The Write Stuff, Week Six

I am feeling uninspired this week. I imagine this happens to a lot of writers; it could also be because I’ve been fighting a cold all week and all I want to do is sleep. Or because winter seems endless this year. I am ready to see the sun and not have frostbitten fingers when I forget to take my gloves on a walk with the dog. So today I’m crabby. My family will tell you I’ve been crabby for a couple days. I’m worried all the excitement I had for my myriad 2019 projects is wearing off. Then again, perhaps I’m just being hyperbolic (I have a tendency to get that way). Coincidentally enough, this week’s meal-making pretty much sums up the trajectory of my mood--from fantastic to just plain pitiful.

Sunday: Historically for me, the Super Bowl could never hold a candle to the last Sunday in February--the Oscars. I attribute this fascination to my mom, who has always been a fan of celebrity news. When I was in eighth grade my family took a trip to California over Oscar weekend. My mom and I stood outside the famed Spago and caught a glimpse of Tom Cruise as he entered the restaurant for a post-show party. The following day, we took a driving tour of the stars’ homes, where Mom proceeded to pilfer an Evian water bottle from Lucille Ball’s trash (“She drank from this bottle!” my mom swore) and swipe George Burns’s newspaper off his driveway. “Fascination” probably isn’t the right word--we were downright obsessed. Thus, the Academy Awards was always a major holiday in our house, and this tradition continued and evolved as I aged.

I’ll never forget the 2000 Oscars and watching with my senior year roommates (Apartment 39 and Associates). My friend Sean was and is still a huge movie guy. I’ve never seen someone go as ballistic over the outcome of an award as he did when Phil Collins won for best song over our pick, Sarah McLachlan. We still laugh about it. Post-college, we started doing Academy Award night up big at my mom’s. We correlated all our snacks to reflect the nominees (i.e The Lord of the Onion Rings, Don (Cheadle) Cheetos, etc.). Our wit was fierce. We even went so far one year to get all dressed up and roll out a red carpet (tablecloth). My friend Adrienne and I may or may not have purchased fancy gowns, worn them for a couple hours for the party, and then returned them.

As the years progressed, friends moved out of state and our interest for the show waned. Mom started spending February in Arizona. The Oscars became more about politics than movies, and even when it was about movies, it was about ones we had never heard of, much less seen. That being said, Sean and I have done a decent job keeping the tradition alive; we still text our approvals and derisions of the winners, and Mom and I like to critique the gowns. But one element has survived the years--eating Oscar Mayer hot dogs on Oscar night.

While it was just me, N, and M (Mark has always refused to watch), we had a good night enjoying some fun snacks and some good moments in the show. (If you haven't seen Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's performance of "Shallow" yet, you gotta watch.)

Monday: N’s meal this week, Instant Pot Shrimp Risotto, rivaled his week one meal of Shrimp and Sugar Snap Pea Pasta. It was creamy, rich, indulgent, and downright lick-the-plate delicious.

I saved a few dollars this time by purchasing frozen shrimp, and it tasted even better than the pre-cooked shrimp from the seafood case I got last time! This was N’s first time using the instant pot, so there was a bit of a learning curve there, but all in all, he was much more independent with this cook. I did have to teach him how to dice an onion, which he was hesitant to do for fear of cutting himself. I slowly showed him how to slice it using this method, and once he did, the tears started flowing! I must be immune to it by now, but his virgin eyes were burning after a couple slices.

After many hand washes, it was time to zest the lemon. Remember that filled drawer of utensils from a few weeks ago? He looked into it, said, “So what do I use to zest the lemon?” moved a few things around, grabbed the microplane and said, “This gucci thing?” From a mom point of view I was so proud that he actually moved stuff around in the drawer to find the tool he needed! From a teacher point of view, I was so proud that he transferred his skills from one setting to another! Win!

The verdict was in as soon as he plated his meal, “This looks amazing. I’m an awesome chef!”

Tuesday: We were still in high energy mode on Tuesday, and M’s meal was a good reflection of that. She chose Baked Mac and Cheese with Hidden Cauliflower from the Food Network magazine and had a ball making it. I swear, this kid is so happy and high on life; the best proof of that is that she started dancing to the sound of the food processor chopping up the cauliflower. 😂 We were a little short on the cheddar and sour cream potato chips since *some* members of the family had busted into the bag on Sunday. But she made it work and was super proud of her creamy, yummy meal.

Wednesday: The week began its dip on Wednesday, which is when my cold kicked in. Mark didn’t choose a meal last week again, so I decided he was going to make pork chops, applesauce, and rice. Because we had so much of M’s meal and a bit of N’s from Monday, we served those up as side dishes. Boring? Perhaps. But also spend-thrifty!

Mark overcooked the pork a bit, but I blame that on the fact that he didn’t have a recipe to follow. Perhaps we’re not ready to “wing it” just yet. He opened the jar of applesauce, plated a chop for each of us, and we had perhaps our most pathetic meal of this whole experiment yet. But not every day is going to be a five star dinner, right? Sometimes you just gotta fill the belly. Today was the day.

Thursday: By Thursday a number of things were not on my side: my cold was in kick ass mode, the (savage) squirrels in our neighborhood entered our open garage and ate through a box of Thin Mints a friend had ordered, and the dishwasher repairman told me it would be another week before the dang thing got fixed. I promptly went to Target to stock up on paper products.

After having a quick visit with my friend Stacy at Starbucks while M was at tap, I zoomed home to prepare my meal for the week, taco salad. Taco salad is one of my dinner stand bys. It’s quick, easy, and satisfying, and I like that it gets the kids eating lettuce. I had browned the ground turkey (Costco) and taco seasoning, chopped and washed the lettuce, and made some homemade guacamole (1 avocado, juice from half a lime, 1 clove minced garlic, and salt) before tap, so all I had to do was lay it all out for make-your-own taco salads when I got home. It was 7 P.M. by this time, and I was so famished I completely forgot to take a picture. Believe me when I say it was a simple but filling. I didn’t even have room for my go to evening snack, a Dove mango sorbet bar.

Friday: Fridays are usually one of our dine out nights, and this Friday’s occasion made it even better--Mark’s 40th birthday! We splurged on a delicious meal and bowling for five kids at Punch Bowl Social in Schaumburg. What a fun time!

Full disclosure on the conclusion of this post: I just scrolled up to reread my lead for this post. I am a huge fan of the full circle ending, so I typically do that to see what I can weave into my conclusion. Wanna know something? I’m already in a better mood. I’ve been telling my students for years that writing has the power to relieve stress and serve as therapy, and today I lived it. So thank you for reading. And if you find yourself in a crap mood for nth consecutive day, maybe try writing about it. Whether you’re lucky enough to have someone read it or not, the process alone might set your head write. (And if that doesn’t work, then maybe get your kids cooking and enjoy a meal you didn’t have to make yourself. 😉)