A bit bit about quite a lot of issues:
• Meals and enormous household gatherings have all the time gone hand-in-hand on the holidays….and whereas the 12 months that was 2020 could have curtailed the gatherings, nicely, there was nonetheless loads of alternative to take pleasure in vacation fare on the dinner desk.
Kat and I took benefit of the vacation down time to deal with some critical (which isn’t to be confused with wholesome) culinary initiatives that we’d not going have undertaken if we had a home stuffed with company.
Cooking collectively is all the time pleasant.
We every know our method across the kitchen fairly nicely, Kat extra so than I, however we additionally convey our personal types and preferences of cooking.
Once I cook dinner, I’m just about by the ebook: Comply with the recipes, keep on with what I do know greatest and (hopefully) do it nicely.
Kat is extra adventurous. Whereas a recipe could also be a helpful guideline or place to begin, she by no means hesitates to imprint her personal tastes on any given dish, typically utilizing a wide range of herbs from the backyard or digging into her spice assortment for simply the best taste.
On the floor, these types could seem to battle…..however in actuality, having the ability to supply options from differing views works out fairly nicely – and with only a few exceptions we benefit from the fruits of our shared labor.
Christmas Eve may usually have been conventional vacation fare, however this 12 months, with simply the 2 of us, we dug up some private favorites…..and handled ourselves to pan-seared scallops, bacon-wrapped asparagus and a mashed mix of white/candy potatoes.
All the time a meal to savor, however much more so when we now have each been concerned within the planning and preparation.
Dessert? Who’s obtained room for dessert?
We additionally did some deep frying over the vacations…..much less elegant, maybe, and doubtless not nice for the ldl cholesterol, however simply down-to-earth good. We experimented with a few completely different batter recipes wherein to fry onion rings, peppers, zucchini and extra, and got here away with a beer-battered choice that might be a go-to in future fry classes.
We very hardly ever deep fry, hadn’t for a number of years, and I’m unsure that we had ever carried out home-made onion rings, and so forth., collectively. That was a throwback to my a lot earlier years…..however one which we tremendously loved.
The issue with deep frying, although, is that, nicely, it’s important to pattern product because it comes out of the oil and cools. By the point you’re carried out sampling, the thought of a nap is extra interesting than the considered sitting all the way down to a full dinner!
So January will convey a number of extra salads and a few recent fruit and a bit of extra consideration to consuming as we should always.
That’s a small worth to pay, I’ve determined, for the enjoyment of some vacation meals treats and the expertise of making them collectively.
• I’m impressed by what I’ve seen at West Aspect Group Ambulance over the course of the previous 12 months or so.
Two years in the past the taxpayer-supported supplier confronted an unsure future at greatest, placed on discover by an oversight company that its working contract might be pulled if staffing points weren’t resolved and wrestling with the query of whether or not to convey administration providers again in-house after utilizing outdoors contractors.
I had my doubts about whether or not West Aspect might proceed, and whether or not going full circle by bringing administration again in-house was possible. However I all the time say that I reserve the best to be flawed. On this case, I’ve no drawback being confirmed flawed.
The ambulance service is heading in the right direction, and hopefully that continues.
This must be a top-to-bottom, all-in dedication, from the board of administrators to the executive crew to the latest rent approaching board to assist workers the West Aspect rigs.
There’s nonetheless work to be carried out, actually. However West Aspect Group Ambulance seems to be in a far completely different – and a lot better – place than it was for a number of years.
And that’s good for all of us.
• Who doesn’t love getting calls from telemarketers?
Don’t get me flawed, these of us have jobs as nicely. However the quantity of calls and generally the timing leaves a lot to be desired.
We obtained a 7:45 a.m. name from a consultant of a satellite tv for pc tv supplier Saturday morning. This was really a service we had been eager to be taught extra about…..however any probability of constructing a sale goes by the wayside when the decision comes earlier than we now have had our morning espresso – particularly on a weekend. Much more particularly on a vacation weekend.
Kat took that decision. I took the one at 8:30 Sunday morning from a caller wanting us to donate to medical analysis. I hadn’t had my espresso, which didn’t work in favor of the caller. However I nonetheless tried to be good as I identified to her that being bothered early on a Sunday morning most likely wasn’t conducive to placing individuals within the temper to donate cash. I didn’t must be impolite; simply agency, and didn’t trouble ready for a response.
That was really type of empowering.
To the purpose the place the following name I get from a consultant of the lodge chain that I’ve supposedly chosen prior to now, I believe I’ll keep on the road lengthy sufficient to speak to an actual particular person.
That fortunate particular person can clarify to me why I’ve repeatedly opted out of future calls solely to maintain getting them, and why I get calls from lodge chain that I don’t ever keep in mind really selecting prior to now and doubtless by no means will sooner or later.
It will most likely be greatest, although, that they don’t name earlier than I’ve had my morning espresso.
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