Mother's Day

It has been a while since my last post, I am sorry! While I should do a good catch-up on what's been going on, instead I am just going to post some pics from our Mother's Day dinner out at my folks.

Check out that Fattoush salad! It's always fun to introduce your parents to new dishes, like this one I copied from our favorite Meditteranean place!

Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year for most restaurants, so I was grateful that I was able to finish work early enough to go and celebrate with my Mom. P-funk helped by chopping all the veggies for our veggie kebabs while I worked, and then we drove out to the burbs and my Dad and I finished cooking. YUM!

We rounded out the menu with salmon, two different kinds of potato salad, and grilled steaks. Definitely worth the drive!

My dad is a goofball, obviously!

My mom also loved her tickets to Ravinia!

Auf Wiedersehen

I have been brushing up my German lately, meaning I spent one hour on Sunday with my new computer course I borrowed from a friend. The only thing that has stuck in my head is "Tasse und Untertasse" which means cup and saucer. I will keep practicing. I also have arranged for a conversation buddy. Once I am a little more proficient, I will have coffee dates with the music professor who frequents Tre K, and he will get me back to being conversant.

In that spirit, here is what we are having for dinner tonight--Thuringer! I went to the darling deli up the street and got a bunch of sausages which P-funk is going to grill with peppers, and which will then be devoured with mustard and beer! Das schmekt gut!

So, for any of you German speakers, want to help? Send me a message or leave a comment auf Deutsch. I would love the practice! And while it's easy to make German sausage at home, and somewhat do-able to re-learn German, I will leave you with the best German export there is....

...with the understanding that to acheive this level of gemutlichkeit (and by that I mean freakin' hotness) I should probably consume less sausage and beer and make more like Hans and Franz. Ach! Bis morgen!

Far East Friday

My favorite foodie blogger took off to the Big Apple this weekend (hope you're having fun M!) leaving me without updates and pics of things which make me drool.

In her absence, I will post a pic of something I whipped up for dinner this past weekend. It's one of my favorite Rachael Ray creations--Thai-style Shrimp and Veggies with Toasted Coconut Rice. As with most of her recipes, I added more veggies and garlic, and it turned out so good. We enjoyed the dish with large glasses of Sapporo, and watched Lawrence of Arabia, for a mish-mosh of Eastern culture all in one night.

KH, be warned, that is CILANTRO that you see (but it's one of my favorites!). I know a lot of real foodies don't care for Miss Rachael, but I find a good handful of her recipes to be great jumping-off points that let me explore different cuisines, why, she helped me make my first curry. So I love her, even if her show is now far too full of arugula and paninis.

Dear 6-year old Tricia,

You might not grow up to become She-Ra.

You may, however, have:

Kick-ass boots

Great hair

Awesome hot friends

You might not acquire the following:

Sword skills

Really long legs

Arch-nemesis

Try not to be disappointed.

Deadline: Accomplished

This is a good start.

I'd like to dedicate my first post to the irresistable Dave Hahn. He makes me want to write. Actually, in this case, he flat out makes me write. I had to have this blog up and running before E.O.D. Monday or face consequences. Thanks, Dave. In his honor, I'd like to share a list of reasons why he is so awesome.

1. No matter the geographical distance between us, or the amount of time between visits, we can pick right up where we left off. I have known him since middle school, and plan on being friends for life. Just thinking of Dave puts a big 'ole smile on my face.

2. He follows his dreams. He might tell you he's still figuring out what those are, but he's moving forward and serving as an example for the rest of us.

3. He wrote a bomb ass paper in 10th grade English about the archetypes present in Star Wars.

4. His hands look like they were meant to play the piano. One could argue they look that way because he does play the piano, but I think he's just fulfilling his destiny. And I love to listen to him play.

5. He's smitten with his girl and not afraid to show it. Guys in deep smit aren't always great at showing it, but Dave does a good job. I still remember his texts from when he was falling for her. Classic.

6. Dave gives the best backrubs. Period. I have not experienced one in the last ten years, but he's ruined me for life.

7. He's a great writer. He does many things well, so it doesn't seem fair that he should write well too. But he does. Check out his blog for musicians: www.musicianwages.com

8. He kicked cancer's ass!

9. He's thoughtful. I still have the card he wrote me when we graduated high school. He has helped me believe in myself.

10. He makes bald look good.