Lazy Sunday Posting

This week has been interesting.  It's been a series of twists and turns, ups and downs, spills, chills, and thrills.  I've gone from mind-crushing boredom to a serious case of the nerves, and today I get to rest as much as I can before we start all over again on Monday.

Work's been somewhat slow, but usually in the late mornings or afternoons there's a few runs that come in that I do.  I already know that Monday promises to be a busy day, and we'll see if that trend continues through the week.

Yesterday was the day I did something I never thought I would do after leaving the cooking trades: I cooked a meal for people that weren't family.  The whole deal came about on Wednesday, during a discussion about how Central Market was doing a promotion centered around grilling.  Ms. Darkstar remarked how we hadn't grilled anything since moving to Dallas (living in a second-floor apartment with no storage space for a grill), and one of our other group members said she had a patio area at her condo complex, and would be quite amenable to having us over this Saturday so I could cook up a fabulous meal on the grill.'

Having very little danger in my life, and a couple of Strongbow ciders in me, I agreed.

Our menu would be a simple one: steaks, grilled veggies, and then it got complicated: grilled pineapple.  We had a version of this at our favorite Brazilian restaurant, and I was game for the opportunity to recreate it.  Since there was no rotisserie available, we just used a regular roasting rack on top of the grill, to keep the pineapple away from the direct heat and avoid scorching it.  There was just the matter of coating the pineapple with the seasonings.

First, there was the matter of finding the right cinnamon.  I know, I could have used plain-old store-bought cinnamon (like McCormick's or whatever), but since I am a Penzey's fanboy after all, I went through my collection and settled on the Indonesian cinnamon.  It's similar in aroma to the store-bought, but has a more subtly sweet flavor and is not as sharp.  The online recipe sites we consulted were unanimous in using a syrup glaze on the pineapple, and that's what I decided to do as well -- I would cook up the glaze and bring it with me the day of cooking.

Saturday was spent, after the usual laundry trip and a visit to the barber for me, in a flurry of shopping.  First stop was the restaurant supply store.  I picked up a new 12-inch skillet, we found a pan deep enough for our pizza experiment (more on that when it happens), and a few other odds and ends.  We then went to lunch at the India Palace, which has one of the best lunch buffets we've ever had, followed by a trip across the parking lot to the Penzey's.  I picked up a small bottle of vanilla sugar for the pineapple glaze (yes, I could have just put vanilla flavoring into the syrup, but I'm trying to impress people here), and a bottle of a new spicing blend that we thought would be good with the veggies.  After that, we did our own grocery shopping, and had a couple of hours to relax at home.  If by "relax" you mean I cooked up the glaze, packed the things we would need, obsessed over every little detail, and pretty much became a basket case by the time we had to leave, then I was one relaxed dude, all right.

So, our steaks were little ball-tip cuts, not much like the ones we used to get back in Minnesota in terms of size or thickness, but they were fine.  I just did a salt-and-pepper seasoning on those, and prepped the veggies.  We had summer squash, zucchini, onion, and portobello mushroom all sliced, coated with the herbs and tossed with butter.  These went into a grill pan and cooked over medium-high heat, and once those were done, I did the steaks.

Everyone was unanimous in their opinion of dinner -- and it was pretty damn tasty, if I say so myself.  Now, it was time for the pineapple.  I had a whole pineapple, which I peeled and removed the ends, placed it into the roasting rack, basted it with the glaze, and slowly let it heat over medium- to medium-high heat until it just started to warm on the outside, turning and basting frequently.  Once it was heated, I sliced off the roasted part into a serving platter, put the pineapple back in the rack, and started the process anew.  It came out wonderful, and was damn near close to what we had at the Brazilian restaurant.  I managed to get three roastings out of the pineapple, which we served with a cinnamon gelato.

So, the upshot is I survived, and apparently I did quite well.  Maybe I'll attempt it again someday.

Today, I'm just taking it easy.  I've already made muffins, and after I finish up here I'll cook up some home fries, make a potato salad for dinner, bake a key lime pie for dessert, and if there's time, I'll make a batch of snack mix.

Enjoy your day.

Threadbare tapestry unwinding slow...

I've reached that point in my time at home.  The dreaded halfway point, after which it's all downhill until my return to another couple of months on the road once again.  I'd be lying if I said I was looking forward to going back.

There is a glimmer of hope, however.  It's a faint glimmer, almost a barely glowing ember, but I am hoping it will expand to a bright light that will show me the way out of the darkness I am in.

"This time is different," he said, trying more to convince others than himself, as he was already convinced that this would be The One Shot.  Research was actually done in advance, I know more now of what I want to get myself in to, and I have no doubts or questions forming in my mind as I did when I took the path that led me to where I am now.

Okay, the path previous was a necessary evil, as without it I wouldn't have the critical component to The One Shot that I do now.  I could have done without the past four months, in terms of the isolation and loneliness, but I am grateful for the experience I gained.

I'm hoping to know something more by tomorrow, since I'm due to return on Thursday and jump through several more hoops before I can actually get back out on the road.  And, that's assuming that my truck has been fixed and is not still sitting in the repair bay.

I'm not looking forward to the next stretch of away time.  I'm at the point where I would do anything within my power to make it not happen.  I got this way right before the last time I went out.  And, I'm quite sure it will continue to happen each time I have moments like this.

The One Shot, right now, seems to be the only hope I have left.  And I refuse to give up on it.

I just hope it doesn't give up on me. 

Welcome to the threadbare tapestry that is my mind.