On the Menu

Indulged in late afternoon lunch with my honey.  I spent my noon time speaking over the phone with my Tia (aunt) and friend who lives up in Hobart, Indiana and was lucky enough to have had a patient husband who didn’t have a problem with me claiming the kitchen for my chat.  It only became an emergency to get off the phone when he poked his head in at about 1:30 p.m. and seem to decide I still needed privacy before he turned and walked out.  I honestly can talk to my aunt for hours! 

Anyway, I quickly got off the phone and since it was past “feeding time” for my honey, who has an internal clock that always lets him know it’s noon! I felt awful that he waited until past 2 before he ever showed signs of HANGER.  I offered to make him a quick and yummy sandwich for lunch if he didn’t have a game plan or know what he wanted to eat.

I got in the zone and started pulling a few of my favorite ingredients.  After completing what I felt was a masterpiece I could not wait to have him take a bite!  I put a lot of thought on how to layer the ingredients and was excited to see his reaction.  I don’t know that he was as excited as I, but he liked the sandwich and we had a nice meal at the kitchen table.  Said table partially covered with a couple of my sketches and supplies and in this week’s make-shift desk/work area.  (My honey travels between our dining room, coffee, and kitchen table.)

While enjoying our lunch he read what I assume was news or blogs online and I looked around at all the supplies at close reach.  I was still high on the flavors of the sandwich I was eating when inspiration tickled my brain.  Thinking I really wanted to have this sandwich again I thought of writing it down as one of my favorite recipes. I grabbed a note pad and pen from within reach and set out to write down a quick draft before pulling my recipe journal  Like many, I have tons of recipe books,  printed recipes I’ve found online and even a few torn from magazines.  I have copied only my favorites on to a recipe journal that also contains a few of my creations and some handed down from different family members. It is my own recipe book.

My thought process was to list the ingredients in the order they were laid out to be able to (like any recipe) recreate it.  ---  How many times have I written the word recipe?  Count for your own amusement!

The thought popped up how just listing the ingredients, without measurements/quantities sort of made it read like and item on a menu.  Hey, we should start a sandwich menu.  I looked across and demanded that my honey accept the privilege to name the sandwich.  He plays along with my random thoughts just as much as I do with his. (Yep, love that man of mine!) Anyways, I wrote down his name. (the name he came up with, not my honeys actual name).

The Maclovio – Dark toasted Oatnut whole grain bread with layer of sandwich spread, crispy Romine lettuce, thick slice of Jalapeno Jack cheese, warm thinly sliced Boarhead honey-roasted turkey, Roma tomatoes, pickle chips, and layer of coarse grain mustard. 

As I wrote I ate and let my mind flow.. My inner monologue Not a sandwich menu but our own house menu. How cool (yep, “cool” is still my word!) would it be to write a kitchen menu?  Suddenly a small plate of nachos appeared in front of me. Like usual, my honey inhaled his lunch and also as usual the portion of food I gave him was not adequate for his hunger.  

I picked a nacho chip or two since he offered and said to him, “I name these TRINITY NACHOS!" They have 3 ingredients and we can maybe make the name of menu items (no longer just sandwiches) relatable to family members. (One of our relatives is named Trinity). I asked my honey to write down his "creation."

As I continued to eat my sandwich, I transferred my rough draft of the sandwich recipe and scribbled it onto a clean yellow notepad paper.  I came up with a third entry to our menu, the Sweet Marilyn (named after another relative). A dessert I found online that is made up of baked granny smith apples, melted butter, brown sugar, ground cinnamon and oats. 

Create your own house menu. This is another idea for your quarantine entertainment. 

Weird Entertainment in Times of Quarantine #1

Like most, these past couple of month we have been on lock down.  There is so much (at times not enough) cleaning to be done around the house, organizing, reading and planning of meals one can do.   I am not a gardener, unlike my favorite neighbors who have used up their time at home wisely by revamping their back yard with an impressive new vegetable garden (I am more of a indoor potted plan aficionado).

With the "No large gatherings" permitted and the stall on all professional sports there has been quite a bit of time to fill. Luckily we were introduced by one of our favorite late night show hosts, John Oliver, to the surprisingly soothing an yet exciting world of marble racing.  Yes, you read correctly, MARBLES!

I confess at first I rolled my eyes at it, but on closer look I could appreciate the work that goes in to creating tracks, arenas with fans and even clever commentating. My anxious brain shuts down in a soothing fulfilment for competitive games and is even exhilarated with the dramatic scores/results.

Apparently these races and Olympic games have been going on for over a decade.  I hope you consider checking them out. Something to do when you are sick of the news and can't commit to another movie/series on your favorite streaming service.

Has it been a year?

I can't believe it's been OVER a year since my last post.  Too many things taking up my short attention span.  Good intentions pushed to the back burner.  I meant to update the blog.  It isn't relevant to how my life has changed, with what I intended to share/document that is no longer new to me.

Anyways.  It is my blog.  Not a chore/job.  The beauty of it is that I can crawl back in here and let my thoughts bounce around like a pinball (Hubby has subjected me to YouTube videos of Pinball Wizard. - I did not object!)

First of let me share that this terrifying year of quarantine (2020) looked less scary at the beginning of it, but for the exception that the big 5-0 would land early on me.  Funny thing was that my fear of turning 50 was not of getting older, but of not reaching the milestone birthday at all.  I had terrible nightmares for days up until my birthday.  I have never cared about birthdays, never cared to hide my age.  My reason has always been that my father passed soon after his 32nd birthday so every year I have lived past that age has been a blessing.

Now... If I look my age or not it is strictly my fault for not doing a better job at maintaining the only body I have and not the passing of time. Some years I did great, some years I said "fuck it!"

I pray you are all being careful, being kind, being supportive, being charitable despite and because of all the crazy going on.  We all knew 2020 would be a leap year, we just didn't understand we should leap over it and go straight in to 2021.

Have faith we will get our act together and figure out (though slow learners) how to move forward.  How to become a better version of ourselves, and how to take this punishing year as a wakeup call to be better.  Tired of this bull about "making America great again".  Too short-sighted, too exclusive.  How about "Becoming better human beings"?  Everyone!  No specific gender, race or nation.  All of us becoming better people!