Can anyone explain to me why the most delicious foods are really not that good for you? I think it has something to do with fat. Most things that taste really good taste that way because fat has made them so.
Ice cream. Cheese. Steak. French fries. Potato chips. Cake.
Home Made Chocolate Ice Cream
Healthy things like steamed vegetables, bran flakes, brown rice just don't bring us to rapture in the same way. I think this may be understood by the Life/Death paradox. We appreciate life as we do because we know death looms. If we were immortal, we would likely take life for granted. It always makes me laugh that in Toronto as soon as the temperature reaches 18C everyone's in their shorts and sandals and drinking beer on outdoor patios. We revel in the good weather because we know that in just a few short months that the long cold dark winter will be upon us again. When we visited Texas in April a few years back, all of us Canadians were sitting out in the backyard soaking up the rays while the Texans were inside in their air conditioned houses only going outside to walk to their air conditioned cars to drive to the air conditioned mall. With this same thinking, food that we know we should only eat in small quantities is food that we want to devour in copious amounts. Food that we can eat with abandon we take for granted. Go figure.
This past weekend I had an urge to make ice cream. If you recall, I bought an ice cream maker several months ago that has been untouched. To me ice cream heralds summer. A favourite summer ritual is to "go for ice cream". And it comes in so many flavours. One year at Feast of Fields we ate Peanut Butter, Banana, and Bacon Ice Cream. Sounds gross but was surprisingly good.
The Beamer is supervising the ice cream maker
I decide to make Chocolate Ice Cream. A rich, dense, intense chocolate. My only mistake is not having the freezer bowl from the ice cream maker already frozen and patiently waiting for something to churn. From now on, it will be stored in the freezer for quick ice cream making whenever the urge hits. The Adolescent and the Beamer are very pleased.
The Beamer is initially wary
Not sure yet...
Aha...that's what all the fuss is about!
More please
Thank you Daddy
The Adolescent has requested mango ice cream next time. As it's very difficult for me to resist any request from him to cook or bake I will be ice cream making again this weekend.
The Adolescent is happy too
Maybe not so healthy for the body but definitely good for the soul!
Having an age crisis can be an isolating experience. Those who are older than you can't understand what you're upset about because you're so young. Those who are younger than you can't get beyond the fact that you ARE so old. Others try and empathize by reassuring you how young you look. But really that's not the issue. The issue is that the older you get, the closer you get to death. And this just gets more and more undeniable as the years go by.
Peter, me, and Katherine
One person who has always been able to relate to all of my life musings, age included, is Katherine. Katherine has just had a significant birthday and she and Peter have come for dinner to celebrate it. I regard Katherine and Peter as dear friends. We have known each other for over 20 years. They both keep reminding me how old they are. And they ARE old, I guess, in years. But all I really know is that Katherine and Peter come to all our parties. If they prefer to stay home sitting in their rocking chairs, they never let on. Instead they party, they talk to people, they find out about people's lives. They may not remember anyone's name but that's irrelevant. They dance. Hard. No one can foxtrot and waltz as they can. Mind you, Peter does complain about how it makes his knees sore. And Katherine does have toilet paper sticking out of her ears in a vain attempt to muffle the loud music.
A toast to our long friendship
In honour of Katherine's birthday and incredibly advanced age we have a mini wine tasting with dinner. Peter has brought two bottles of wine. They are both Australian Shiraz from Kilikanoon but from different vineyards. One is significantly more expensive than the other. We taste the Killerman's Run vineyard, the less expensive one, first. It is delicious. It goes very well with our dinner of filet mignon with a mushroom sauce, roasted vegetables, and roasted potatoes. Then we try the more expensive bottle. It's even better. Both are highly recommended but the Killerman's Run at about $20 is an excellent value.
Highly recommended
For those of you who are wondering (if there are any of you left)...no I didn't personally cook the dinner. And I'm comfortable with that. I learned this new-found serenity from Katherine. Come to terms with your strengths and your weaknesses. Figure out what has meaning for you and surround yourself with those experiences rather than waste time on things that do not. Find the humanity in situations. We are all essentially the same. Katherine can sit beside you while you tell her your darkest misery and she can stay there unflinching.
Very wise for someone so old.
The cake is Red Velvet...and no I didn't make it either!
Here's to many more age crises and the ability to relate to them all!
My mom is out of town for the weekend on a romantic getaway with the Hubby. She asked me to make a guest blog post because she couldn't bare the thought of her faithful readers being disappointed at the lack of posts.
I sing praises for my mom at any formal event - for Christmas I wrote her and my dad a long story about how wonderfully they have raised our family. I say all these things because she deserves every single word. They say a picture says a thousand words, so here's one for you. I managed to capture the look on the Beamer's face every time he see's my mom come home.
The Beamer and the Adolescent
My mom is an inspiration to everybody around her. Especially me. She has taught me so much about life, love and family. I am so grateful that I have such a spectacular woman in my life to look up to. I also love reading this blog, especially when I'm away from home!
Although I moan and groan every time mother's day comes around, I like taking this time to appreciate my mom. And I will continue to do so for many many years.
Love,
The Daughter
PS. My mom asked me to somehow make this cooking related.. but since we've literally only eaten delivery pizza this whole weekend, here's a picture of some cookie monster cupcakes I made earlier this year!
All you do is make any kind of cupcakes you want (I made these and they were spectacular) and then dye vanilla icing with food colouring, add eyes (icing + chocolate chips) and cookies. Try not to eat them too fast. Too cute and too delicious.
This is what the card said that I gave to Mary for her birthday:
You're not one to sit on the porch and watch the world go by.
You're one to yell stuff and make rude gestures.
Happy Birthday.
This is the perfect card for Mary. This describes a part of her that I love. She says what she thinks. She does what she wants. She has great style. She always looks good. She's very particular about who she loves but when she loves you she does so wholeheartedly. She thinks she can do it all on her own but is slowly grasping that it's way better not to.
Mary and me
One thing I must always do for Mary's birthday is bake her a birthday cake. Not chocolate. Lemon would be best. We've celebrated probably more than 20 of her birthdays together. I've probably made her 20 cakes. Never chocolate. A few times I've hinted that I might buy a cake. The response is immediate. No, she won't eat it. She'll only eat cake that I bake for her. So I bake. This year it is Lemon Layer Cake with Raspberry Curd and Whipped Cream.
Lemon Layer Cake with Raspberry Curd Filling
I've asked her many times to bake ME a cake. I've often said that the ONLY thing I want for my birthday is a cake baked by Mary. The response is immediate. No, she won't bake me a cake. She used to bake for a very short time a very long time ago. But there hasn't been any baking coming from Mary's kitchen for a very long time now. Paolo has never had a cake baked for him by his mother. The horror! The deprivation! In order to ensure that Paolo grows up with the right attitude toward dessert I make sure I bake him a birthday cake every year. It seems to have worked because he's very appreciative of every one. Funny how this strategy didn't seem to work with the Daughter or the Adolescent. They don't like cake. They rarely eat my cake. I've tried to not take this personally. I've not been successful.
The Adolescent, the Daughter, and Paolo
This year there's an added dimension of difficulty to making Mary's birthday dinner. Vegetarian. Mary has become a vegetarian. I struggle with the menu. Tofu, quinoa, bulgur, lentils? I think not. I see a lot of recipes with "meat" in quotation marks. That's just not right. I finally decide on Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and Almond Pesto. The key is generously salting the water in which you're going to cook the pasta. And then reserve some of the pasta cooking water and use it to moisten the sauce. This is a delicious dish. The roasting of the tomatoes brings out smoky sweetness paired with the toasted almonds and lots of garlic. Although it takes some time to roast the tomatoes it's actually very easy to make.
The Adolescent, Mary, and the Hubby all have April birthdays
Mary and the Adolescent are both Aries. In fact, they were both born on April 4. This explains a lot.
Happy Birthday dear friend. I look forward to baking many many more birthday cakes for you.
Around this time of year, the Hubby can be found mumbling about how this is the worst time of year to have a birthday if you're an accountant. All he has done so far today, and will continue to do far far into the night, is tax returns. Even though he is a "miracle worker" (or so he tells me) it doesn't make being April born any easier. This year, along with tax season, the Hubby also has to share his birthday with Easter.
Horoscopily, the Hubby is a Taurus. The Bull. This is the perfect sign for him. He doesn't take any crap from anyone. He stands his ground for what he believes is right. He is dense and has great mass (metaphorically speaking!) and this makes him very strong with his feet planted firmly and happily on the ground.
Of course, he's not perfect. And it must be said, yet again, that he is not the Perfect Man. But he's damned close. Well actually not that close if we go by his score (1 1/4 out of 3) on the Perfect Man scale. He does tend to tease and ridicule the people that he cares about the most. He likes techno-electronic music. He's addicted to Zombies.
I could go on about his imperfections but it IS his birthday today. I'll leave the rest til Father's Day...
What is perfect about the Hubby is that he moves our car so that my family can have the closest parking spot when they come over for dinner. When I ask him for something, anything, he will always try his best to give it to me. He can pack a whole roomful of stuff into one suitcase. Out of the blue he will stop and marvel at how beautiful I am. In the kitchen, he can chop things into very small uniform pieces. If I can't sleep he lulls me by reciting General Accounting Principles. He openly admires the Adolescent's muscles even though he's sad that he's no longer that young and muscular. He profoundly appreciates the clear true love that the Beamer gives to him. When we were in France and I offered a euro to the person who spoke the most French each day, he was the richest family member at the end of the trip, even though he can't speak French! He cries at touching things. He likes himself. He lets me tease him on this blog.
In celebration of his birthday, I make the Hubby a Strawberry Layer Cake. I don't have to make him dinner as my cousins Terry and Brian have offered to do so. This allows me the opportunity to devote time to the Cake. This is one of my favourites. It is fresh and light. Although I decorated it with Easter eggs you can also mound strawberries on top for a beautiful presentation.
I guess not being a Perfect Man does not mean you can't be the perfect Hubby.
I'm training for the Ride to Conquer Cancer. It's a 200km cycle from Toronto to Niagara Falls in June to raise money for research at Princess Margaret Hospital. I'm riding to honour my sister who was diagnosed with a sarcoma 2 1/2 years ago and still today struggles to feel strong and invincible once again. I'm also riding to honour my friend Jennifer who died 6 years ago this month from breast cancer.
The training has not been going as well as I would like it to. The main culprit is the weather which has not cooperated in the least. It's generally still cold and wet.
Look closely and you can see the rain dripping off my face
This will be my 4th ride outside. I'm not feeling confident enough yet to go on my own. I'm a member of a team. The concept of the team is to train together and support each other. I need my team! I need support! But there's no support today. A little cold, a little wind, a little rain and they have deserted me. I am alone. My only hope is the Hubby. He really doesn't want to come. He'd rather play Zombies. But he comes with me anyway. Hard to believe he only has 1 1/4 out of 3 of the criteria in my definition of the Perfect Man.
We start off in the gusting wind. It starts to rain. It turns to sleet. Then it's actually snowing. My tire goes flat. The Hubby can't believe he gave up Zombies for this?!
The Hubby is changing my flat
Have you ever bought a new bike from a bike shop? You go in thinking that it's all about the bike but you soon realize it's about so much more. It's the same feeling I get at Mountain Equipment Co-op and at a kitchenware store. There are so many things that you never knew you needed. Things that will keep you warm and dry or just make your life so much easier. I now have shoe covers, arm warmers, knee warmers, a wireless speed and distance monitor, a tire change kit. I have all these items on my person or on my bike today. Am I warm, dry, or at ease??? Not in the least. We barely make it home. We're wet and cold. And starving!
It doesn't matter how you feel, it's how you look!
After a ride the challenge is renewing energy. I hate spending the rest of the day falling asleep whenever I sit down. Today I make a peach, mango, and banana smoothie. Sometimes I put in protein powder of which we have tons since the Adolescent uses it after pumping up his muscles. Today it's just yogurt for protein. The Hubby makes us a ham, red pepper and cheese frittata.
Lunch is ready
Despite the challenges, I'm glad we went out for the ride today. I'm intent on experiencing every one of the 200km of the actual Ride and this also means experiencing all the preparation leading up to it.
Here's to you Sis!
And Jennifer, I know if you could see me, you'd be laughing and shaking your head in amazement at what's become of me! Miss you.
