Sunday dinner...in another state

We drove up to spend time with dear friends in OKC this weekend. (My husband has known the other guy since kindergarten, the three of them knew each other in college, and I, the johnny-come-lately, have known them for about 20 years!) Another time, I might write a post on my musings about being the only person out of the six of us (two couples with a kid apiece) who is not an only child, but for now, how about what we ate?

We drove up Saturday, later than we had hoped, but before we left, I did manage to sell my old car to the mechanic who had done its state inspection, which it had not passed. His truck had a newly broken transmission, I didn't have to clean or inspect or list my car & talk to strangers, so I considered it a big win-win. But it did make us late getting out of Dodge -- or Dallas.

So, after we arrived and exchanged Christmas gifts -- we like to do it in person, but this year had really gotten away from us -- we went out for a delicious dinner. The boys (theirs starts high school in the fall, but still plays wonderfully with our Juj when we're around each other) ate too many chips and queso to make much of a dent in their quesadillas and nachos, and we all had to take a walk afterwards to avoid just beaching belly-up around their house.

Sunday had a lot of things on the agenda, and one of them was cooking. We made dinner:

• Coleslaw with Cumin-Lime Vinaigrette
• Warm New Potato-Green Bean Salad with Sweet Onions, Tomatoes & Mustard Vinaigrette
• Hamburgers with the Caramelized Chipotle Onions & Blue Cheese Spread from this recipe plus fresh packaged Guacamole because the avocados were rock-hard at the store & Lettuce & Tomato
• Whoopie Pies (three words: easy as pie, and three more words: to die for!)

Monday, after I had stayed up way too late reading one of the Christmas presents I had received, we went cheerfully off for brunch which was quite yummy, once the service issues were ironed out (long wait for the table we expected but really long wait at the table to have our order taken? Not so good.) Fortified with pancakes and migas and chinook eggs, we finally hit the road. And picked up take-out barbecue to complete the day at home.

So good to see our friends!

Now, it's back to work for a day for me, then spending the rest of the week home with the Juj. Since I had some extra time off to burn this summer (vacation carryover from the old company, plus some furlough days), and our school allows you to pick and choose which weeks of 'summer camp' to attend and pay for, I decided to spend some time at home together. Hope we manage to survive all that quality time! ;-)

Quickie

I have time for a quick Sunday supper post before I commute to the dining room and my office computer for the start of my work day.

• Teriyaki Salmon Burgers (courtesy of Whole Foods, but yum!)
• Sauteed Spinach with sesame oil, ginger & gomasio (no parenthetical comment except I think this was my favorite part of the meal)
• Sautéed String Beans (with a nod to Still Life with Menu - thanks, Mollie!)
• Tofu Fried Rice (this company makes UNBELIEVABLE tofu entrees, mostly Asian but also the tamales that shocked Los G's with their authentic tasting goodness - really!)
• Citrus Sparkler (supremes of grapefruit & orange, along with a bit of local fresh peach and julienned mint, served in a margarita glass with club soda over the top because we were out of Fresca & I didn't feel like opening a bottle of prosecco)

Insomnia

That of the too-full monkey mind, and overly warm night, and twinging back, and a budding cold or maybe just allergies causing an uncomfortable tickle in the my throat. And realizing I'd made a stupid comment on Twitter without having the full context of what the other person was saying (which was more than the single, first tweet I responded to). Maybe it's time to work on my real life, which I fear has been sadly neglected in favor of work, fitful sleep, and perhaps an unhealthy relationship with technology. Not sure I could pull this off, but it may be time to cut back at least a bit.

I've already basically stopped visiting Facebook because I can't stand the onslaught of Mafia Wars, Farmville and the like.  (Not to mention some of the other challenges raised in this commentary.) And last fall, I un-followed my friends (IRL and otherwise) on Twitter because I felt like it was acting as a substitute for a social life without real effort or rewards. Then, in November and December, when I had surgery followed by my dad's fall and head injury that left me feeling scared and isolated (although he's fully recovered now), I felt like I needed that network just to know the world was bigger than the circle I was drawing myself into, so I re-followed again.

I read somewhere that women are great adopters of online social networking, just the newest way to carry the torch of connection. Does that mean Twitter has replaced quilting, or Facebook is like a church potluck? I definitely feel that social media has its place, but I'm not sure it's to reinforce a deep sense of human community.

Once again, it's beginning to feel like I'm kind of faking a feeling of intimacy with people that I connect with 140-characters at a time, or through blog rolls and comments, but that I don't really interact with face-to-face much, if at all... And it's getting me down again. I fall into believing it's something it ain't.

Well, that and the fact that I've been awake since before 2:30 AM. Maybe if I go catch a couple more hours of zzz's before the workday starts, I won't feel the need to dump Facebook and Twitter and have to figure out how to connect for realz.

Most likely, the truth (or at least a workable path) is somewhere in the middle.

Preview: Dinner to get whacked for!

Tomorrow, we cook a long overdue offering we made at Horizon's fall service auction.  (J was sick when we had it originally scheduled.)  Seven guests paid good money (to the church) to dine with us, so we need to live up to our side of the bargain.

The only thing I really haven't decided on yet is...a signature cocktail to serve, along with beer.  I'm thinking mojitos or maybe a subtly exotic margarita (prickly pear?), but still toying with other ideas as well.  Any suggestions?

The meal is built around Puerco (or Cochinita) Pibil, banana-leaf-wrapped pork braised in achiote paste, as featured in the Robert Rodriguez movie Once Upon a Time in Mexico.

• Cochinita Pibil (this link includes the recipe as well as the 10-miunute cooking school video; very funny but not rated G!)
• Salad of avocados & citrus (will be consulting Judy Rodgers on this, and plan to create a citrus-cilantro dressing)
• Fried platanos (plantains, the yummy soft ripe ones, a la comida Cubana)
• Buttery white rice
• Black beans
• Corn tortillas from the local mercado
• Aztec Chocolate Pudding with vanilla ice cream
• settled on Tequila Refrescas

P.S. No pictures of the food, but did snap the tablescape...

Mother's Day Poem

Happy Mother's Day (by Julian)

We like too Play Wii

Your so sweet!

You are the Best.

We like to have tea.

I like when we meet.

I put your limits to the test.

[Gotta love that ABC-ABC rhyming scheme!]

Catch up

A lovely looong weekend for Fiesta in San Antonio (including the Battle of the Flowers with the in-laws, 24 hours in the hotel room with a sick Juj, and also a fabo dinner a deux here)... came home and bought a family sedan to carry me into my 50's (yikes!)... got a great start on the backyard spring cleaning last Saturday, which left us too tired to cook Sunday, even though I really wanted to make this (and did make the dessert; but with takeout dinner)... Scarborough Faire yesterday (and the good Doktor was hilarious as always)... made chai this morning, inspired by recipes here, to start my Mother's Day off right (that and the Batter Blaster chocolate chip pancakes that Gilster made for me).

So now you know.