My friends Jennie and Steve came into town yesterday, from Brooklyn. I've been in cahoots to help them orchestrate her mother's Christmas gift, once they arrived. The gift: Meals! Delicious, homemade meals, individually wrapped, frozen, and stocked into Mother's freezer.
On the menu: Lenticchie (Italian lentils & pasta) and Armenian pilaf. The lentils required some hours of simmering, so once they were simmering, we sat down to carry-out chinese. The rest of the afternoon consisted of lounging around the tables, the computers, talking, some more cooking. I was gleeful to have them all to myself for so many hours, as they're on a tight schedule for their 4 days in town.
Here's Jennie, dishing her pilaf into tins to be baked later.
A discussion about how much Lenticchie constitutes a Mom-sized serving:
See all those pictures of me cooking? Well, that's because I didn't cook a stitch! My job was to sit around and drink the wine they brought, all the while pointing out where measuring cups and basil could be found. Oh, and I made these fancy-pants labels to stick to the tin-foil covers. Jennie used them to secure little individual packets of toasted almonds to the top of her dishes.
The afternoon was a great start to my holiday. I spent today finishing up some shopping with my mother, and helping her ready her house for the family to roll in tomorrow. After I hit the "Publish Post" button here, I'm off to do some more cooking. It is our tradition to cook over the fireplace my dad built about 30 years ago. Brats and sausages will be accompanied by clam chowder and chili and all the accompaniments.
Brian is spending the evening with his Dad, Stepmom, brother, and sister, and I await a phone call from a friend so that we can participate in a long distance gift exchange. I'll wrap up the evening with a bubble bath and a bottle of cheap champagne, looking forward to opening gifties with my son in the morning.
Merry Christmas to you all!
Wow! Do you have any leftovers? Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteMy mom told me today that the Armenian pilaf was good. She hasn't tried the lentils yet.
ReplyDelete