happy birthday Handsome!

There is a long list of really sweet and handsome men in my life, starting with Conrad. High on that list? A birthday boy today. Brett.

Brett is... hmmmm... how old is he anyway? Hmmmm.

No matter. Any man who can look like this eating bacon has stolen a small piece of my heart.

Jeph, give that man an extra kiss and hug for me and let him know how very very special he is.

forty

Oh yes, I AM milking this birthday. Unabashedly so.

I will have fun posts on the food, the shopping, the people in my life, certainly. I just want to take a bit of time this morning while I linger over breakfast and lattes to take stock.

I am 40 today.

I have a man I love, one whom I will marry next year. Conrad grounds me, Conrad completes me.

I have family. I have a lot of family - steps and halves and such. At the core, though, is my sister Marie. We've been in this together all my life and most of hers.

I have three of four parents. I do not have a father alive any longer, and I wish he were here to celebrate. I am not sad, do not think that, just simply wishing he could enjoy this celebration and the ones still ahead.



I have no grandparents left. How odd to realize that.

I have a good job that I will still not comment about on this blog. I am employed, I have tenure, and I have great colleagues.

I have my health. I set a goal of being in the best shape of my life when I hit 40. I think I've come pretty close, though I've indulged well in food and wine this last week or so. No matter. Do I need to lose more weight? Well, maybe re-distribute it a little more and firm/tone up more. But I like how I fit my clothes, and I am pretty comfortable in my skin at this moment.

I have friends whom I love dearly. I have former friends I wish were no longer "former". I miss some people who have moved on in my life. I am thankful for my best friend (Todd), my Best Woman (Allison), Kendall, CG, Jeph, Martin (and Mark), BTH, the SF, Darth and Heidi
and the great group from library school, our Yoshi's friends, the good friends who have stuck by Conrad since before I knew them and him,

Louise and Sandra and Wayne and others in Terrace, the Don Diego's family, the Smelts and other swimming friends like Chris and Brian and Daniel and Frank.
The list goes on, and I struggle to name every one.

I have a good life. I have said that several times to Conrad lately, and also to TK when we chat. Oh sure, I want to win that Lottery ($50 million? I MUST buy a ticket today!) and have a life of ease. But I've earned every grey hair starting to poke through, every wrinkle, every memory, ever difficulty and every reward.

So, yep: totally milking 40. Why not?

And thanks all of you who read this blog for being a part of it, too.

cookie binge

After a long dormant period in the kitchen - laziness, travel, holidays - I am back!

Well, you knew that already. I have actually posted a few things. This post should not be a surprise. Still, are you sitting down?

I've been baking.

Yep.

I know.

Last week was a bit obscene, in fact. I overdid it, and it's a wonder I even want to go into my kitchen anymore. Still, TK needs his CotM supply, and if one conference roomie gets cookies, I cannot neglect the other. And the SF wondered where his cookies were, and I thought, "Gee, if I'm mailing cookies to Baltimore to two people, I can't forget one of my all-time favourite Smelts, Tim." And Jeph's birthday needed a batch of cookies, and Brian's birthday was just yesterday. Also, we had some goodies from Vancouver to send up to Conrad's sister.

How many people is that?

I made four different types, but in the interest of some element of surprise, I photographed but one batch, the thin, crispy, tasty double chocolate cookies. How sad that I had to hold back the misshapen ones. Mmmmm.

TK jokes about his friend Jamie being my arch-nemesis, meanwhile, but, in fact, I have met her, and she is quite lovely. And she's just got a new position starting Monday. So... back into the kitchen today to get some cookies for her to start off on a happy note. Biscotti this time (orange, milk chocolate and almond) - I whipped them up in between finishing a workday at home and heading for a short swim. I hope she likes them. I may concoct a few more for her, in fact. Stay tuned.

And come to think of it, I'm in town this Saturday morning. Scones for Smelts resumes. Huzzah!

open letter (three days late)

Dear Jeph,

First of all, happy 41st. Plus 3 days now. Early happy 42nd? A blessed Easter to you? Oh, heck, happy birthday.



Thanks for being you. Thanks for being an awesome friend. Thanks for enabling my dirty habits by sending me comics that I don't buy for myself. Thanks for sending your great baking. Thanks for hosting us last summer and making the most gorgeous summer squash tart imaginable. Thanks for the near-daily (and multiple times daily) e-mails. Thanks for having a wickedly hot boyfriend and letting me make frequent inappropriate remarks about him. Thanks for nagging me gently on things like not getting enough sleep. Thanks for sending me links to cool things like Threadless and such. Thanks for answering the phone and offering advice on matters Web site and baking related. Thanks for four years of knowing each other and the friendship we've grown and maintained in that time.

Happy birthday - I hope the cookies and other gifts arrive with you tomorrow. May you enjoy them well.

Take care,
Peter

I am not a snob (yes I am)

Hey, I secretly love Hamburger Helper. I throw crap together for my dinner when I'm alone. I survive at work on nutrition bars.

Ok, I am a food snob. But I'm truly not THAT bad, am I?

Don't answer.

But I think I shocked Jeph and simultaneously presented him with a delightful opportunity when I (of all people) suggested that we have our Saturday lunch at the infamous Chick-fil-A. Infamous in that Jeph talks a lot about fast food and especially that chain. Well gosh, he's being such a good host, why not indulge him.



And that was before I even knew they had waffle fries!



I've been taken to task on Facebook by friends about the anti-gayness of the chain and doubtless will be taken to task again for this post. Apologies to them, and thanks to them for informing me better of these things. At least it will serve to make me a food snob with better convictions.

big dinner at Jeph's

It's a wonder I haven't gained pounds and pounds and started having to wear big boy pants again. No, really. You scoff? Read on...

Last weekend was our relaxing visit with Jeph and Brett. Relaxing for me and for Conrad, that is. Jeph, on the other hand, went to town on food preparation. Add to that the contributions of his friends he'd invited over, and we had mighty substantial fixings for a dinner on the back lawn for about 16 of us.

I posted a couple of teaser shots the other night. I should add this: the theme was local. We shared the wine we'd purchased earlier that day. Most of the vegetables were from Jeph's garden, and what wasn't came from friends' gardens or local producers. And Jeph, bless him, even butchered his own chickens at a farm in New York - not too far away. Impressive. Hence the tart and salad I blogged a few nights ago in brief. With very minor assistance from me, Jeph put together two of these stunning and delicious squash and leek tarts. I stayed away from his stove and managed a caprese-style salad that we left unadorned with any oils or vinegars.
I also chopped up the veggie mix that Jeph put into a grill pan - I kept going back for more of that mix. Heck, he even had his own little eggplants in it!

What else? Oh the chickens, very tender and well-seasoned.
Brisket he smoked himself. Corn on the cob a friend brought over and shucked (and then she and Jeph argued over who would get the husks for compost!).

As you can see from what Sharon, Jeph, and I set out,

we had plenty. Jeph and I, meanwhile, turned the husbands to the duty of setting up the table (Jeph cut flowers from his garden).
Finally, somewhere around 6 or so, I think, we all got to gather and dine.

Now then, do you see why I worry about my waistline?



More importantly, though, all of this just goes to show how utterly amazing the NBF is in his own right, leaving aside whatever I think of the cute/hot factor of his husband. Jeph put on a remarkable evening for us all, and he deserves much praise and thanks.

Ohio wine

I was trying to think last night about all the states in which Conrad and I have visited wineries. Michigan, New Mexico, Hawaii, Texas, Missouri. The usual suspects, right?

Add Ohio to the list.

This was fun, truly. Brett and Jeph took us to a winery not far from where they live. Viking Vineyards is the name, and you know what? We found some lovely wines for our big dinner that night. Success!

I think a lot of non-California wineries are like this: buying grapes from California to make wines locally. Of course, we all think that makes the wines less than good, but as we learned in New Zealand, a lot of grapes get shipped around, and yet decent wine is being made for the table. Having said that, however, I would say that though we thought well of all we tasted (well, maybe except the Cabernet Sauvignon), Viking's best wines are made with local grapes. In our opinion.

We ended up coming home with five bottles: two of the Traminette, two of the Lemberger, and one of the wine infused with chocolate. This last one didn't get consumed that night, but the gathered guests made easy work of the others. I especially liked the Traminette. It was full of fruit on the nose and in the mouth. A great wine to have chilled with friends outside. Fun, but a little serious just the same.



Conrad rather liked the red - it was light and full of berries. A shame the winery won't try it again because of heavy loss of vines over the winter. Ah well.


Once again, though, we learn that the occasion, the situation, enhances the wine. Tasting with the guys was simply fun, and even better, we found some bottles that the guests that night liked a lot as well. Well done Ohio, well done.