What a Beautiful Day it Was

Yesterday was my birthday. And what a lovely day it was. I took the day off work, went to a spinning class, and baked a cake with my friend Doodie. Mister Man came home with all the bits that will soon be our new pantry. The three of us ate a dinner of scallops, prawns and salad, and had a lazy evening.

It all started after midnight when Mister Man said, "I'm going to give you one of three birthday gifts now, one in the morning and one in the evening." The first gift was the most perfect gift in the world. A couple of months ago, we saw the Disney-Pixar film "Up". One of the characters in the film is Ellie, a spirited tom-boy who is the founding member of an adventurer club which boasts a unique pin in the form of a grape soda bottle top, run through with a safety pin. I loved this film and pretty much wept from the beginning to the end.

Imagine my delight when I opened this in the wee hours of the morning: my very own Grape Soda Pin.

Yesterday morning, I awoke to find a big box in the living room which contained a folding camp chair that's also a rocking chair. I had one years ago, and it met with an unfortunate end on the first camping trip that Mister Man and I took together. We've looked for a replacement ever since, to no avail. That is, until the Cabela's catalogue arrived and presto! About a month later, so did the best camping chair in the world. I tell you, there is nothing better than being in the wilderness with a cuppa joe, a good book and a rocking chair....

And finally, Mister Man came home and held out a piece of paper as he handed me his cell phone. Mariette was on the other end, and I looked down at the piece of paper to see that it was a plane ticket. To Calgary. Where I get to hang out with my best maid, and sketch out some more wedding details..... Here she is on Skype. If she's this adorable over Skype, imagine how cute she'll be in person...

Scenes From a Family Dinner

As has become tradition around these parts, we headed out to Bob 'n Merilee's for Easter dinner. I have to say that I'm about to marry into an amazing family. I mean between MY family and Mister Man's family, we have all bases covered in terms of fantastic-ness.

Of course there was the fantastic meal, as always.

And the fantastic desserts.

And there was also the part where the early-bird April birthdays were celebrated. There are a lot of April birthdays in the family starting with Mister Man's sister Janice, followed by my own special day. And later this month we'll lift a glass to Merilee and then, the family nephew, Greg.

On this Easter Sunday, there was a cake. If you look closely, you can see that it's a cake shared by my soon-to-be-sister-in-law, Janice and MOI! I have to confess that I was busy taking photos of the cake coming out, when Mister Man yanked the camera from my hand, whispered "it's for you too, silly!" and pushed me toward the action. Of course I was tickled. Who doesn't love a cake with their name on it?

But here's the mystery that has still got me stumped. Riddle me this, gentle reader: how is it that the teeniest people at the table were able to FILL a large bowl chock full o' sugar love, topped with ice cream, and STILL be the teeniest people at the table?

Don't you just love a woman who's not afraid of dessert???

A Lovely Weekend

This weekend has been full of this:

(relationship building through casual gaming)

and this :

(becoming one with the couch over a trashy television show or a really great book)

Starting with a storm that kept us home bound, this weekend became about relaxing, de-stressing and moving at a snail's pace, with the occasional visit with friends and family thrown in for good measure.

t has been glorious.

Yesterday, we went twacking in Fort Langley and went for a fabulous family dinner. Photos and confessions coming soon.

And while Mister Man had to go to work today, I am sitting here making dinner for Poot and Doodie and prepping for a big learnin' session in which yours truly teaches them how to play Settlers of Catan so that we can continue to expand the circle of Catan crazed converts, desperately searching for that elusive winning point....

What Has Come Between Us

Mister Man and I get along really well, despite the fact that he lured me into his web under false pretenses. (He posed as a gallant food sharer in our early courting days, only to later reveal that he LOATHES sharing food). For example, when we were first dating, he might purchase a little pint of Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey, and he'd perch on the end of his couch with a wee ice-cream spoon and generously offer the first little nibble (and many subsequent nibbles) to me. Generally, he is a good, kind and generous soul. Except when it comes to sharing delicious food items. Once he'd "landed the fish" so-to-speak, he recanted on all of this previous behaviour and began glaring at me when I requested a bite. Every now and then he has even taken to gesturing that he'd sooner stab me with his fork than share a teensy nibble of what's on his plate.

A few weeks back, I had a lovely lunch with Robert (AKA Big Snit), and he brought me a jar of his famous canned peaches. They were delicious. And I even shared them with Mister Man, who went on and on and on about how beautiful and delicious these peaches were (and I have to tell you, he wasn't lying!)

Well the other night, when we were visiting Robert and EB for dinner, Robert whipped out another jar of his famous canned peaches, plunked them down in front of Mister Man and said "these are for you" (meaning of course, "these are for BOTH of you to share").

When we got home, Mister Man started parading about the apartment with the jar of peaches under his arm, announcing that "Robert said that these were for ME." I even caught him napping on the couch with the jar nestled up next to him.

Yes, this is what will come between us gentle reader: a jar of canned peaches.

I had to wrench the jar away from his nibs in order to take this photo. And if you look VERY closely, you'll see himself on the right hand side of the frame, glaring at me.

Little does he know that Robert has promised canning lessons in the late summer. So I'm going to have a "canning-palooza" and buy a bunch of summer fruit, and put the big pots on to boil, and make me a schwack of my OWN canned peaches. And we'll see what happens when Mister Man wants ME to share........

Is it not truly sad to see our love ripped apart by canned fruit? My heart is weeping. (But Mister Man just went to bed out of it, so I may have to seize the moment and make my way to the jar of peaches in the fridge...)

(Also - might I point out that, while I LOOOOOOOOVE these canned peaches, I'm not a fan of the un-canned real McCoy? Nope. The fuzzy stuff makes my teeth recede RIGHT up into my head.... But without the nasty fuzzy stuff, these peaches are sunshine in a jar and on my tongue.)

Dinner With Old Friends Who Aren't Actually Old At All

Yesterday, when I posted on Facebook that I was excited about having dinner with old friends, I found myself caught in a conundrum. None of these friends are actually old (nor am I for that matter.) But neither are we young. We've simply known each other for several decades. So DOES that actually make us old? Am I simply in denial? And this led me into a maze of heady existential angst (which flies in the face of our hazy, lazy overdue long weekend.)

In any event, I've known EB since I arrived in Vancouver over 20 years ago and it was so delightful to reconnect with her and her partner Big Snit, whom I've known for almost as long. Here they are now, with Robert in the middle of a good yarn....

We were invited for dinner, and EB, aside from being a delightful and knowledgeable soul, is also a brilliant cook and baker. Let me show you what we ate:

Paella. You can't even begin to believe how delicious this was!

Little Dessert Shooters (chocolate cups filled with cream cheese and topped with a coulis).

Lemon Curd and Sponge Cake.

We were joined for dinner by a couple of hilarious and talented friends and actors, Jay and Suzanne. It was such a great night......

There were many stories told and shared.

And laughter was had by all... (or should that be, laughter was made by all?)

A Perfect Storm (a perfect weekend)

On Thursday night when we got home, there were storm clouds a brewin'. The clouds led to rain and high winds on Thursday night and a big ol' storm that battered the lower mainland throughout the day on Friday. And THIS marked the perfect start to a much needed weekend of rest. Because, who needs a better excuse to hunker down on a holiday weekend than the promise of a perfect storm? I can tell you that it just took one look at the storm clouds rolling in to convince Mister Man and I that we were better on this side of the rattling windows and doors.... And then, the storm subsided in time for us to slip out into the night for a lovely dinner with friends (photos and text coming later). Golly, I love this weekend. It's been a long time coming, but well worth waiting for.

Chocolate Chunkers

We've got a couple of dinners with friends and family coming up this weekend, and I wanted to bake something to bring along as hostess gifts. PLUS it's been so busy lately that there's been no time for baking. The lack of time, coupled with "the slimming plan" have put the kibosh on getting down with my Kitchen Aid. But the other night, I realized that, for me, baking is like yoga. So last night, I did the downward dog with the baking sheets and measuring cups and made these Chocolate Chunkers. But reader be warned: I think you'd better fasten your seatbelt, because these little morsels are so delicious that they could eject you from cyberspace in a moment of sheer joy. (Oh and if you're wondering if baking these caused me to leap off the slimming wagon, I'm happy to report that it didn't happen. I was indeed a couple of pounds lighter again this week.)

*small shriek accompanied by fist pump*

In fact, at this rate, I'm going to look like Kate Moss any second.... But I digress. Back to the cookies:

This recipe comes to you compliments of the brilliant Dorie Greenspan, and I have to say that these cookies are simply divine. They are a cross between a meringue, a brownie, and the most decadent and delightful clump of chocolatey goodness you can imagine. Dorie's recipe also has nuts in it, but I skipped them figuring that chocolate and raisins were the way to go. Good call.

Dorie Greenspan's Chocolate Chunkers

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking power

3 Tbsp unsalted butter cut into 3 pieces

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 large eggs at room temp

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

6 ounces semisweet chocolate cut into chunks

6 ounces premium milk chocolate or white chocolate (I used a combination) cut into chunks

1 cup plump raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Add the butter, bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate and heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and set it on the counter to cool. Beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 2 minutes, until they are pale and foamy. Beat in the vanilla extract, then scrape down the bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the melted butter and chocolate, mixing only until incorporated. With a rubber spatula, scrape down the bowl, then, on low speed, add the dry ingredients. Mix just until the dry ingredients disappear into the dough, which will be thick, smooth and shiny. Scrape down the bowl and, using the rubber spatula, mix in the semisweet and milk (or white) chocolate chunks, and raisins. The batter will be thick with good stuff. Drop the dough by generously heaping tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving about an inch of space between the mounds of dough. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the baking sheet and let the cookies cool for a couple of minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Oh my.