FISHY FISHY!!

I "made up" a recipe, and everyone enjoyed it.  I was inspired to make some fish for family dinner because Ahna and Sarah were not attending.  They are even more strict vegetarians than I.  So I talked it over with my rolfer last night, and she recommended a fish packet of rice, vegetables, and fish.  I discussed it with my co-workers, and Scott recommended a fish packet with vegetables and fish with a white wine/butter sauce.  Well, I still needed to be lactose intolerant for Gabe, so I was thinking more along the lines of asian.    What I did prepare (with a lot of assistance from Tom): parchment packets of sweet potatoes, carrots, red bell peppers, onions, and brocolli rabe topped with a fillet of salmon doused with a marinade of soy sauce, sesame oil, vegetable broth, honey, ginger, garlic, and chili sauce.  And as Tom overheard me listing the ingredients, he included, "Love; don't forget love!"  The rice was on the side, and an extra packet of vegetables was steamed in case Sarah could make it (which she did, and I am grateful to have had something special for her, too!).  The other tasty and terribly unappealing looking dish was a reprise of mashed potato casserole - a small casserole dish was untouched at Thanksgiving and promptly frozen.  It always tastes good, but Thanksgiving wasn't yesterday, so it lost some of its charm.   Well, I best get to bed.  I had a rough start to my day, and now that it has quieted down, a headache is creeping in.  g'night....

I heart weekends...

And what a fun weekend to heart... Not only was the lovers' brunch yesterday at the Otto's home, but I don't have to work tomorrow!!  Woo Woo!!  Mary and I are going to stretch our legs in the front range.  Snowshoeing was a possibility, but with all the sun we've had, there certainly isn't going to be snow anywhere close.   I was delighted to spend lots of time with Tom this weekend, too, though he has to work tomorrow.  He has been cooking up a storm.  And while the saying goes about the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, it might apply to me, too.  Listen to these recipes: tomato & roasted red pepper soup with roughy, shrimp, and scallops in it with homemade tortillas on the side.  Campanella noodles with strips of vegetables sauteed in a tomato-y cream sauce with garlic and onions and pesto bread.  Yum!!  Vanilla and caramel ice cream...Oh goodness!  I am going to have to fast the rest of the week!   The other delight is that Tom likes thrifting.  We went and found valentines for under a pbuck apiece at the Goodwill on our way to the lovers' brunch.  It was a scream finding things for everyone.  I also keep finding these old orange bits and pieces - containers and jars and such for pasta or cous cous or whatnot.  The older the better.  It has been fun making fun of things and laughing at the odd things we see that someone else has given away, or wondering why they didn't give them away sooner.  Oh la...peace and love to you...

the meat run

Oh the warm days...is it Spring already?   So I haven't posted lately as I have been busy - oh wait, that is always my excuse.  But really Tom and I did make the "meat run" this past weekend.  I already stand corrected on "giving away all Tom's meat" because it wasn't given to me and I won't eat it.  Anywho, it was a nice couple nights and days down in Miami.  It started off with an early start (not as early as it could have been, but I admit I was the slowpoke) and beating traffic through Colorado Springs.  We made it to Colfax Tavern, otherwise known as the red building between I-25 and Taos that advertises "COLD BEER".  Roger, an old friend of Tom's, served us up some pizza - sans meat on half - and a couple pitchers of cold Shiner.  His brother Daniel joined us, too, though Julie had homecoming events and couldn't come.  I had a lot of fun watching and joining in on the banter across the table.  I really enjoyed myself.  Another highlight of the weekend was an improptu game of two-on-two, turn one-on-two, turn one-on-one.  Tom and I disembarked from Daniel and Julie's house to walk over to his parents' house.  On the way we discovered that his sister and family had returned from the homecoming parade and were loading up the basketball hoop to set it up in one of the bays at the firehouse.  So we helped out, so Maya and I could take on Andres and Dave.  It was great fun until Maya bailed out.  I really couldn't handle the guys on my own, especially with Andres amazing arm.  Then he bowed out, and I took my game up a notch since it was just Dave and I.  We had a lot of fun, but it wasn't over until Tom stepped in and completely blocked any hope I had of dribbling, shooting, or moving in general.  Needless to say, I was no match for his defense OR his offense.  It was an unexpected bit of excitement for the day!   Tom did make it home with a box full of jerky and a little cooler of steaks.  The "meat run" was successful.  Traffic was easy coming back with everyone at home or the bar glued to the Super Bowl.  We missed family brunch and football reluctantly, but neither of us cared about watching the game.  I didn't care about much of anything really - I couldn't keep my eyes open past Colorado Springs, and unfortunately my conversation skills were drowsy and incoherent as I continued to ask questions and fade in and out for the answer and my responses.    Back to work for now...tomorrow I hope to bike!  G'night...