Good Food Day (SOLSC 23/31)

 

I had the best meal of my life yesterday.  

We were wandering down one of the many small side streets of Venice.  Our group had a destination in mind: Librairie Acqua Alta, a book store famous for being below the water line, a set of stairs made of books, and a gondola inside the store also filled with books.  However we were also hungry and on the look out for somewhere to eat on our way.

We turned a corner and as if by magic there was a man dressed in a pressed white shirt and slacks holding a menu.  He stood in front of a passageway lit by fairy lights that led to a court way with set tables.

This was Ristorante da Toto.

We were quickly seated and looking at the menu I knew immediately I wanted sea food while in Venice.  My mom and I each ordered a different dish: risotto and linguine each with a variation of sea food.  Of course, being in Venice, we also got a bottle of wine to share (a local variety of Pinot Grigio).

The risotto was creamy and had large pieces of prawn in the dish — including a large prawn positioned on top as if guarding the plate.

The linguine had strings of zucchini mixed with the pasta, a sprig of mint, and of course the sea food.  All of it coated in a light oily sauce that dripped from each noodle.

Each bite had the perfect balance of pasta and fresh sea food. And while I was worried I would not be able to eat the whole plate at first, it quickly became clear that I would devour every bite.  Mom and I passed the plates back and forth, though I eventually ended up with the risotto more as it was my favorite.

I was completely stuffed by the time we left.

It's Not a Meal Plan.

Despite a love of planning and food, I am not from a family that does meal prep. 

We don't have fancy calendars and lists to plot out meals for the month. We don't shop at CostCo or Sam's Club for crates of food. We don't bulk cook meals on a weekend to divide out along the week. That's just never been us. 

No, we are the family that cooks large amounts of food for one reason: potential visitors. Then, if those visitors don't appear, it all gets crammed into plastic containers and crammed into the fridge for leftovers (usually with some choice rearranging of the previous left overs already taking up space in the fridge). If meal planning occurs, it is when we know visitors are coming in advance. That's when my mom will bust out a chart to figure out what meals will be easiest to make for the masses. 

Such is the case for this coming week as my sister and her two daughters drive up from Florida to stay with her and my dad for about a week. This past Saturday, I was called in to help with the meal preparation when I found out my mom had decided to return to her Italian roots and make lasagna from scratch. Well, semi-scratch, but it was definitely NOT coming from one of those pre-made-shove-it-in-the-oven kits. 

Instead, she had located the recipe passed down to her from my grandmother -- all three versions of it. And, while my mom is a planner, she isn't always a recipe follower. It wasn't so much as she ignored the recipe as she tweaked it to suit her desires and her own knowledge of cooking. The constant refrain was: "I'm not sure if this will work. But we'll try it out." 

When I got there, she wasn't even sure how much it would make, admitting that she may have to send me out for more supplies. Luckily, it didn't come to that. She had at least three boxes of lasagna pasta noodles, several pounds of cheese (slices of provolone, shredded Italian mix, and ricotta), ground beef AND Italian sausage, herbs and spices, and enough tomato sauce to drown in. 

I helped her, but mostly I was there to talk. We chatted about the upcoming visit, our future travel plans, my writing, and her attempts to reorganize the upstairs. It was our way of catching up, all over a bubbling, baking batch of lasagna. And, despite her fears, we ended up with three full pans of lasagna: one for now and two for later. 

There's no sense in meal planning in my family. We cook enough for a drop-in visit any time and, if no visitors appear, then you have your meal for the next few days!

Summer Series Part 2: Flavors of Summer

Last week I tried to recapture the details of my solo trip to the beach and a snapshot of how my summer vacation began.  

While I definitely enjoyed the traveling I managed to do this summer (making up for last summer I suppose), what fun is traveling if you aren't celebrating the unique food to be found along the way.  Watermelon, ice cream, and grilled meat are just a few of the foods quintessential to the enjoyment of summer.  So, for part two of my summer series, I thought it would be a good idea to share with you some of the food experiences I had this summer:

Weekend Coffee Share | Breaking Bread and Poetry

 

With March at an end, I've also seen the end of my Slice of Life Story Challenge writing.  Writing a blog entry every day for 31 days was quite the feat, and I'm happy to report that I was successful in it.  I'd say it's the project that helped me find a purpose in blogging again and, after all, it's how I came to find this lovely community for sharing my week over coffee.  Although, if I'm being honest, at the moment it's a little late for coffee.

I thought in April I'd shift my focus back to novel writing, but the past few days I've found myself diving into poetry over at #verselove on Ethical ELA.  It's hard not to when April is National Poetry Month.  It's been a joy to dabble and experiment with low stakes writing.  I've always been a fan of poetry, but I have to make sure that it doesn't completely overshadow my noveling.  I've got a project to finish after all, luckily I have an excellent writing group continuing to cheer me on and I know they'll help keep me focused on my novel commitments. 

Of course, I do have other projects ongoing and now that it's April it's time to revisit my monthly personal challenge of a new bake for every month of the year.  Earlier this year I set the goal for myself to try a new recipe: January and March were both cookies and February was probably my favorite (a rather fancy coffee-based brownie).  Last year, when quarantine began, I joined the rest of the population in learning how to bake bread.  That was my first time baking bread of any kind and it was a pretty big hit.  I thought this month would be a good time to focus on enriched doughs, another thing I've never baked before.

Specifically I made hot cross buns using a recipe from "A Literary Tea Party: Blends and Treats for Alice, Bilbo, Dorothy, Jo and Book Lovers Everywhere."  It's apparently a pretty popular Easter bake and so it seemed appropriate to make it this weekend.  The buns turned out to be pretty tasty.  While I don't think I'll be presenting them to Paul Hollywood any time soon, but my mom certainly approved of them and that's what counts most.

It may be late for coffee, but it's certainly still chilly enough.  Tomorrow's weather promises to be just as gorgeous as it was today and maybe even a little warmer.  I look forward to getting out and doing some exploring while the weather holds and before the infamous southern summer makes the outdoors unbearable.  I hope you'll come again for a drink next weekend and maybe then this will be a better chance for coffee.

This is part of the Weekend Coffee Share Link-Up as hosted by Natalie the Explorer.  Check out her blog and the link up and join us for a beverage of your choice.

#SOL21 | 28 | Some Assembly Required

Last weekend, my mom requested that I make a dessert for Easter this Sunday.  I pointed out that it wasn't Easter yet, but she countered with the fact that she wanted to celebrate early while my brother was still in town.

"Alright," I said, "Did you have something in mind?"

"What about an ice cream cake.  It's not very Easter, but it could be nice."

#SOL21 | 27 | Chatting Over Coffee

Welcome to another weekend of sharing a nice warm mug of coffee (or your drink of choice) and some time together thanks to Natalie's link up: Weekend Coffee Share.

This is also the last Saturday of the Slice of Life story challenge (see the information at the bottom of this post).  I can't believe we're in the final stretch.  Last year when I first did the SOLSC I don't think I came anywhere close to blogging all 31 days!  Now here we are at the end and, though I hope I'm not jinxing myself by saying this, this time I may actually manage to share a slice every day this month.

But there are still a few days to go before that happens.  Instead I'd like to tell you about my week as we sit sipping our coffee.  I've really been inspired by how Tammy structures her coffee share posts, so I am going to try and mimic that writing style today.

If we were having coffee, I would lead us outside to my patio with our mugs.  I would mention how I just got a new order of coffee in from Grounds and Hounds that I hope we can both enjoy.  We can hear the birds singing in the trees and a quiet lofi song plays from my laptop.  It's cloudy and cool this morning, but pleasant if you have a warm beverage to enjoy.  It's a little disappointing after the sunshine of most of the week, but at least it's not raining yet.  There are likely to be storms later, but at least we're outside for now.  There's a small window to enjoy temperatures like this in the southern US and I want to take every advantage I can to be outside.  

If we were having coffee, I would point out my nearly empty bird feeder and the new hummingbird feeder I put out.  According to what I've read the hummingbirds should be migrating through my state soon and I want to make sure I catch their attention this year.  I just hope it doesn't draw ants or wasps instead.  The other birds are happily partaking of the bird seed at least and I'll probably need to refill that soon.  Unfortunately, it looks like they may have also attracted a cat to skulk around this morning.  Her belly is low to the ground though and I'm starting to wonder if maybe she is a pregnant cat looking for a safe place to give birth.  I really don't need a cat or her kittens -- my dog Cooper doesn't share attention easily.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you about the adventures I went on with my dog this week.  It was our Spring Break and I forgot how nice it was to just take things slow and go out into nature.  I took Cooper to several parks and gardens.  I tried to get him to ride in a special dog-back pack I bought, but he was pretty stubborn about that and insisted on being on the ground.  I think he enjoyed getting to smell and leave his mark on all the trees and bushes.  While he did that, I would try and leave my mark on the pages of my notebook: sketching the plants and creeks and scenery in either drawing or words.  It was pleasant and did wonders for my anxiety and stress, the opposite of having to brave certain crowded places in a mix of masked and non-masked individuals.

If we were having coffee, I would definitely share those pages of my notebook with you, as well as, some of the pictures I took of my time out and about yesterday with my friend Katie.  We are both vaccinated and felt a little more comfortable eating outdoors at a restaurant in Hot Springs called Diablos Tacos & Mezcal.  We ordered tacos and margarita flights to top off a day of shopping and garden walking.  It was delightful, though I'll admit I probably drank a few two many margaritas.  It was a nice treat for myself though and I don't regret the money spent at all.  

If we were having coffee, I would sigh and say that unfortunately we are going back to school next week and that I'm not sure I'm ready for Spring Break to be over.  It was relaxing and I have not yet prepared lessons for Monday.  It's still break though and I need to focus on that, not the fact that I didn't grade anything over break.  It really is hard to get out of the mindset that I should work during this time -- I shouldn't!  I've also reached another snag in my novel writing because I've reached a part in the story that's new and not just revisions, so it's causing some frustrations for me to write.  I know I just need to push through it, but it's not always easy to find the motivation to even open the document.

If we were having coffee, I would reach over and pet my dog's head for comfort.  He's sleeping soundly, even snoring, likely still exhausted from yesterday's adventures.  I would offer you a smile and invite you to share your celebrations and frustrations as well.  No sense in me doing all of the talking.

I'll sip my coffee and wait for you.  After all, it's not raining yet and the coffee is still warm.

This post is part of the 14th Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge.  

                    #SOL21 and information around Slicing can be found on Two Writing Teachers. 

#SOL21 | 14 | In Honor of Pie Day...

It seems only appropriate to write about pizza today on Pi(e) day, especially as I sit here waiting on my own pizza order to be processed down the road from me.  I'm not a math person, but you can bet I'll take an excuse to celebrate food any chance it presents itself.  Really, who needs an excuse for pizza though?

Besides, it's doubly appropriate when you consider this is Slice of Life writing and what better slice is there than pizza?  I mean I suppose your dessert pies, but my preferred pie was always the "pizza pie" variety as opposed to apple, coconut creme, or key lime.

Pizzas were reserved for Thursday nights at my Grandma's house.  Or was it Tuesday?  I can say with certainty it was NOT Friday nights, as those were reserved for going out to eat at sit down restaurants with my grandparents and family.  Honestly, as and adult I can't help but imagine it was whatever night there was likely a deal going on.  My Grandma was the kind of person obsessed with couponing and specials after all.  The pizza was always from Little Caesars (Pizza! Pizza!) and the order was almost always a cheese, a supreme, and a pepperoni.  Oh, and of course, an order or two of crazy bread.

Pizzas were also reserved for sleepovers, once my sister and I were old enough to start having those, and even now it's hard to shake the urge to want pizza whenever a friend is visiting.  Boxes would be piled high in the kitchen ready to fill the bellies of ravenous teens.  Usually they were also from Little Caesars, though sometimes my mom was feeling particular and would order from a restaurant called Shotgun Dan's.  However, that was only if it was a smaller gathering as those pies tended to be a bit pricier than the "Hot & Ready" cheap pizzas of Little Caesars. 

I don't get Little Caesars as much any more nor do I get pizza quite as often.  Perhaps because pizza is such a social food and for a lot of reasons I have not been social as of late.  Though luckily there is a place down the road from me that makes a decent personal sized pizza which I must leave now to pick up for lunch.  After all, it's pie day!

This post is part of the 14th Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge.  

#SOL21 and information around Slicing can be found on Two Writing Teachers.