Culinary disasters and successes

I decided to head to my parents' house in New Jersey for my days off this week, and a few days before, I found a recipe online for Peach Chipotle Gummy Candies.  After turning the idea over and over in my head, I decided that I really wanted to make my own, grown-up gummy candies. I had visions of strawberry balsamic, merlot, white grape and basil... chardonnay.... there were lots of ideas.  So I came home, hit the grocery store for ingredients, invited My cousins Kate and Potter over for dinner to taste the spoils, and got to work. 

Because there was no peach jello at the store, I improvised by making a peach juice reduction, and adding the chipotles. I set them up, and left them in the fridge to cool, and when they were done, tasted them. They were.... not good.  all I could taste was the overwhelming flavor of gelatin. (not tasty)  so round 2, was just straight peach juice.  Those didn't taste like anything at all (until you got to the piece of chipotle, and then it just tasted like... chipotle. 

Frustrated, I tried the strawberry balsamic. While they were tastier (I used an actual Jell-o packet) the balsamic did not set in the gelatin as well as I had hoped, which my aunt pointed out, may have something to do with the levels of acid in the vinegar. 

Sigh. 

It was a good thing I was making dinner too, because I needed some culinary redemption.  We started out with my latest favorite thing to make: 

 photo credit: Walt Hewitt

It is toasted Tuscan bread, with a Greek feta salad dressing, and topped with thinly sliced Persian cucumbers.  So. good.

 photo credit: Walt Hewitt

Then I made a lot of kabobs. (this is actually about half of the ones I made) They are mushroom, orange and red bell peppers, chicken, red onion, pineapples and squash. I marinated them for a few hours in a jarred marinade from Trader Joe's (the Island Soyaki- it's really good)

This is what they looked like all cooked:

 photo credit: Walt Hewitt

And because I believe that no meal is complete without starch, I made my roasted potato salad.

 photo credit: Walt Hewitt

I drowned my gummy candy sorrows in a few glasses of wine, good dinner, and amusing conversation.  My mom reminded me about how when I was little, we had to have a "no jokes" rule at the dinner table because I would laugh so hard I would feel sick. (this was after I was laughing for a significant amount of time over a "that's what she said" setup that Potter did that was perfection. You just can't pass those opportunities up.)

It was great to be home. 

A Decade ago

When I was in fourth grade, We got these bright yellow folders, that had in large writing, CLASS OF 2000! Scrawled across the front.  all sorts of information was tucked into the folder, probably about our promising futures, and our lives that were to be full of success and joy and happiness, because we had the dubious distinction of being in the class of the new millennium.

Ten years ago today, I graduated from high school. Full of nervous anticipation, I boarded the school bus at my high school, (our graduation ceremonies were located at a local college) I was tapping my feet, and trying to concentrate on not falling on my face in front of a couple hundred people (mission: accomplished!)  but the whole time I was distracted.   I had gotten a phone call earlier in the day from the Director of Emergency Services for the American Red Cross Chapter that I volunteered for, asking me If i wanted to go to North Dakota for three weeks to help out with flood relief. And oh, by the way, the flight leaves tomorrow.  I said yes, and was mentally packing during most of the ceremony.  It all kind of passed in a blur, and then it was over, and I was on a plane.

When I graduated high school, I had a plan. I was going to volunteer with the Red Cross in the summer, I was going to work at Great Adventure, and in the fall, I was going to start my Americorps year with City Year in Rhode Island. I had direction, and purpose, and I was going to do good things.

I think a lot of people look on their past selves, and kind of smile, and shake their heads, and think about how confused they were. And in some respects, That girl who was 18 and about to grow up pretty fast didn't know what she was doing. But on the other hand, I think of what that 18 year old would think about where my life is now.  And I think it would make her sad.

In order to make my 18 year old self less sad at my life, I have realized I need A Plan.  A Plan to make things better, and to work on the things that make me unhappy. Part of my inertia, I think, is not really knowing what I want to do, and kind of letting the status quo stand, until i figure it out. Well, nothing is going to change If I don't make some choices, and take some chances. So that's what I'm going to work on this summer.

And like I told Potter, when he wanted to shave his head like a Cue-ball last night, you only live once.

*And Happy Birthday to Andrea, my friend and High School classmate, who had her birthday on our graduation day, which had to have sucked.  Joyeux anniversaire !  (I would link to her blog, but she doesn't have one. She should though!)