Life is a banquet!

Patience and practice makes perfect (I hope)

As pretty much everyone knows, Charles is the cook in our house.  So before he leaves on a business trip and I'm home alone he has to remind me to plan out my meals and do the grocery shopping while he is away.  If he didn't remind me I would resort to calling Al's Pizza and ordering a large pizza and having a couple of slices for dinner each night. 

This time Charles took pity on me and made up a vat of ratatouille and left me with 4 lamb rib chop pairs and a ton of green salad to see me through.  He left me with instructions on how to cook the chops.  I'm sure he thought I'd be fine.

Wrong.  Last night I grilled up a pair of little lamb chops and they looked perfectly browned.  The whole house smelled of lamb. My mouth was watering and the chops were obviously done so onto my plate they went and I sat down for dinner.  After my first bite I realized that his instructions to "cook for 10 minutes on each side" were not a guesstimate. Oh well, raw lamb chop isn't as bad as it sounds.

Tonight was my second attempt.  This time I made sure to give the lamb a lot of time per side.  Did I time it? No.  But I thought they looked done and they were certainly more done than ones I made last night so onto my plate this batch went.  While these chops were better than yesterday's there is still room for improvement.  Rare lamb chop isn't too bad.

Tomorrow is my third try. Fingers crossed I have the patience to make some perfect chops!

Memories of Paris

I have been running around like crazy for the past month with all sorts of preparation for two big work-related conferences: one in Paris and one in Las Vegas.  It is hard to imagine two more different cities. One grown organically over time with 3000+ years of history, the other a dessert mirage that exists only because of the cheap power and water provided by the nearby Hoover Dam.  I am very glad to be home. 

Paris was so much nicer than Vegas.  I got to try out my horribly atrophied French on waiters, hotel staff and others who were kind enough to humor me.  This experience rekindled my desire to be able to really communicate in French.  Now I want to take a week-long (or longer) immersive program, ideally somewhere in France.  We'll see...  In the meantime, here are some photos from the trip.

Squirrel taking it easy

 

Police and Doughnuts

If you were a police officer would you strive to distance yourself from common sterotypes?  Or would you just get on with your job and enjoy what it has to offer, including the coffee and doughnuts?  It looks like these nine motorcycle police and one cruiser-enabled police officer at Eastern Market thought the latter.

Lessons Learned on Father's Day

As Charles and I were sitting around the table finishing Father's Day dinner, my brother-in-law mentioned to Sarah that she should clear the table and straighten things up to get ready for when her teacher arrived to join us all for dessert. 

The effect of this news was immediate.  Sarah didn't move.  She sat there with her head in her hands dreading the arrival of her despised teacher and moaning about the unjustice of her situation.  Then it dawned on her that her father was pulling her leg.  Chuckling, a very satisfied Pat got up from the table to make coffee for everyone.  Meanwhile Sarah lamented that she'd been teased.

Charles to the rescue.  He told Sarah that she needed to get back at Pat by pulling his leg.  Charles' 7 year old disciple sat with rapt attention as he walked through various tips for creating believable lies including, 

"Really good lies are mostly true.  You need to come up with something that your victim will find completely believable and then slip your lie in.  You need to be careful with your timing so it sounds natural."

The 10 minute lesson over, Sarah went off to play with her sister.  Pat arrived with coffee and dessert and the conversation moved on to something new.  A few minutes later Sarah burst into the dining room.

"Daddy! Daddy!  Come quick!  Megan's pulled all the toilet paper off the roll in the bathroom! She was playing in the bathroom and I stopped her." Pat stormed off in the direction of the bathroom shouting, "Megan!  How many times do I have to tell you not to play in the bathroom!" 

No sooner had he left when he came walking back with a smile growing on his face.  Sarah couldn't contain herself and she burst out laughing.  "You got me.  You got me good." acknowledged Pat with a grin.

Washington Insider

Sometimes, albeit rarely, I feel like I'm a Washington Insider.  It might be because I'm hip with the latest details on obscure congressional conference committee procedings that my connected Hill Staffer neighbor has talked about.  Or it's because I've spotted a Senator or Congressman at a local restaurant or ATM.  Or even more rare, I've made an NPR personality sighting - like the time we saw Nina Totenburg at the opera or Daniel Shorr at the theater.

Today I had a real Washington Insider experience. I was at a women's political networking cocktail party (my connected political consultant neighbor invited me).  FYI: you know it is serious when the invitation has small print that says,

In accordance with Federal Law

and the House and Senate Rules,

food & refreshments served

at the reception will be of nominal value.

I met lots of smart, savvy, and well-connected women.  Being the lone person from the world of Web-based Software I soon found myself explaining SecondLife and World of Warcraft to some Department of Homeland Security folks.  Here is an exerpt from our conversation.

Homeland Securty Staffer #1: There is this software called SecondLife that allows you to walk around and talk to people in a computer game.

Homeland Security Staffer #2: Why would I want to do that?

Me: Well there are a number of scenarios where you might find virtual worlds like SecondLife useful.  [I touched on examples of simulations and educational scenarios. I mentioned the different strengths of each application and how they're used for skill-building, networking, commerce and other activities].

HSS #1: Just imagine, we could re-build an exact replica of Capitol Hill in SecondLife and then run [terrorist scenarios] over and over with different parameters and outcomes.

HSS #2: If we can do it in SecondLife then why are we spending millions and millions of taxpayer dollars building our own system to do this? 

Simla Season

How better to spend a weekend afternoon than sitting in the screened-in porch enjoying a cool beverage, reading a good book and watching the world go by?  Bliss.  If only we had a screened-in porch! 

Instead I've improvised using a 10 foot diameter patio umbrella and mosquito netting and set up this contraption in our back yard.  Last year Charles christened my tent Simla, the name of the region the in the Himalayan foothills where British Army Officers and families retreated to in during the unforgiving Indian summers. 

Yesterday I dragged Simla out of storage and set her up in the backyard.  Simla's footprint takes over most of the backyard which doesn't leave Gemma much room to wander.  But oh well.  I am looking forward to my weekend escapes to mosquito-free Simla this summer!

Photos from Conwy

Chocolate Blackout Cake

My sister-in-law Sara has a small gourmet food store in Conwy, Wales called Jackdaw Fine Foods.  On Saturdays she brings in two homemade cakes to sell by the slice.  After enjoying a slice of each and wallowing in their sweet, creamy goodness I realized I couldn't remember the last time I'd made a cake.  Returning home I told Charles I was resolved to bake a cake.  All he asked is that it be a chocolate cake. I dug into my new America's Test Kitchen cookbook for a recipe.

What could be more chocolate-y than Chocolate Blackout Cake?  It is layered together with chocolate pudding which keeps the cake super moist and not so tooth rottingly sweet as it would be with icing.  For visual texture the pudding-iced cake is covered with chocolate cake crumbs.  The photo I took isn't the best so you'll just have to trust me.

The pudding recipe alone is worth making, but combined with the cake and served with a dollop of ice cream this recipe is a keeper.  I think the secret to the richness is the cup of coffee in the cake, it adds a level of complexity and helps cut the sweetness of the sugar.   I can't wait to make this cake again!

Slacking

I am slacking with this blog thing.  Sorry.  I've been awfully busy in the past 2 weeks with all sorts of travel and then catching up at work.  The good news is that I've been super productive.  The bad news is I haven't really had a moment to myself.  Some highlights from the past two weeks:

• Exploring Manchester and surviving the UEFA cup fan invasion
• The train ride from Manchester to Glasgow. Perfect weather and beautiful countryside to see from the train.
• Glasgow - my first time back in 20 years and I'm so in love with this city. 
• Setting off the alarm at the Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA)
• Dinner at The City Merchant, Glasgow. Regional Scottish ingredients from land and sea. Delicious!
• The drive from Manchester to Conwy with my co-pilot Nuvi.  She didn't let me down.
• A quiet glass of wine and dinner at The Castle Hotel, Conwy. The shrimp and chorizo sausage risotto did not disappoint.
• Three restful nights at the Castlebank Hotel, Conwy.  This small B&B has everything I need - comfortable rooms, soaking bathtub, restful sitting room with gas fire perfect for curling up and reading in, delicious breakfastss and dinners, wonderful hosteliers, and internet connectivity!
• Lunch with Roger and Beryl at the Dutch Pancake House & Water Gardens.  Enjoying a savory pancake of welsh bacon and cheese and talking for hours before shopping for 6 goldfish for Roger's garden pond.
• Spending time with my nieces - eating ice cream, running along Conwy Quay, exploring the Butterfly Garden at Bodnant Gardens and more!  They are so entertaining, articulate, clever and funny.  They also ran me ragged with soccer, jump rope, running and more.
• Dinner with Jill at Boysgallen Hall.  Scrumptious!  I can't wait to come back here and enjoy it with Charles.
• Finally getting inside the Liverpool Arms pub on Conwy Quay. Now that it has gone smoke-free it is safe to enter.
• Seeing old friends and feeling completely at home in Conwy, my home away from home. 

Looking forward to getting back to Wales in July!