Dinner
We had our neighbors over for dinner tonight. I cooked tomato and mushroom risotto, a caprese salad, and I made a chocolate mouse for dessert. That last item may have convinced me to buy a mixer. I don't like to have too many electronic cooking elements in the kitchen. They just make things more complicated. I chop most everything--although I do use a food processor for soups and large amounts of things to be grated. And I like to whip my own cream with a whisk. I just feel more connected to what I'm cooking when I do that.
But whipping the flippin' egg whites. . . holy bejessus that takes a long time and a lot of whipping. I felt like I was standing in the kitchen for hours. I made the mouse last night, but tonight, when I went to whip the cream, my arm was sore from all that whippin' last night. This is why I don't practice corporal punishment: I don't have the muscular stamina for consistently whipping the child.
Dinner was great. Ever since our friends Bicycle and Skate moved back to Chicago, we've been adrift without any close friends in the city. We have some couples with children close to SkyGirl's age, but conversation can sometimes be strained. I'm not entirely certain why, but we can talk and connect quicker with some and not others. And this is not entirely based on experience or common interests. For example, the English prof who's office is down the hall. We don't seem to have a connection if the conversation strays from the gossip of the department, despite working in the same arena, raising kids roughly the same age, living a couple of miles apart. We should be peas in a pod.
But then the corporate officer, a decade younger, engaged, NASCAR fan, we talk for three hours with no silences. Funny.
Anyway, the quest for friends to fill the gap may be reaping rewards. We are finding people who like to be around us. It was tough having Skate and Bike leave, though we knew they had no choice and so concerned about them that it is only lately have we thought of how their departure was tough on us. They converted us from strangers in a city to a group. We weren't alone. We had them. When they left, it felt like we had no one for awhile. It's better now.
But whipping the flippin' egg whites. . . holy bejessus that takes a long time and a lot of whipping. I felt like I was standing in the kitchen for hours. I made the mouse last night, but tonight, when I went to whip the cream, my arm was sore from all that whippin' last night. This is why I don't practice corporal punishment: I don't have the muscular stamina for consistently whipping the child.
Dinner was great. Ever since our friends Bicycle and Skate moved back to Chicago, we've been adrift without any close friends in the city. We have some couples with children close to SkyGirl's age, but conversation can sometimes be strained. I'm not entirely certain why, but we can talk and connect quicker with some and not others. And this is not entirely based on experience or common interests. For example, the English prof who's office is down the hall. We don't seem to have a connection if the conversation strays from the gossip of the department, despite working in the same arena, raising kids roughly the same age, living a couple of miles apart. We should be peas in a pod.
But then the corporate officer, a decade younger, engaged, NASCAR fan, we talk for three hours with no silences. Funny.
Anyway, the quest for friends to fill the gap may be reaping rewards. We are finding people who like to be around us. It was tough having Skate and Bike leave, though we knew they had no choice and so concerned about them that it is only lately have we thought of how their departure was tough on us. They converted us from strangers in a city to a group. We weren't alone. We had them. When they left, it felt like we had no one for awhile. It's better now.
posted by cieux autres at 11:09 PM
3 Comments:
Ahhh...someone else in the family who prefers the hands on approach to cooking. I only use the processor for onions, I despise, DESPISE chopping onions. The fact that a simple vegetable can bring me to tears is completely unacceptable! For the rest, I'm elbow deep, considering even the spoon a last resort tool.
But I digress; this entry wasn't about food prep. It was about your love of NASCAR.
~A
I can see a lot more cars driving around a loop just by going out to the 101. Of course, NASCAR cars are a lot more colorful. I think we should start getting sponsorship for our own cars. I'd like something from Ben & Jerry's.
I think I'll ask Vin & Sprit AB for sponsorship; they produce Absolut Vodka. *sigh* I will call the car "Absolut Exhaust".
~A
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