chaos7

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Oh Lookie! Two Entries In One Day!

Since the weather has been so much nicer lately and the days longer, we’ve been taking advantage of the new yard (with 6-foot fence to keep the rugrat safely inside) and extended patio area. Last night we grilled out the same meal we cooked about this time last week but instead of vino, we drank cava and some frozen rum/banana/pineapple spooky frappe thing that the Hubs whipped up (needed more rum). I pulled weeds like a normal obsessive-compulsive “I can’t sit still ever” person while W watered the grass, his jeans and his shirt. He figured out that if he touched the end of the hose to his eye he could get water directly in it and this is good for I don’t know what but it amused him and that’s what counts. Since I got pregnant, the Hubs has been the sole meal maker when time allows and this is nearly always. I used to get off on cooking elaborate meals from scratch, spending time mincing, roasting, peeling, shredding but now I’d rather change several dirty diapers in a row. The upshot of the Hubs playing Julia Childs is that his culinary talent has really improved. He dices well, measures precisely and is patient to make sure everything reaches the proper temp but oh, the mess! The mess that looks like W and his entire classroom has been cooking us dinner and not an able-bodied adult! Shiny, sticky spots glisten on the floor, bits and pieces of squashed food frame the cabinets. The countertops become a gourmet landfill. Each evening I have to wonder if he’ll always be more Edward Scissorhands than the Naked Chef. That’s okay though. The clean up goes fast and the labor is worth it because the food is damn good.

While on the subject of food, I am actively making efforts to eat better. I figured since I never had time to eat during the conference and ate vegetarian-only in Marfa that the granola groundwork had been laid. Of course most of my meals are paired with some vintage of wine or other al-kee-holic beverage but I’m not willing to be completely healthy. Besides hooch makes bad food taste better. Earlier today, I forced myself to eat a salad full of weeds. It’s one of those bulk organic arrangements that was put together by the feet of a squirrel. There were giant random leaves and long grasses in there. There were green stems of what used to house cilantro but only suggestions of the leaves remained. Certain bites were pungent and some made me feel like a horse put out to pasture. I started to think that this was a joke package of greens that some funny little field picker had compiled. I do realize that the American edible mindset is a very limited one but I’m trying to branch out. I just don’t want to actually eat branches.

1 comment:

jen said...

When I come to visit I can bring you tons of acorns from my parents house, you know to go with your squirrel salad.
Jen