Hugging the Midline

Fish Wishes and Ice Cream Dreams

There's a little gelato stand inside Small Planet in Fairfield, run as a separate business from the restaurant. Tonight for the second time Jack and I showed up during the posted business hours for a special gelato treat, and were told by the wait staff that the folks who run the stand weren't there. This is nutso, because there are signs up and down the street advertising the gelato; why are they working so hard to market the place if they aren't going to show up? Tonight they even had all of their supplies sitting out, including a tip jar full of coins that Jack tried to pilfer. And one of the flavors listed was fresh coconut sorbet; I would have paid double for a scoop of that. 

There's nowhere else in town to get gelato, so we headed to the Sweet Spot for soft serve. Mama loves her gelato and wishes it were more easily available in Fairfield. Which got me thinking about some other treats I crave, but can't get around here. Fairfield is known for its entrepreneurial spirit, so maybe if I put my hopes out there, some ambitious soul will make them come true. A girl can dream, can't she?

Here's hoping for:

• The aforementioned gelato, available at regular hours
  
  
• Real sushi, bonus points for a sushi-go-round where the plates circle the room on a conveyor belt and you grab what you want
  
  
• A place to enjoy a free-range hamburger and a cold beer outdoors
  
  
• Flavorful Thai food
  
  
• Tapas

Double bonus points if these treats are all made available all at one restaurant with efficient service. Super triple bonus points if you set up shop in the old gas station/restaurant near our house (the building previously known as Checkers; the windows have been covered with brown paper for months now, so it looks like something super secret is going on inside; hopefully they're perfecting their recipes for spicy tuna rolls and dark chocolate gelato).

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Finally, a pciture of Jack and friends that showed up on the front page of the local paper last week. This isn't related to the post, but I couldn't resist sharing. How cute is this?

In the Midst of It

I've been neglecting these little pages lately while our family focused first on supporting Glen's dad in his last days, then grieving Kenneth's death.

It's not that I was too busy to write, necessarily; Glen and his siblings did most of the work caring for Kenneth in the hospital, planning the absolutely beautiful visitation and funeral, dealing with estate issues, and of course the emotional work of grieving the loss of their dad.

If it had been an illness and death in my own family, I probably would have used my blog as part of my grieving process, but it would have felt like a betrayal of confidence to write much about my husband's private grief. Since writing about anything else felt out of place in the midst of things, I stayed quiet for a while instead.

The day after the funeral, Glen and I left for a previously-scheduled long weekend in Kansas City. We had considered canceling the trip, but I'm so glad we went. It wasn't exactly the trip we had initially planned, but it gave Glen a chance to decompress after an emotionally draining past few weeks, and we managed to squeeze in some low-key fun, too.

A few things I'm grateful for after our little weekend away:

190. Street performers - While enjoying a glass of wine from a rooftop bar one night, a dad and daughter duo with their karaoke machine crooned sweet 70's soul tunes from the sidewalk below. Glen and I have encountered some great performances this way, including a memorable comedy routine in NYC's Washington Square Park during our first time away together. I love a trip that includes plenty of time for aimless wandering; some of our best vacation moments have happened by chance.  
     
     
191. Sushi and gelato - The whole experience of eating sushi is so much fun with the presentation and chopsticks and little dishes for dipping. Even after I've eaten as much as I want, I never feel full. What could be better than wandering down the street after a great meal for a sweet treat in a miniature flower-shaped dish with a teeny-tiny spoon. Best vacation meal combo ever.
     
     
192. BBQ, blues, and beer. Did I just annoint sushi and gelato my favorite vacation meal? Depends on the mood I guess; this combo is pretty tough to beat: incredible live music in a divey kind of place, delicious melt-in-your-mouth beef burnt ends, hot and sticky night, cold beer from the bottle. Especially after the more sterile atmosphere of staying at the Country Club Plaza, this night was just what we needed.
     
     
193. A late-night swim with my sweetie 
     
     
194. Being missed - As we loaded Jack and Jo in the car for a few days with my parents, Jack serenaded me with a new song: "I wuv Mommy, yes I do! I wuv Mommy, yes I do!" Then a few days later when we picked them up, our little guy joyously yelled "Mommy! Daddy! Mommy! Daddy!" while doing the happiest dance I've ever seen. Man, it's almost worth going away just to be loved up that much when you get home.

We've been home just a couple days, and we're already getting ready to leave again. Tonight we head to Des Moines en route to Denver where we'll spread my Grandma Jo's ashes with my mom's extended family. JoEllen has been a great help getting ready; she is so excited for her first time seeing the mountains and she's happy to do extra chores to make money for the trip.

Last night we cooked a real dinner at home for the first night in a while; since Jo was helping me cook, Jack had to get in on the action, too. He added ingredients to the bowl after Jo chopped them, and was a surprisingly good helper! (The background of this pic also showcases my inspiration for a dream bathroom remodel.)

Early tomorrow morning we'll cram seven people in my parents' van for a ten-plus-hour drive. Wish us luck!

Tasty

I've added some new items to my Inspirations page. The first batch a couple weeks ago was mostly on personal growth and spirituality; my latest additions are some great DVDs Jack has been loving lately, a memoir on Dan Savage's experience adopting a child with his partner, and a baking book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Yum.

Speaking of cooking, lately I've been enjoying food blogs and food-related posts on general life blogs. A couple of my favorite blogs have recently mentioned popping popcorn on the stove; I had never done that and decided to give it a try. When I first told Glen that I wanted to make popcorn on the stove, he said, "You mean Jiffy Pop?" No offense to my sweetie; I think most Americans would probably respond similarly, but no, I meant popcorn from a regular old jar popped in a regular old pot.

Heat a little coconut oil in the bottom of a big pot, toss in some popcorn kernels, cover, and shake it over the stove until you hear it stop popping. A minute later you have this overflowing bowl of fluffy kernels, no gross chemical taste like you get from nasty microwave popcorn, no bag to toss in the garbage. Why does microwave popcorn even exist (outside of dorm rooms and office break rooms, I guess) when the real stuff is so much Greener, healthier, tastier, and less expensive, and just as quick and easy?

Speaking of tasty, Glen just walked through the office door and surprised me with a chocolate banana shake from the newly opened Dairy Bar. (I just re-read that last sentence; I meant to descirbe the ice cream as tasty, but the compliment fits my guy, too; proof below.) During opening week at the Dairy Bar the first year Glen and I met, I think he asked me at least half a dozen times: "Hey, did I tell you the Dairy Bar is open?" I teased him at the time for being so excited about it, but now that I've lived in a small town for a couple years, I realize what the annual opening of the Dairy Bar really means: Spring is almost here; there's no turning back.

Happiness is a Warm Pudding Cake

Ask anyone on my dad's side of the family to name their favorite dessert, and I'm guessing they'd all say my Grandma Norma's pudding cake. Hot out of the oven, served with vanilla ice cream, drizzled with the chocolaty sugary syrup scraped from the bottom of the cake pan.   

Growing up meant Sunday dinners and birthday celebrations at my grandparents' farm. Snooping through boxes in the cold, musty storage room for hidden treasures like Grandma's old costume jewelry or Dad and Uncle Matt's childhood toys. Picking peas and lettuce from the garden, shucking corn on the back porch, climbing the apple tree to pick those perfect tiny, sour apples. Pestering the grown-ups to stop lingering at the table after lunch because I was bored and wanted dessert, and then being told to go run around the house a few times.

Annual fishing trips to Canada with the extended family. Endless hours building sandcastles on the beach, catching perch off the dock and then setting them free, big fish fries in the evening after the guys got home from fishing, then for dessert, pudding cake. And the lucky early riser the next morning who got to eat that last little square of cake for breakfast. (By the way, I didn't fully appreciate these annual trips to Coutts Camp as a kid, especially as a teenager, but in retrospect my memories of them are so idyllic — what I wouldn't give on this below-freezing Iowa day to be floating in Lake of the Woods on a raft, reading a book while the minnows nibble my toes...)   

The pudding cake recipe is about as easy as you can get, just a regular packaged mix with a couple extra things thrown in; you probably already have the ingredients in your pantry. We don't make a lot of desserts around our house, but this old favorite gets pulled out whenever we have guests for dinner like we did last weekend.

Now — the best part about making pudding cake for dinner guests — we've been enjoying the leftovers all week. Last night Glen and I warmed some up in the microwave as a late-night treat after his radio show, and I explained to him the importance of the perfect cake to ice cream ratio.

Years ago I used to attend a music festival at which everyone had to work a couple shifts in the kitchen. I remember being told by the volunteer coordinator that the secret to their food was the love and care they put into cooking it. They stood by that philosophy so firmly that they told us to skip our shift if we were in a bad mood; they didn't want our crabbiness to rub off on the sloppy josephines or tofu scramble.

I like that idea, and now making pudding cake always makes me think of it. I do think it's one of the yummiest desserts I've ever had, and I appreciate the simplicity of the recipe. But for me the biggest enjoyment comes from the associated memories and the care I know Grandma put into making it for us (and still does, although luckily for her there are lots of other cooks in the kitchen these days). I hope some of that essence comes through when I make it.

Pudding Cake

1. Prepare any chocolate cake mix according to package directions.
2. Combine:
   2 cups boiling water
   1 cup white sugar
   1 cup brown sugar
   4 T cocoa
3. Drizzle the mixture over the cake.
4. Bake according to package directions.
5. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.