I was searching for an old post in my LiveJournal today and fell down a rabbit hole of reminiscing. Here is a post I wrote about reminiscing...wedding day reminiscing, from October of 2005.

"I am realizing that I still harbor resentment for our wedding DJ 5 years ago.

I was a great wedding planner. I am guessing most Virgos are. I was planning a wedding in another city, and it was all my mail and phone. I had every detail hammered out, and the DJ was no exception. I had a list of songs I wanted played throughout the night--first dance songs for all our married bridal party members, and a song for my Mom and Dad. And of course, the first dance song--At Last by Etta James. A quite popular song, and an increasingly popular wedding song in the years since (I had never heard it used, then three of our friends used it in some aspect of their wedding, two of them were first dance songs and one was a passage in their program). It was all laid out in the very handy fax the DJ sent me to fill in, including songs I didn't want played, etc. I confirmed with him, and all was good.

So we have our fabulous wedding, and had some photos shot while our friends waited in the reception room down the hall from the chapel. Then we arrive, and it is time for our big entrance, at which time the DJ suggested we have our first dance right away upon entering. Great, all eyes on us, we had practiced with dance coaches for a few weeks, learning a few flourishes to go with our song, and we were ready! So the DJ meets us at the reception room door as we are about to commence our grand entrance, and he leans over to me and says "So, I don't have At Last. Is there another song you want me to play for your first dance?"

WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?!

I being the cool cucumber I am under pressure, and being the Virgo I was born to be, I look directly at him and say "I brought my own CD, IN CASE." So we send someone back in to grab my wedding folder with all my contracts and whatnot, retrieve the CD, and the day is saved.

That was close to being just about the perfect way to ruin someone's romantic memory of dancing with her new husband in front of all your friends and family. It is a miracle that Chris even agreed to doing such a thing, being as shy as he is, and I couldn't be sure that he wouldn't have wanted to back out entirely if we had a different song we hadn't practiced to.

So as I sit and listen to one of my favorite songs in the world, thinking about one of the happiest days of my life, I say unto DJ Guy:
fuck off and die. :)"

My girl is old
Stout and frail,
with wagging tail
Her brown eyes see black,
her black fur now grey
Her colors are changing
but never her heart
Grumpy and loving
always two things at once
Were she of two legs
she shall wear purple,
of four her head swings low
collecting smells to paint her vision
She comes at things sideways
wobbly and bumpy
I guide her with a steady hand
afraid she’ll slip away and away and away

Time for some more recipes to share. Here is a few I did in a couple hours one afternoon as a make-n-take meal for my bestie Arya and her hubby Rob, who just welcomed their beautiful new baby girl Theia into the world. They put out an all-points plea for someone to bring them a meal or two the day after the baby was born, as the cupboard was bare and they didn't have the energy or interest in preparing anything themselves. Rightfully so! They needed some rest!

So I popped open my fridge and was able to come up with two prepared meals with sides which they could simply throw in a pan/dish and cook or reheat. I included a printout with a simple ingredients list (so they would know what went into the dish, in case there were any food sensitivities to consider) and the easy instructions for cooking/heating. I put them in an insulated bag with an ice pack in case I had to leave it on their porch. Both meals were a hit and I was told they would like to get the recipes from me.

Without further ado, here's the two menus:

1 lb mushrooms of choice, whole or cut into chunks
1 lb carrots, cut into chunks
1/2 a large onion, cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic, skin on
3-4 cups homemade poultry stock
Herbs of choice (I used thyme and marjoram, could use sage, rosemary, etc)
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Set oven to 425

• Put veggies on parchment-lined cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss to coat.
• Put garlic cloves into square of foil, drizzle with oil, close into packet and place on sheet with veggies.
• Roast for 25-30 minutes until veggies are softened
• Let cool slightly then squeeze garlic from its skin. Transfer veggies and garlic to bowl and add 1 cup stock, blend with immersion blender -OR- transfer to food processor and blend with 1 cup stock; work in batches if needed.
  Continue to add stock 1/2 cup at a time to get desired consistency. (I used 3 cups for mine)
• Add herbs of choice and salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve with a dollop of sour cream and some crusty bread on the side.

I could see a LOT of variations on this theme, adding more veggies to the mix (roasting red peppers along with the other veggies for instance sounds delicious), changing up the herbs used, setting aside from of the veggies to chop into smaller pieces and keeping them whole for a more chunky soup, pairing with rice, quinoa, or lentils....the list goes on. And of course what mushrooms you use will change the earthiness/nuttiness factors in the soup as well. Oh, nutty! What about some ground walnuts in the mix? So many possibilities. It was super simple, fast enough to make just before company arrived, made the house smell fantastic and was easy cleanup.

2 cups penne pasta
1/4 cup walnuts
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (1lb) sliced thin
3/4 cup cream
2 cloves garlic, minced
Blue cheese to taste

Boil water and cook penne to preferred doneness. Meanwhile...

Place large saucepan over medium heat. Toast walnuts slowly until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove to bowl.

Pour oil into pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper, put in pan and brown lightly.

Pour cream over chicken, turn heat to medium low and reduce until thickened, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally to coat chicken. About halfway through toss in minced garlic and stir thoroughly.

Drain pasta and set back on stove, heat off, to let the moisture evaporate off a bit.

Stir most of the blue cheese into the sauce, reserving a few tablespoons back, and stir to incorporate. Divide pasta into bowls, pour sauce and chicken over the top. Dribble remaining blue cheese over the top followed by the toasted walnuts.