Remembrance

I was really pleased to see so many tributes to Veterans today on Facebook. I created the above image by taking one of my photos from the Iwo Jima memorial and doing some post-production on it. Then I added the text over top. It's what I posted today.

I think more often than not, we forgot about all sacrifices our members of the military make -- as well as their families. As more and more vets from WWII get older, I think it's vitally important to recognize them and thank them for their service.

In September I was teleworking. Since the weather was gorgeous, I was sitting outside working on my laptop in front of the library, when I noticed a very elderly gentlemen sitting at a nearby table. I felt compelled to say hello -- he had on a Seabees hat, so I assumed he was a vet -- but had no idea what I would say. I just kept typing along and coming up with possible introductions, without actually saying anything at all. 

After a while, his wife walked out of the grocery store with a couple of bags of groceries. He slowly got up, held her arm, and using his cane they walked toward me. I made a passing comment about enjoying the weather . . . and it led to me hearing a hilarious "how we met" story, how they've been married for 65 years (!), their move from the northeast to Oklahoma, and her love of the ocean. It was certainly the highlight of my day -- and I'm so glad the opportunity arose to talk to the couple for a while. I think, though, that we all need to make those opportunities arise on our own. I hope next time, I go up and make sure that happens. 

Thank you to all who have served and are currently serving. 

An Eighty Dinner

Confession: Since Jeremy came into my life and my kitchen, he does a LOT of the cooking. And I end up doing more dishes. I hate doing dishes. A couple of roommates ago, my roommate M and I created the perfect arrangement -- I would leave my dishes in the sink and she would load the dishwasher. She hated unloading the dishwasher, so that became my job. Perfectly balanced! Her fiance at the time (now husband) could not figure it out and warned us that it would never be that symbiotic again. In some ways that's true; I have more dishes to do now. In other ways, a new balance has been created: Jeremy cooks great food a lot!

We like to collaborate in the kitchen, but he really does take the lead there for cooking (especially when I've had a long day). Roles flipped the other week though and he was the one who had a long day -- so I made dinner. All by myself! Baking is my wheelhouse, but cooking? Let's just say when someone holds out a spoon with a taste and asks the question, "What do you think this needs?" you get wide-eyed paralysis on my part. I HAVE NO IDEA. Spices?

But, casting that fear aside, I danced my fingers over to the Eat Eighty Twenty blog. I can't remember when I discovered it -- it was in its early stages a couple of years ago -- and since then the recipe lists have grown even more and provided me with some solid dinner ideas. I especially like the thinking behind it -- 80% healthy, 20% indulgence. I can do that. After scoping out some recipes and determining what I was in the mood for (a process that takes longer than cooking the dinner itself), I landed on these two: A pistachio encrusted mahi-mahi and an arugula and pear salad.

See? I'm getting better at documenting while cooking! Although, I'm a little superstitious that if I am photographing AS I am cooking, the meal I am cooking is guaranteed not to turn out. (Although you'd think that all the food bloggers out there would make me realize my fear is totally irrational. Not yet.)  

Shelling pistachios is the pits! (See what I did there?) Actually, it's fine. I put on some music and it was done in a jiff. I used two filets instead of four, and gluten-free breadcrumbs (they exist!). I did venture out of my militant-baker mindset and added some salt, pepper, and other spices that weren't in the recipe. I'd probably add more next time, or maybe flavored breadcrumbs. I also ended up cooking the fish a little longer -- closer to what the fish market guy suggested at Whole Foods.

I also made the salad. I'm a huge fan of arugula and this was easy. Luckily, I had pinenuts in my fridge. They're like eating gold. Because they are so expensive. But I think they're great additions to salads.

I wanted some more greens, and I knew that one piece of fish and a salad wouldn't be enough so I added some potato wedges and green beans. I'm a big fan of "stick the whole bag in the microwave" technique. Yeah, I may pay a little extra, but I save with the ease of it. I was able to pull the meal together relatively quickly. Considering Jeremy stayed at work late and I did this one solo (what? you mean I have to taste and answer the "What does this need?" question on my own?!), I was pretty proud of this moment: 

 TA DA!

Fancy Hair

There's something about putting my hair in a 'do that makes me happier about getting up each morning. I don't know if it's the creative challenge or just that I feel more put together, but when I've done my hair . . . well, watch out, World!

This was actually relatively simple and just requires lots of bobby pins. I pulled my hair to the side and secured it with a clear elastic. Then, I took sections of my hair and wrapped them around the elastic, then pinned them in place. After I took these pictures, I actually ended up putting in another bobby pin so that the knot was a little more round and less pointy. As long as all the loose ends are tucked in, it looks really polished.