is a constant question.  And I used to feel a need to make my answer something.  But the new something is so awesome.  See?

And because I love you, I’m sharing the recipe for this soup.  Topped with apple-pecan-chive relish, it is supreme.  I can’t recall the original source for this recipe, but I’ve made several modifications to it.

Butternut Squash Soup

2 TBS. extra virgin olive oil

1 c. chopped onion

1 TBSP minced garlic

2 carrots, chopped

1 (2 lb.) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced

4 c. chicken broth

1 TBSP fresh ginger

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 c. heavy cream

1 TBSP pure maple syrup

1 tsp salt

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Heat olive oil over medium heat, add onion and cook for 5 min.  Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 min.  Add carrots and squash and cook for 5 min. until just beginning to soften.  Pour broth over veggies to cover.  (Add more if veggies aren’t completely covered.)  Bring to a boil, then decrease to a simmer.  Cover and cook for 30 min.  Add ginger and cinnamon.  Transfer to a blender in batches and puree until smooth.  Stir in cream, maple syrup, salt and pepper.  Top with apple-pecan-chive relish.

Apple-Pecan-Chive Relish

1 c. chopped pecans, toasted

1/3 c. finely minced chives

1 tart, crisp apple, diced

2 tsp seeded and finely minced jalapeño

juice of half a lime

1 TBSP pure maple syrup

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Simply combine all ingredients.

Do it!  It’s the whip.

Eat, Pray, Love, Drink, Sketch

13 Aug

My lovely mother and I went to see Eat Pray Love tonight. I’m not qualified to critique movies so I’ll avoid doing that here, but I will say this movie was very enjoyable to me and made me think. It made me think about balance and pleasure. Specifically, at what moments in my life do I feel most at ease and most alive?

My love language is Quality Time, so those moments for me are engaging ones–really good conversation with a dear one, laughter with a group of girlfriends, satisfaction at teaching my little one something new or fully immersing myself in whatever I’m doing.

It was very easy to enjoy the latter tonight because of the restaurant my mom and I chose to eat at following the show. Approximately seven minutes after sitting down, the owner of the restaurant recognized my mom and I from the past and came over to chat, subsequently chose a bottle of wine for us and proceeded to draw the region in California where the wine came from for us on the recycled piece of paper covering the tablecloth.

Ah. Balance. Pleasure.

Those very simple moments, the ones where my hair is tossed up, I have a glass of wine in hand, I’m sitting with someone I love, laughter is present and good food is on the way–those are absolutely the best moments of my life. There is truly nothing I love more.

How about you? What makes you love life most?

The Uncoordinated Files: Serving

23 Mar

I have one thought and one thought only when I see a particular woman in Holland: I once spilled pizza sauce up the back of both of your daughters and I’m still so sorry.

Several years have passed and that is still all I can think when I see her face.  She, of course, has not been able to forget this either, because I brought it up every single time she dined at the restaurant I used to work at, for the rest of my days there.  I was always so awkward about it: “Oh, hi!  It’s great to see you guys again!  You remember me, right?  I’m the one that was walking over with build-your-own pizzas for your two little girls when I lost my balance and dropped both pizza paddles and the sauce hit the floor at exactly the right angle and sprayed up the back of both your daughters, effectively staining their pretty pink outfits.  Remember?”

Why I was ever trying to jog her memory about this blunder, I do not know.  We’d both laugh nervously and I’d promise not to drop food in their laps during dinner and I watched her silently pray that this meal would not be a repeat of that one.

I worked at the same restaurant for over five years.  Even when I was an assistant manager and the event coordinator, I never stopped serving.  I loved that connection with people and the feeling of being in the midst of a busy rush, racing to pick up martinis from the bar, call out for salads and fire my food with the kitchen.  Unfortunately, serving is also a place for uncoordinated people to shine.

I’ve been thinking, lately, about possibly serving on the one night a week I do not have my son to make a little extra money for such boring things as student loans and such fun things as trips.

I saw this woman at the grocery store the other day.  A sign?  Perhaps.  Perhaps I should not serve again.  Because there was also the one time I spilled cream.  In a woman’s purse.  On her iPhone.

The good thing from all of this is that I’m totally the kind of customer you’d want to spill a glass of red wine on.  Not that I’d love it, but I’d be all, “Oh!  It happens! ”  Then I’d pull him/her in, “One time, I was serving and tripped over my own feet and dropped the entire tray of wine glasses and they all broke and glass landed on the foot of a customer.  It could totally be worse!”

Did you ever serve?  Any good stories from your days?  Or perhaps as the unlucky customer?  Do share!

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