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I hope everyone’s Easter was pleasant, it sure was for us! We spent Easter Sunday with Wil’s family yesterday – due to three birthdays! – and enjoyed a wonderful brunch, during which a) I discovered riper brie cheese and fell in love, despite the overwhelming smell and b) I devoured a delightful slice of Stroopwafel pie (stroopwafel being a typically Dutch cookie). Om nom nom.
We met some new people, drank white wine together and had a lot of laughs. Afterwards we headed over to Wil’s parents house to watch a little bit of football (I refuse to call ‘voetbal’ soccer) and play a few rounds of Spite & Malice; Wil’s mom won 3 times, I won once, and we left the men pouting on the inside while we put them in their place.
So that was Easter, yet another holiday gone by.
I think we’ve finally settled back into a normal, post-UK routine, but I have allowed myself some time off from The Business to relax and collect my thoughts, think about what I’d like to accomplish over the next couple of months – a lot.. but it will require patience, endurance and some amount of courage on my end. I’ll get there.
One thing I have, finally, been doing: reading. Since before our UK trip and for some days after it, I’ve been feeling quite stressed – hence the time off. Reading Tina Fey’s Bossypants really took the edge off for me; I needed to laugh and to chill and to just feel better, and some good humor did the trick – might I also recommend Community’s recent Pillow Fight Epicsode?*
After Bossypants I continued with Julia Child’s My Life in France, which is about an accomplished woman with the right attitude, which makes her someone I can learn a thing or two (or two thousand) from. It’s also allowed me to want to do more with food, not in a Julie Powell sort of way – gah – but just for us, in our home, for two people who like food.
I believe at heart I am a foodie; I enjoy flavors and good wine and “the finer things in life”. That chunk of brie I mentioned earlier, I had another taste of it an hour ago and was in heavennnn. (Thank you Paul for carefully wrapping it for me in three plastic bags – haha – and giving it for me to devour at home, to stink up our fridge and to warm my heart.)
As a vegetarian, however, it can be quite hard to find dishes to really take the time to prepare, when my significant other is the biggest meat eater I’ve ever known. He likes his steak and he likes it bloody. So you can imagine my difficulty in the kitchen at times. So I’ve been thinking: how do I balance that? I would like to do more with my passion for food except eating it, but I’m not sure I can juggle two dishes, one for him and one for her, every time I want to go all out and do something different, with effort. I wouldn’t even have the means or space for that! And besides, how do I, as a vegetarian who uses instinct and taste while cooking, prepare a great meal for him to enjoy as well?
But then I sort of figured out a plan of action. I could try some recipes that can easily work with or without meat, and then prepare meat for him separately, so he’ll still get the dish “as it is supposed to be” while I can still enjoy aspects of it, too. And I could involve Wil in the process by having him be my “flavor assistant” when I attempt something new and meaty. And of course, credit be to him: while Wil is a carnivore extraordinaire, he is also a great sport and doesn’t mind vegetarian meals on a regular basis (yay). I could still try some recipes from my vegetarian cookbook for us both to enjoy.
It should be good. I firmly told myself to select a recipe this week, to get the ingredients when we go grocery shopping next, and to do something about my own desire to learn to cook different dishes. (And I will blog about it.)
* Yes, Epicsode. That was on purpose.
