Funny kids, Muffins & BlogHer '14

At present, the boys are slithering around the house on their tummies -army crawl-style- attempting to elude the imaginary guys they're spying on, and I am slaving over a Pokémon badge case that Jack made from cardboard and colored foam sheets, extracting thin layers of cardboard with an X-acto knife so that Jack's handmade badges can nestle in each space snugly. I remain largely anti-Pokémon. I mean, I'm glad Jack is so enraptured with it and interested in learning the strategies of the game, but the more I've learned, the more I dislike its premise. Basically, the trainers run around capturing Pokémon against their will, 'training' them by being nice but not letting them go and then sticking them in Pokéballs until the little guys are forced to do their trainers' bidding which means fighting to the 'death.'

In any case, I'm worked my fanny off on this badge case which is just the humblest, grubby little creation you ever saw but whatever. Jack is proud, so I'm happy to help.

The kids built a Lego car while I shaved cardboard, and I overheard Oliver say, "I'm not being sarcastic, Jack. This is really awesome." Which almost made me fall off my stool, because what a disclaimer from a 5-year-old. Jack replied, with such modesty (and there I am being sarcastic), that "Well, my ideas and brain are really great sometimes." Good grief. What conversation.

I made some ginger peach muffins because I simply had to, and they totally hit the spot. Scrumptious!

Y'all, I realized about four days ago that I leave for BlogHer '14 this coming Thursday. I mean, I knew I was going, but the trip rushed up on me like my sneaky cat. I'm super excited! San Jose, here I come!

Jack and Tom are at a Pokémon playdate now -I kid you not- and Ol and I are off to read and then construct my AROMO desk as he found me out yesterday and now wants to be involved in the renovation. Hah!

Pecan pesto, rapini with vin cotto

I am simply baffled by Pokémon. It has swept into our lives suddenly, furiously, and Jack is positively besotted. Oliver is not far behind. Cards and HPs and types and evolutions and powers...it seems Pokémon could be infinitely studied and played but I just don't get it. And the show is the worst. Just the absolute worst of anime. Naturally the boys beg to differ, but not since Bob the Builder have I felt a "passion" of theirs was so utterly vapid. Good for summertime I guess! In any case, dinner. In Wrightsville Beach a few weeks back, I bought some pecan oil brought up from Louisiana. Now, it is not lost on me that I've never bought pecan oil while at home, in Louisiana, but I saw it, was struck with a home-based yen, bought it and tonight made pecan pesto.

Pecan oil is exceedingly mild but it's a nice enough foundation if you also add actual pecans in some manner. I toasted a half cup of pecan halves, picked a mixed cup of basil and parsley from the yard, blended all that with some grated Parmesan, said pecan oil, some lemon, salt and a bit of garlic. These darling annelli, ring-shaped pasta I bought at Piazza in Easton back in May, paired wonderfully with the pesto; the sauce got caught up in the tiny rounds, like muck in your car hubcaps but good, which made each bite that much more intense. Nanny's favorite pasta was ditalini; annelli look like ditalini that have each been sliced in half.

Alongside, because I feel I've been terribly delinquent in the dinnertime veggie-making business as of late, I made my Rapini with Vin Cotto (you might recall it was featured on Food 52 as both a Community Pick and highlight of Weeknights with Jenny). It is so flipping good. The vague or overt bitterness of the greens (vague if you use broccolini but overt if you use rapini) is countered by the sweet tang of the vin cotto (cooked wine though I use balsamic vinegar instead of wine), and the little shocks of seared/charred/caramelized garlic are sublime.

Richmond, biz

People, today felt like four. Ol crawled into our bed at 5:37am, eager for morning snuggle and to chat. I tried to hush him until 6, but as you can imagine, it didn't work terribly well. What a cute little bug he is. Good thing, too! My post-drop off morning commenced with a couple hours at the orthopedist because of nearly two months of a very sore tailbone. I'd nearly convinced my generally-NOT-hypochondriac self that something dreadful was eating away at my coccyx, so eagerly assented to X-rays to prove otherwise. This was all well and good until, during the sit down with the kindly doc who I'd not met before this morning, I asked "What is THAT?" as I scanned one of the images. It was a rather large dark spot and just didn't look right. Immediately, doc replied "kaka," and I literally felt as if I'd die of mortification. Not least because he used the word "kaka." In later relaying this story to one of my best friends, her primary take-away was "Your doctor said KAKA???!!!"

Exactly. I've just recently stopped wincing. Though I am now the "proud" owner of a Tush Cush. Jesus.

I then made more jam, ran errands, packed, cleaned, left little Pokemon-themed surprises and love notes for all my boys (well, no Pokemon for T, and doesn't he love me more for that!) and hauled it out of the house when the sitter arrived in a vain attempt to beat rush hour traffic on 95S. I did not remotely beat it, but still, I like a good road trip so turned on a fabulous playlist and went for it. It is a vastly different experience to be alone in the car and stuck in traffic than with young children in the car while stuck in traffic. No complaints!

Just before 8, I pulled up at The Black Sheep, happy to have waited out the trip for a good dinner as my reward at the end. I ordered green goddess potato salad, the same arugula/fennel/spiced pecan/hibiscus dressing salad I got two weeks ago, a glass of white wine and later, rum-spiked banana pudding with lady fingers. Solid, friends. Extremely solid.

I used to die over the mere thought of eating at a restaurant alone. I cringed for the solo diners I saw, certain they were terribly lonely and there alone only as a last resort so as to avoid another bowl of instant Ramen in their studio apartments. I see now the complete folly in my assumptions because in fact, dining alone needn't be lonely or dreary in the least. It can be extraordinarily lovely in the quiet calm that is time with one's self. And a good magazine makes things all the better. I myself brought along a crossword puzzle in eager anticipation of no one attempting to fill in slots while I wasn't looking. Hah!

One of the clues was: malarkey. Isn't that a wonderful word?!

I'm off to bed, eager for a full day o' symposiuming tomorrow!