Happy Sigh

As the lovely Brenda pointed out, the busy upcoming weekend I posted about last week had the potential to be wonderful, and indeed it was.

The awesome boyfriend and I - with electricity restored to our respective houses after last week's ice storm, hooray! - went to the restaurants that comprised our first dinner date (which, admittedly, was a few months ago... but it's never too early for nostalgia, right?). First was sushi (miso soup. yummmm. albacore and avocado roll. yummmm.), then a cute little dessert bar a couple blocks away. On the prior date, we each had a mug of the most potent, rich, and wonderful hot chocolate that has ever graced the earth with its presence, I'm sure of it. This time, though, I opted for tea, so as not to overpower my half of the slice of cappuccino cheesecake (oh. my. gawd. so so so good.) that we split. And THEN, we went to catch a local band at a free live show. I'd heard of them, caught part of a song or two on the radio, but hadn't really paid attention too closely - but wow, people, Sidecar Radio (might come back and add a link later, might not) is flippin' awesome! They're talented folks. Seriously. Check 'em out.

The weekend also involved the awesome boyfriend's birthday, so much cooking ensued. Dinner was:

- steamed spinach with honey/dijon/balsamic dressing
- pork (are they still pork chops if they're boneless?) with onions and a balsamic apricot glaze
- butternut squash ravioli (made with wonton wrappers, not real pasta dough!) with a bechamel cream sauce
- bottle of wine we'd had at a restaurant a while back that was really, really good (found it for his birthday as a surprise)
- spice cake decorated with lemony frosting

Phew! A lot of effort there, but it was fun. I'm planning to use the rest of the bechamel with a bunch of veggies to do some sort of primavera thing over wheat pasta, and I need some ideas on how to use up the remaining wonton wrappers in a recipe that doesn't involve frying.

(In the meantime, though, while I'm on the topic of cooking, the plan for tonight's dinner is my self-created cannelini and kale stew concoction. Here's the recipe just for the heck of it:

- lots of kale, cut into inch-ish pieces (enough to fill a stock pot when raw)
- chicken broth, one or two cans (could also use veggie broth to make this vegan)
- cannelini beans, one or two cans, drained somewhat but not meticulously
- coupla tablespoons of some sort of tomato product - paste, sauce, canned crushed, depending on what you have on hand or as leftovers to use up
- garlic powder to taste
- cumin to taste (but seriously, use quite a bit)
- rice vinegar, several generous splashes

Kale goes in the pot, chicken broth gets poured in, lid goes on, heat goes on, maybe medium heat.... When the kale is all wilty, everything else goes in and it simmers for maybe ten minutes. Super simple and super tasty. I like to add an extra splash of the rice vinegar to my bowlful upon serving, but to each his or her own.)

Anyway, so the really great weekend. The awesome boyfriend and I also went to a hopelessly adorable, quaint, New Englandy farm to choose and cut down a Christmas tree. The place was out in "the country" in terms of ambience, but thankfully was only about 20 minutes away. Perfect! The tree is up now, and all lit and decorated and wonderful, which is great, except that I want it to be Christmas right now!

So yes, it was a really fantastic weekend. Happy sigh. The yarn I ordered *still* hasn't arrived, and the tracking number and shipping history *still* indicates that it was delivered on Saturday, but at least the company has offered to re-send the order via complimentary express shipping. Well, I should think so. :) If it arrives in time, I miiiiight cast on for the Francis Revisited sweater I posted about, in the hopes of having it ready to wear to holiday gatherings, but we'll see.

This concludes today's loquacious rambling. Carry on.