So Tired!

Well I am exhausted. I still haven't quite recovered from my company being here, plus I've had some other health issues going on. But I have still found some time to cook and make up new recipes. One of the things I have been working on is meringue nests with apple filling. I was asked to make up an original and unusual apple recipe for a cook book. The books are have one item as their theme every year, and this year it is the apple. (Last year it was the pear, I believe.) I didn't want to make pie or sauce or dumplings. I love all of those, but I didn't want to put in a recipe like that when I know there are going to be a dozen each. So, I thought meringue nests with apple filling would be fun. I haven't quite worked it all out yet, but I am going to try to spice the meringue with cinnamon and nutmeg, and then brown the apples in a pan with butter, sugar, a few spices and then add some blackberry wine and flambe at the end. I think it will turn out well. When I've worked it all out I will post some pics on the blog.

Yesterday was my birthday, which was fun. I went out with my uncle for lunch, which was special. He took me to a restaurant which is now Italian, but used to be a place called the Bubble Room. It was a really fun place with somewhat decent food. LOTS of junk everywhere, but fun. And there was a train that went around the entire restaurant. My uncle happened to have a coupon for the current restaurant because he likes to save money, even on a birthday. (That is a good thing, by the way.) But what he didn't realize was that my mother used to take me there ALL the time when it was the Bubble Room. It had a lot of good memories for me of times when my mother and I had fun together. My poor mother was sick so much of the time and I was her sole caregiver. So fun did not always enter the equation. But when she could, physically and mentally, she would take me to have fun somewhere. So it was a special thing to go there. I don't think I have been there in a decade. The current restaurant serves family style Italian food. So we had to agree on a dish because we had to share. And my uncle is a vegetarian, so that wasn't easy. At least he eats cheese when he's with me. He's not a total vegan, but he borders on it. We agreed on fettucine alfredo and a salad with apples, gorgonzola, cranberries, candied walnuts, lettuce and red onions. The fettucine wasn't necessarily my favorite, though it was good compared to a lot. But the salad was great! And my uncle and I have a lot of fun talking about things and reminiscing over our family. Sadly, aside from his son, we are all that's left of our family. But we can still smile about it.

After that, I went home to spend time with John and Nath. John had arranged for Nathan to go play at a friend's house for dinner so he and I could go out. He took me to a very nice restaurant called Seasons 52. I had lamb that was perfectly cooked and a sublime martini! It was called dark moon and it had blue raspberry liquor in it. It is the best cocktail I have ever tasted. John gave me some lovely gifts, mostly skin care and make up from Estee Lauder, which I like. And then we went and picked Nathan up for dessert. Nath's gift for me was an M&M ice cream cake. It was really funny because he wanted to put the candles on and he stuck them right in the eyes of the M&M character.

All in all, it was a very pleasant day. I wasn't feeling my best, which was not as much fun as it could have been. But it was still good. Today when we woke up, Nath said "since yesterday was your birthday and we did stuff for you, can we do something that I want to do?" So I asked him what he wanted to do and he said "go to Ikea." We've been going there frequently because John and I have been fixing up our house bit by bit. It's turning out to be very cute. So Ikea has become our new favorite. Not everything there is the best, but it's so family friendly and the prices are GREAT on a lot of their merchandise. And...We can take our 4 year old there and they have a play place where he can play for an hour while we shop. He loves it and it gives us a little break to get things done faster than we could with Nath tugging at our sleeves every second. I was a little concerned at first when we saw the play area. He really wanted to go in, but I am a little obsessive about safety and I wasn't sure if leaving him there was a good idea. But they are very careful with security and so I felt mostly at ease with letting him play. Now every time we go out he asks if we're going to Ikea. I just laugh.

Today when we went there, I bought some stainless steel pots for plants that are very smart looking. I also bought this VERY hand apple corer and a new frying pan. And I love the frying pan!! My butter doesn't burn for quite a while, even on higher heat. I also bought a few cake tins which were very reasonably priced. I am going to make some fruit cake for John. He absolutely loves it. And I know if you read this, you will think "fruit cake?? Yuck." But I make very nice fruit cake with lots of lovely dried fruits like apricots, dates, organic raisins, cranberries, etc. I also put pecans in and I use molasses, brown sugar and nutmeg. And after it's all cooked and cooled, I pour a decent amount of brandy over it. It's lovely.

As I feel a little better this week, I will be doing more cooking and posting more recipes. I have just been behind because I haven't been feeling well at all. And there has been a lot going on here. For now, I am going to go to bed. I am tired. But until next time, eat well and live well.