The Birthday Series Continues - Tacos & Margaritas

A newish tradition is selecting an adult beverage to compliment holiday or celebratory meals.  My sister did a wonderful job hosting, planning and preparing with our mother a fabulous Birthday dinner for me complete with strawberry margaritas. 

I was able to watch her new margarita machine at work.  How fancy!  Ice is loaded into the top which is then crushed just so before dropping into the pitcher with mix and tequila.  Press a button, wait, pour and sip!

For those who have met me, I am quite a light-weight when it comes to alcohol consumption.  I limit myself to only 2 of my favorite cocktail, the Cosmopolitan, and even then I sometimes have a hang over.

For my Birthday dinner - 3, yes three, strawberry margaritas.  My son was my designated driver.

A lovely pitcher of iced tea was also on hand!

To start the munching, 2 different chips served with either a warm dip or salsa (or both if you like).

For the main event, a lovely taco buffet with warm hard and soft shells, lettuce,

cheese,

flavored beef, fresh tomatoes, sour cream, and more salsa.

My favorite way to indulge is to simply toss everything together on a plate as a salad. 

Once the table was cleared, a traditional ice cream cake, the kind with mystery blue goo and chocolate crumbles between layers was customized with hard sugar decorations.  What could be sweeter? 

Rounding out the festivities were a colorful bouquet from my favorite 9 and 11 year old nephews, tulip paper wrapped gifts and a golden gift bag.  Love.

Following tradition, a song, lit candles that were blown out with a wish in my heart.

It was a beautiful birthday.  I am Fed Well by my lovely sister and our family.  I feel pretty fabulous for 45!

The Birthday Series Part I: Dual Birthday Lunch at Work with a Side of Co-Worker 25th Anniversary

Birthdays in the workplace - so many things can go wrong.  In the past in my department people's feelings have been hurt if their birthday falls on a weekend or somehow isn't acknowledged in exactly the same fashion as everyone else.  Yes, seriously.

So to alleviate the pain, we have implemented this year a sort of self-serve celebration responsibility.  If it is your birthday, you decide how and when to celebrate.  If you want to bring in a snack, great.  Some people have brought in bagels and other's a store bought cake.  It is all lovely.

A co-worker and I happen to have the days of our birth separated by only 24 hours and so I suggested we combine financial resources and offer a pizza party.  Here is a look at the results:

Classic Sausage

Black Olive

Mushroom

and my absolute favorite, plain cheese!

Two managers seemed to disappear immediately after eating and though we thought it a little strange, we reasoned they may have a meeting to go to or other work related need to be away from our fascinating lunch.  (Conversation covered favorite birthdays and most obscure pets - winners are the woman who skydived to celebrate 50 and those who have or want to own pigs as pets.)

The ladies returned a short while later bearing gifts of ice cream bars to celebrate one woman's 25th anniversary with the company.  25 years!  She typically does not enjoy being the center of attention and so while you may think frozen treat a bit cheap or lack luster, really it is about customizing the level of party to meet that of the desires of the honoree.

None of us complained as we happily ate the decadent and unexpected surprise!

And for those who chose to eat healthier (and for those who were too full from pizza to even consider an ice cream - though I can't imagine it) - a heart shaped dish of cherries!

Happy Birthday to Debi and I.  For me, the partying has just begun...

Sunday Dinner with Zuchinni Tots

Zuchinni gifts from my sister's garden turn into wonderful food treats.  This time, a recipe from Pinterest that had to be modified due to limited ingredients on hand and will need some tweeking for the future.  But here is how the adventure began:

Using one of my favorite kitchen tools...

Once the veggies are pulsed to perfection, add an egg, bread crumbs, salt and pepper.  The recipe advised onion and cheese - either cheddar or parmesan.  I had no onion or cheddar and would rather skip using stinky cheese.

The use of a mini-muffin pan was recommended in a 400 degree oven for 15 - 18 minutes for perfect tots.

I also prepared fresh beans in a bit of olive oil with garlic.

Simple grilled pork cutlets bathed in a honey mustard marinade.

Simply chopped tomatoes - I love to use them in place of a sauce or as a simple side with salt and pepper.

 

Here's how my finished plate looked.

Cubed watermelon to finish the meal.

Yes, it was a Sunday dinner for the 3 of us.  We dine on the back deck and talk about the bear sighting in the yard just a few days earlier, the week ahead, returning to the college classroom, and the activities of the weekend.

I decide the tots should be crisper and yes, I missed the onion.  Next time, small scoops will be portioned on a cookie tray with a longer cooking time and maybe a minute of broiling time to ensure a crisper crunch.

Talking it Over - Eggs Over Easy

Love having breakfast meetings with friends!  Cheaper than dinner, easier to chat than over cocktails with music blaring in the background and certainly feeds the soul as well.  I was quite early since I had an errand to run first and it took quite a bit less time than expected.

To kill some time I had an adolescent photo shoot with myself in the car.  I will spare you the visual proof.  Just know that I skipped the duck lips pose but took some with and without my glasses and feel they look exactly like what they were - me killing time.  So I turned to photograph the building instead.

The breakfast club is reunited and I am learning I am more than sick of talking about myself.  I am in an unexpected place in my life that truly feels like a darkened tunnel, but I am tired and weary.  I welcome the news of my friends and their lives from work to children and everything in between.

Somehow we all decided on eggs.  One scrambled with bacon...

two scrambled...

and two over easy!

My eggs are wonderfully runny and I find great pleasure in dipping my whole wheat toast corners into the yolk pool.  I also love swirling bits of potatoes, peppers and onion through the rich yellow egg centers.

Yes, more coffee and yes, more tea.  We are far from finishing our stories, thoughts, pieces of advice and asking questions for more details.  Maybe we will go to a park or for a walk - next time.  For now, I am tired.  I am emotionally and physically done. 

I look forward to a strong recovery.  I embrace all the meals I share with those I love and who love me.  I gain a bit of momentum with each healing hour spent with friends and family.  We hug goodbye and I realize how far I have already come (I used to HATE hugs) and feel the joy of once more being Fed Well.

24th Birthday Bash Menu: Pulled Pork and Brownies

One of the birthday gifts in our house is being able to choose the menu for your celebration dinner.  For me, as cook, this is one of my favorite ways to show my love for the birthday person in my life.  Having a love for preparing food makes it a win-win for me.

This year, Ken requested pulled pork so to begin, I salt and pepper the pork and cook it low and slow in my magical red pot (a classic Dutch oven).

Hours of cooking later, the meat is allowed to cool before it is pulled with 2 forks on the cutting board.  My preference is to simply eat the meat dry mixed in with some well seasoned rice.

However, the birthday request is for sandwiches and so the pork is slowly simmered in a mixture of his favorite sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's) with a few splashes of chicken broth to loosen things up a bit.

In addition to a tossed salad, a huge pot of sweet corn on the cob is served.

Though many stories were told and shared, I may always remember learning that when my brother-in-law was growing up he used his mother's cruet set to play Priest.  So original and unexpected!

After dinner my sons played catch outside for a little while with their young cousins while the kitchen was cleaned up and the birthday brownies were prepared (cut up) for serving and a few candles were strategically placed in Ken's.  An original rendition of Happy Birthday was sung, complete with musical instrument impersonations, and once the wish was made and flames blown out, the brownies were served with a choice of mint chocolate chip or vanilla ice cream.

Which do you think the birthday guy chose?

Fed Well, he seemed to have a more than 24 reasons to be happy and celebrate.

Not just any pizza - Kinchley's!

The Friday Co-Worker lunch typically involves myself and two of my favorite work buddies.  We usually alternate between the Chinese and Mexican restaurants, but I suggested we branch out. 

Kinchley's Pizza

no website available but a link to the menu

( http://www.allmenus.com/nj/ramsey/15343-kinchleys-tavern-inc/menu/)

is normally reserved for special occasions at work, but who doesn't want to simply celebrate Friday?  A work week has ended and the weekend is about to unfold.  A frosty cola to start the festivities.  I love the retro style glass and am reminded of a childhood visit to a diner... ah, but I digress.

What to have on our tissue thin pizzas?  How many pizzas will we need?  We consult with the waitress who recommends one large and one small for our threesome.  We talk over toppings and decide on the vegetarian as our small and plain cheese for the large.

I love the somehow traditional feel of the place.  The red and white checkered table cloth.  The silver pizza stands.  Even the dark wooden booths add to the ambiance.  It is easily evident that one is in a pizza joint and shouldn't even think about ordering a burger (though I've never had one there - maybe they are awesome).

We talk about work and weekend plans and quite a bit of time is given to simply paying compliments to the delicious and fairly ridiculously thin crust pizza.  One of us briefly debates if the slices should be eaten by hand or sliced up with a knife and fork.  We quickly agree they should be eaten by hand and I am reminded of a story from the past. 

Our school took an 8th grade 4 day field trip to Washington, DC.  Part of the experience was a sort-of, semi-formal, well honestly boys just asked girls to sit with them, dinner.  Nerves were stretched thin and hearts pounded.  I never thought about the food until we received plates of fried chicken.  Really?  Were we really going to cut it up with knives and try to be civilized?  Well, for the first few minutes until one brave soul confessed they always ate fried chicken with their hands and the rest of us felt comfortable enough even in our Sunday best to follow the casual diner's lead.

Feeling Fed Well, we went back to work and though we always hope we stretch our hour on Friday's, we often find we are back at our desks within a too reasonable amount of time and watch for the click to tick to weekend o'clock.

Gifts from the Garden - a Super Tuesday!

My sister has the most beautiful garden and yes, I am openly jealous.  I know it is a lot of work and maintenance, but it is simply wonderful to look at as well as enjoy the bounty it provides.  It is even more joyous when I receive wonderful food gifts; both prepared and raw from my sister and her family.

The homemade, award worthy, bruschetta is my sister's specialty and was given with a loaf of French bread.  The zucchini bread was made by my younger nephew with pride and we decided to try it topped with the bruschetta as well with the theory that tomatoes and zucchini are a natural pairing.

Fresh zucchini were a lovely gift as well as a bag of fresh beans.  I remember when growing up we used to have a family garden and I would eat the beans raw while I was supposed to be picking.  The snap and something about eating fresh veggies under the sun...

All of the offerings are and were so appreciated.  They were perfect accompaniments to simply grilled chicken breasts and a red potato salad and cucumber salad, fresh corn on the cob, and for me a section of sweet potato I had been craving.

Here's how it looked for Ken -

and my plate before the ear of corn -

And what did I do with my bags of tomatoes you may wonder?  As I write this post they are simmering into sauce after being blanched, peeled then pureed with the immersion blender.  Meatballs are also in the pot and after grilling later, sausage will be added as well.  A two meal food experience and memories from these fabulous gifts from the garden.

Fed Well with freshness, food gifts, a visit and hugs on a plate.   Sometimes the hardest part is finding new ways to say Thank You!  Maybe tradition is best - Thank you for making sure my family and I are Fed Well from the inside out.