When it's Father's Day in Spain and Enrique's God-daughter adopts you as her God-mother, as well, and surprises you both with gifts and lovely handwritten cards. #diadelpadre#padrino#madrina#afortunados
Gracias, @elisanicolasdecasas por tu gran amor. Elisa: Yo si que afortunada. Por haberos conocido y habrá más momentos como el de ayer, y no solo eso, lo que pasa que mi amiga Ángelines y yo somos unas liantas y nunca sabréis nuestras andadas hasta. Descubrir la sorpresa. Pero no la Sor-presa
Dear Olive,
It's the autumn of your life. So I thought I'd do some remembering out loud.
You came to our family because of my defiant decision to get a dog. In truth, some of my best memories are from moments of the same of dogged determination (pun intended) to do what felt right. I was in a marriage and mentality where I had learned to concede authority and final decisions to my husband and in regards to a dog, the answer was always "no." It was no, for whatever reason, I don't remember why, because we had a huge park of a background and plenty of hands to take care of you.
I remember that it was my birthday and I got up, feeling unusual tingles of excitement race through my body. I wondered if it was the thought of getting a dog, or the idea that I could make a big decision for our family without my husband's consent that thrilled me most. Must have been both. I remember thinking, "to heck with that," the kids and I are in this family, too. We matter; four kids and me, five to one. He had said absolutely "No" to a dog. I knew he'd get really mad, but his controlling anger was nothing new. I would normally have been frightened by the idea, but we were now separated for six months, an anger management agreement arranged by the counselor to "save our marriage." And I needed this. The joy of a dog, to romp, to play with the kids, to hang out with and be part of our family. It had almost become an obsession.
So, I pulled on my jeans, pulled back my hair, long in those days, and daydreamed through a fast breakfast, slipping out of a sleeping house to drive across town, a big city, really, but in CA we say "across town," to the Sacramento animal shelter. I was going to see if God had that "special dog" just for us. In those days I believed that God did all kinds of miracles, if you just opened your eyes and looked around, open to his surprises and blessings. I still believe that, I guess. The kids, partly grown, all wanted a dog in the worst way, I mean, groaning with wishing and squealing with delight kind of way, and I was determined to find the perfect one. Have you ever seen those videos on the media where a parent brings home a dog and the child/children scream and cry with happiness? Like that. So, I went to the Pound, the Sacramento SPCA, on my birthday. I walked the sad concrete aisles of dogs, all who for one reason or another, had become unwanted or discarded. Olive, you and I have something in common, there, but that's a different story, and yours is such a good one. I scanned the cages. There were some dogs eagerly, frenetically jumping up at me, others had retreated to a corner, all the while a deafening barking vibrated up and down past the cages as I walked. I was almost at the end of all the initially seeming endless cages without finding what I was looking for. In the last cell of cages, near the end, there was a pack of dogs all piled on top of one another pawing a look at whomever walked past, at me. I didn't see you at first, because you were so young, still rather small, and all those more aggressive dogs had pushed you underfoot. As I stopped to examine those dogs up on hind legs, tails wagging effusively, I noticed there was a black puppy below them, flattened out. Just then you looked up at me with a soulful, hopeful look. I wasn't sure who you were because you were so surrounded, but I was so surprised to see you there. I called to a keeper to help me get a better look at you. She came and separated you from the rest. You were so timid, so scared, so sweet. Just six months old, a black labrador pup. What could be better?
So, heart soaring, I began the dizzying amount of paperwork, paid for your shots and required neutering, and became informed on your immediate care. You loved being with me, looked so happy, but I couldn't take you home yet, until everything was finished. I hated leaving you, but just a couple of days later, all four kids and I came and got you, everyone wanting to have you sit with him or her, petting you, smothering you in kisses and love. And so, you were officially adopted, had a family and new home. What joy. It's true. God had a gift waiting - it was you.
You were a much better dog than we were dog owners. You had such potential for training, but I was so busy schooling kids, taking care of a family and parents and husband that I didn't take you to obedience class and you just got to be a dog. Still, it was great. You hung out with us, chased squirrels up the trees religiously, had all kinds of adventures* and even learned how to be kind to our/your cat, André, another "in need of family" animal I brought home for Ryan.
*Camping w/REI booties
*Pulling kids to the park and back on roller blades and skateboard
*Escaping the yard and running to the park, only coming back by us getting you in the car. You Loved car rides.
*Barking and "protecting" us
I wasn't with you for your last five years. I wish I had been, but I heard you were happy, loved on, and saw pictures with you as fat as a sausage. Happy rainbow crossing, sweet Olive. You've been so loved and you'll be missed.
Estaba aquí por un mes. Esa traviesa que se sentaba en nuestra mesa donde la servilleta con el anillo de perlas de oro esperaba. Ahora que se ha ido, las cosas ya no son iguales.
She was here for a month. The impish one that sat at our table where a blue napkin with the golden beaded ring lay. Now that she's gone, things just aren't the same.
Sometimes being “tested by adversity” means ostracism, rejection of others you care about, often deeply, who don’t understand or agree with the decisions you’ve made in your greatest time of doubt and instability. It might be for them that you didn’t handle your greatest challenges and problems with enough wisdom, with a backbone of steel, weren’t a badass, or simply you didn’t do things the way they think you should have. Instead, you made the choices you did simply because you did, and mostly because you were you. Honestly, you did the best you could, with what you knew and had available to you. Maybe looking back with hindsight, a proverbial situation of imagining different scenarios for your life, you would change things. The reality, however, is you've failed, maybe not just at some point, maybe at many levels. And for some people in your life, that failure isn’t ok. Relationships are broken and/or dwindle, lost in the aftermath of expectations and disappointments. This being the case, I wonder if you can wake up every morning with a smile on your face? Can you learn to face each new day with both the you today and the you from yesterday? Are you content being you? And can you live independently of the good and bad opinion, the rejection of others, even those who mean the most to you?
Ten years ago today Mark, his three older siblings and mom danced their first Irish Feis (dance competition.) After he saw Michael Flatley his enthusiasm led us all to sign up to learn to reel and jig together. To Mark and dancing to this day.
Hace diez años Mark, sus tres hermanos y su madre compitieron en su primer Feis, competición de Danza Irlandesa. Después de que Mark vio Michael Flatley su entusiasmo nos contagió a todos y nos apuntamos a aprender a danzar el carrete y plantilla todos juntos. Para Mark y la danza que no para.
Connie has a talent in the kitchen in the most traditional and wonderful way. She and I share our love of baking, but I've never put down jams, jellies and other canned produce like she has. I'm a big fan of hers and of all that comes out of her kitchen, like her Apple Jelly.
Connie tiene tanto talento para la cocina al modo más tradicional y maravilloso. Compartimos el amor por la pastelería y hornear, aunque nunca he podido hacer mermeladas y conservas de otros productos de la huerta como ella. Soy muy fan de ella y de todo lo que sale de su cocina, como su Mermelada de Manzana.
Connie, your sweetheart, Bob, looks as all-American as the the candy-apple red around him. I know we'd like him just by looking at him. Besides, don't we gals all love a man in the kitchen?
Connie, tu cariño, Bob, tiene el aspecto de ser tan todo-Americano, como el color rojo-manzana a su alrededor. Sé, simplemente mirándolo, que nos caeríamos bien. Además, a nosotras las chicas, nos encantan los hombres en la cocina, verdad?
This 3-legged metal strainer and wooden pestle remind me so much of my grandmother and mother and how it was stored in our garage for each season of syrup and pie making. Good memories.
Este colador de metal de 3 patas y una maja de madera me recuerdan tanto a mi abuela y a mi madre y cómo yo lo almacenaba en nuestro garaje para cada temporada de hacer siropes y tartas. Muy buenos recuerdos.
Oh, Connie, I know I should be looking at the jelly in this picture, but I'm lusting after that beautiful red bowl perched on top of the toaster. I have two like it, a very small orange one and a larger forest green one. They're my favourites.
Oh, Connie, sé que debo mirar la mermelada en esta foto, pero en lugar de ello estoy deseando ese hermoso bowl rojo encaramado en lo alto de la tostadora. Tengo dos como él, uno muy pequeño de color naranja y otro más grande verde del bosque. Son mis favoritos.
Jelly jars lined up look like pure gold in the afternoon sunlight. Alineados los tarros de mermelada parecen puro oro en los rayos del sol del atardecer.
Mom, today as we celebrate your birth, one of my all-time favorite authors popped up on TEDx to talk about aging, or better said, about living. Isabel Allende, is the author of the first book, De Amor y De Sombra, that caused me to clutch my youthful chest and sigh romantic sighs. After devouring Of Love and Shadows I vowed to practice Spanish ever more fervently and read, in Spanish, The House of the Spirits and Eva Luna and every other Allende book since. Love in Spanish sounded to me like an entirely other world. In a Berkeley Auditorium some years later I had the privilege of listening to her speak in person. Her talk then concentrated on literary style, specifically her own unique form of Magical Realism. But, it's this simple talk today, How To Live Passionately - No Matter Your Age, that has made me smile and nod the most, appreciating the journey.
Mamá, hoy al celebrar tu nacimiento, uno de mis autores favoritos de todos los tiempos apareció en TEDx para hablar del envejecimiento, o mejor dicho, acerca del vivir. Isabel Allende, es la autora del primer libro, De Amor y de Sombra, que agarré a mi pecho juvenil suspirando suspiros románticos. Después de devorar De Amor y de Sombra me juré practicar español cada vez más fervientemente y leer, en español, La casa de los Espíritus y Eva Luna y todos los otros libros de Allende desde entonces. El amor en español me sonaba completamente de otro mundo. En un Auditorio de Berkeley algunos años más tarde tuve el privilegio de escucharla hablar en persona. Su discurso se centró entonces en el estilo literario, específicamente en su propia forma única de Realismo Mágico. Pero, es esta simple charla de hoy, Cómo Vivir Apasionadamente - No Importa la Edad, la que más me ha hecho sonreír y asentir, valorando tu viaje.
Allende asks, “So what have I lost in the last decades? People, places and the boundless energy of my youth. I’m starting to lose independence and that scares me ...
But there is also much that I have gained. Freedom. I don’t have to prove anything anymore. I’m not stuck in the idea of who I am, or who I should be … I feel lighter. I do not carry grudges, ambition, vanity, or any of the deadly sins that aren’t even worth it. It’s great to let go—I should have started sooner.” Allende se pregunta: "Entonces, ¿qué es lo que he perdido en las últimas décadas? La gente, los lugares y la energía ilimitada de mi juventud. Estoy empezando a perder la independencia y eso me asusta...
Pero también es mucho lo que he ganado. Libertad. Yo no tengo que demostrar nada más. No estoy atrapada en la idea de lo que soy, o lo que debería ser... Me siento más ligera. No llevo rencor, ambición, vanidad, o cualquiera de los pecados capitales que ni siquiera valen la pena. Es muy bueno dejarlos -debería haber comenzado antes."
To the one who has said many of those same things to me, who has loved and mentored and infused so much wisdom into the lives of her children. I love you endlessly.
Happy Birthday, Mom!
Para la que me ha dicho muchas de esas mismas cosas a mí, la que ha amado y guiado e infundido tanta sabiduría en la vida de sus hijos. Te amo infinitamente.
¡Feliz cumpleaños, mamá!
What do you think of when you hear the word feast? I automatically think of Thanksgiving, but in Spain, there are TWO big feast days, back to back. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, like the Who's in Whoville, we sit down to feast and feast and feast!
¿Qué piensas cuando escuchas la palabra festín? Yo pienso automáticamente en Acción de Gracias, pero en España, hay dos grandes banquetes, espalda con espalda. En La Noche Buena y en el día de Navidad, como los Who en Whoville, nos sentamos para darnos un festín y... banquete y banquete!
Los Who en Whoville del famoso libro de Dr. Seuss, Cómo el Grinch Robó la Navidad
Thanksgiving, invariably has flavor associations of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, yams and everything pumpkin. Similarly, these two Spanish feast days have their traditional dishes that are savored year after year. So, this year, as the days moved closer to "the Feasts" Enrique and I began to look at each other with raised eyebrows. We read the huge dilemma on each other's mind. Normally he eats vegetarian and I eat vegetarian and raw when possible. Things might not be too tricky especially since we've both settled into our years and bending our preferences for certain occasions.
Acción de Gracias, invariablemente tiene asociaciones de sabor de pavo, relleno, patatas, batatas y todo lo de calabaza. Del mismo modo, estas dos fiestas españolas tienen sus platos tradicionales que se degustan año tras año. Así, este año, según los días se acercaban a "las fiestas" Enrique y yo empezamos a mirarnos con las cejas levantadas. Leíamos el gran dilema en la mente del otro. Normalmente él come vegetariano y yo como también crudívora, cuando es posible. Las cosas podrían no ser demasiado difíciles, especialmente porque ambos ya somos mayorcitos y sabemos adaptar nuestras preferencias según las ocasiones.
Often we joke about the response we get at most restaurants when we ask if there is a vegetarian choice on the menu. The waiter will dutifully begin to list all of the fish and seafood possibilities. Truthfully, there might be nothing for a vegetarian to eat in many places in Spain. Well, that's our excuse/reason for accommodating many times. This year, however, son Álvaro would be joining us for the Feasts and had become strictly vegan, which I might add, to my delight.
A menudo bromeamos acerca de la respuesta que recibimos en la mayoría de los restaurantes cuando preguntamos si hay una opción vegetariana en el menú. El camarero obedientemente comenzará a enumerar todas las posibilidades de pescado y marisco. A decir verdad, puede que no haya nada que comer para un vegetariano en muchos lugares de España. Bueno, esa es nuestra excusa / razón para ceder muchas veces. Este año, sin embargo, el hijo Álvaro se uniría a nosotros para las fiestas y se había convertido en estrictamente vegano para mi deleite, podría añadir.
But, now, what would happen with our Christmas family feasts? More specifically, and this is REALLY important in Spain, who would want to eat what, who would make what dishes, and oh my, how would this all turn out leaving everyone happily fed?!
Pero, ahora, ¿qué pasaría con nuestro banquete familiar de Navidad? Más en concreto, y esto es realmente importante en España, ¿quién querría comer qué, quién haría qué platos, y ¡oh, ¿cómo todo esto resultará dejando a todos felizmente alimentados?!
First, I'll mention that usually fish is served on the first night, and precious sister Olga brought a carefully elaborated meal to share. She brought four enormous trays of Stuffed Red Peppers, two filled with cod and two with meat.
En primer lugar, voy a mencionar que por lo general el pescado se sirve en la primera noche, y la preciosa hermana Olga trajo una comida cuidadosamente elaborada para compartir. Ella trajo cuatro enormes bandejas de pimientos rellenos, dos con bacalao y dos con carne.
Ingredients assembled waiting for the morning of Christmas Even
to begin preparations in earnest
But, from there a Christmas culinary miracle happened. Álvaro surprised us with an email saying, "Don't worry, I have the entire menu planned:
Starting with Christmas Eve I thought we'd have a Seitán Roll... and from there he laid out a fabulous list, one course after another, to delight any palate. Pero, a partir de ahí sucedió un milagro culinario de Navidad. Álvaro nos sorprendió con un e-mail diciendo: "No os preocupeis, tengo todo el menú planificado: Empezando con la Nochebuena pensé que tendríamos un Asado de Seitán Relleno..." y continuaba exponiendo una lista fabulosa, un plato tras otro, para deleitar cualquier paladar.
My simplest description of the Seitán Roll is that it was made with herbs (parsley, oregano, sage and basil) and stuffed with dates, prunes, onions, walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, sage and herbs and topped with a delicious mushroom sauce made with white wine. Mi descripción simple del asado de seitán relleno es que fue hecha con hierbas (perejil, orégano, salvia y albahaca) y rellena de dátiles, ciruelas pasas, cebollas, nueces, avellanas, castañas de cajú, salvia y hierbas y cubierto con una deliciosa salsa de champiñones al vino blanco.
"Para cenar en Nochebuena había pensado en Un Asado de Seitán Relleno como plato principal"
Álvaro has valiantly, for health and animal advocacy reasons, become not just vegetarian, but strict vegan. He was even a cellist in a fund raiser to benefit more humane treatment of animals just a couple months ago. But, back to the fabulous menú .... http://lacazuelavegana.blogspot.com.es/2011/12/redondo-de-seitan-relleno-al-horno-con.html Álvaro se ha convertido valientemente no en simple vegetariano sino en estricto vegano, por razones de defensa de la salud y de los animales. Incluso actuó como violonchelista y organizó un evento para recaudar fondos en beneficio de una asociación protectora de animales hace apenas un par de meses. Pero, de nuevo al fabuloso menú...
Part of me wants to say that there is nothing more heartwarming than seeing a father and son side-by-side creating a delicious meal, but then I also grin and say there isn't anything more attractive, either, than watching two fabulous chefs cooking together in the same kitchen. Both things are true. Una parte de mí quiere decir que no hay nada más reconfortante que ver a un padre y su hijo codo con codo en la creación de una deliciosa comida, pero entonces yo también sonrío abiertamente y digo que no hay nada más atractivo, tampoco, que ver a dos chefs fabulosos cocinar juntos en la misma cocina. Ambas cosas son ciertas.
The Seitán Relleno baked to perfection.
As appetizers we had Polenta Sticks and several spread:
Como entrantes:
Palitos de Polenta
Homemade Bread Pan Casero
With the following Spreads: con los siguientes Untables: Pesto de Aguacate,
Avocado Pesto
Pesto Rojo (de tomate),
Paté de Setas,
Mushroom Paté
Eggplant Dip.
Baba ganoush.
Everyone is smiling hours later as the last spread is being made.
De postre: tarta de limón y manzana Dessert: Lemon and apple pie.
Now, I thought I had died and gone to heaven with the Christmas Eve meal, but I had no idea what was in store for us and by far my favorite, was the meal that awaited us on Christmas Day. If you've never had Creme of Chestnut Puree, it is the most delicious thing ever since my Butternut Squash & Sage Soup. There isn't any picture that would do it justice. Just suffice to say that now it is going on our list of favorites. Ahora, pensaba que me habría muerto e ido al cielo con la buena que fue la cena de Nochebuena, pero no tenía ni idea de lo que estaba reservado para nosotros y, sin duda, mi favorito, fue la comida que nos esperaba el día de Navidad. Si nunca has tenido Creme de puré de castañas, es la cosa más deliciosa que desde que mi Butternut Squash & Sage sopa. No hay ninguna imagen que lo haría justicia. Baste decir que ahora va incluida en nuestra lista de favoritos.
What I did manage to capture on film here were the Stuffed Yams Spinach au Gratin
and finally, alongside a mountain of chocolates, cookies and turrones, we enjoyed a delicious vegan brownie cake. y de postre... brownie!
