Loose Ends

I hadn't realized how long it has been since my last post until the lovely Ms. Smack brought it to my attention. It's not like things are just super busy, I mean they are, but that's normal. There's lots of work going on, family matters that never seem to end and cookings galore. I hope y'all have had really good weeks.

I've been cooking like crazy lately. I roasted the most beautiful lamb shoulder over the weekend and it was easier than spelling my name. (Which I've been known to misspell upon occasion.) I finally found a butcher and he helped me select the right cut of shoulder that would be perfect for my recipe. I flirted with him shamelessly and he threw in a couple of extra pieces for my lamb stew that I'll be doing later. (w00t). When it was time to cook I pulled out my handy dandy All Clad roaster, threw down enough fresh rosemary sprigs to simulate a tiny forest floor and a handful of fresh garlic cloves - unpeeled. I scored the top layer of fat on the roast, gave it a rub down with olive oil and a nice dust of salt and pepper and plopped it on top of the rosemary and garlic. Over the top of that I layed a few more sprigs of rosemary down and more garlic. Next I covered the pan tightly with foil and stuck it in a 500○F oven. Once I closed the door I dropped the temp to 325○F and let it go for 3 hours. After that I took the foil off, spooned the drippings over top and stuck it back in the oven uncovered for another hour. Once my time was up the roast had this beautiful golden brown color and all the juices in the pan had reduced and carmalized. I put the roast on a cookie sheet, tented it with foil and layed a dish towel over it.

To make the sauce I put the pan over two burners set on medium and mixed 1 tablespoon of flour into the drippings. Then I added a handful of chopped mint leaves and rinsed capers along with 2 cups of chicken stock and let it come to a bubble. After the sauce reduced by 1/4 I shut off the flame and then shredded the roast with two forks. It was literally falling apart so it took almost no effort to shred the roast. Voila' roasted lamb shoulder. Dee-Lish! I'm thinking my next roast will be a pork shoulder (braising a shoulder is so easy) with parsley, garlic and lemon. We'll see.

Work is good, I'm still learning plenty and there's always lots to do. There's LOADS of drama going on. Oh. So. Juicy. And naturally I can't share. Pisser, huh? Let's just say there's some serious white trash on my team, redneck is not an exclusively Southern term.

The family. My wonderful Mrs. Babe is begging to receed into herself. She has always been a fighter, so hearing about her decline is quite disheartening. Her greatest strength in life has been her ability to adapt to whatever life throws at her, and now life isn't throwing anymore. She isn't talking much or eating much and for the first time in her life she mostly just wants to be left alone. She is refusing to answer the phone or be social.

Johnny Cash is... Johnny Cash... bless her heart. She is not handling Mrs. Babe's decline well. But what do you do when you lose your tower of strength? She and her sister are already starting their greiving process and I can sort of understand that. The Mrs. Babe we have always known and adored is slipping away. I wish she would focus on her good fortune at having a vital and amazing mother around for so long, but the sadness is understandable.

My Martha Stewart is standing still. She seems incapable of moving forward. I don't understand wanting someone who can't be bothered to give a shit that their behavior tore their family apart. The Cheater has turned into a blamer. Everything is Martha Stewart's fault. If she had been more attentive, if she had been more respectful, if she had catered to him more, if, if, if, if the sky were fucking purple... We had a long conversation the other night about what isn't going on. She just doesn't seem like she can do what needs to be done. She filed for divorce back in September, but she just can't seem to follow through with it. The Cheater has stopped trying, he has stopped putting in any effort other than the occasional trip to therapy. And the last trip ended with him storming out of the doctor's office because no one believes a word out of his mouth. I guess that's one of the consequences of being a lying cheating bastard, huh?

Boogie Man has been lighting it up on the ball field already. He's rotating between third base and pitcher and doing quite the job at both posts. He's so advanced in his pitching abilities that the coach has asked Martha Stewart to enroll him in a special summer camp this year to further improve his abilities. He called me at work the other day to let me know that of his 5 base hits in his game he stole home 4 times. Effing sweet, huh?

Sweet Pea has been the total queen in her drama class. I do believe she is a natural as she comes from a long line of drama queens. Her social life has however caused her to set her priorities in an order that is displeasing to her beloved mother. Martha Stewart was not amused. Two Cs showed up on her progress reports and that was exactly when the little madame got shut down. Her little pre-teen heart is broken and suffering not so silently. This too shall pass, no? Oh, and she's got a boyfriend. They are going out. They don't go anywhere, but they are going out.

That's most everything...

I had a dream the other night that felt so good. I've had a sort of crush on someone for quite some time and in my dream he was living in the house next door to Mrs. Babe's old home. It was warm and welcoming and I was there with him, we were together. It was bed time and we crawled under the covers and made spoons. I could feel his arms around me and his chest against my back. It was the safest I had felt in such a long time. I remember the feel of his hand on my tummy pulling me back against him.

And last but not least in this marathon post:



Humina humina humina - Javier Bardem...