The Ballad of J, Q, A, & E

This past Friday, we said goodbye to our super awesome friends, Julie, Quinn, Elle, and Aidan as they turned the wagons west. As a tribute to our great love for them, we decided to compose this ballad, to the tune of their favorite song from our wedding.

A&E Wedding Consultants and Middle Management, this one's for you:

Quinn:
I threw my hands up when I got a job, saying, “Let’s go to Chicago!”

Julie:
There we can celebrate and live our lives; let’s get A and E. “Babies, let’s flee!”

Quinn:
Went to my boss, boss, boss, boss,
That’s when he gave me the toss, toss, toss, toss
And I felt at a loss, loss, loss, loss,
But rolling stones gather no moss, moss, moss, moss
Yeah, yeah,

Julie:
So we move on and on and on
We move on and on and on, singing:

Quinn:
I threw my hands up when I got a job, saying, “Let’s go to Chicago!”

Julie:
There we can celebrate and live our lives; let’s get A and E. “Babies, let’s flee!”

Quinn:
We’ll get in the car, then we’ll drive all night, till Chicago’s there in the morning light.

Julie:
So we’ve lived there twice, now we’ll live there thrice, so it ain’t New York, but it’s dynamite!

Quinn:
We have to move, move, move, move
Boxes all packed up for the crew, crew, crew, crew
With cookies baked and smoothies smooth, smooth, smooth, smooth
Joining the Cubs, we will wear blue, blue, blue, blue
Yeah, yeah

Julie:
So we move on and on and on
We move on and on and on, singing:

Quinn:
I threw my hands up when I got a job, saying, “Let’s go to Chicago!”

Julie:
There we can celebrate and live our lives; let’s get A and E. “Babies, let’s flee!”

Quinn:
We’ll get in the car, then we’ll drive all night, till Chicago’s there in the morning light.

Julie:
So we’ve lived there twice, now we’ll live there thrice, so it ain’t New York, but it’s dynamite!

Elle:
I’m gonna see it all, I’m,
I’m gonna keep my eyes wide open,
Driving ‘cross the country
Seated beside my brother, Nainan.

Aidan:
And nine, nine, nine, best number
Nine, nine, ni—ne!

Elle:
I just want it all, I just want it all.

Aidan:
Feet on the ground, we’ll jump up in the air.
Jump up in the air!
We’ll try to jump up in the air, air, air, air….

Quinn:
I threw my hands up when I got a job, saying, “Let’s go to Chicago!”

Julie:
There we can celebrate and live our lives; let’s get A and E. “Babies, let’s flee!”

Quinn:
We’ll get in the car, then we’ll drive all night, till Chicago’s there in the morning light.

Julie:
So we’ve lived there twice, now we’ll live there thrice, so it ain’t New York, but it’s dynamite!

Take Us Out to the Ball Game...and Basketball Game...and Marathon!

Last January, Eric and I realized we needed to take advantage of Boston's unique sporting activities, including its sporting events. So we went online and purchased tickets to an already sold out Celtics game, thanks to some season ticket holders that didn't want to show up. Here we are in our prime balcony seats!


Just after this shot, we took a trip to the concession stand to enjoy the culinary delights of TD Garden: chili cheese fries (a first for me!) and a soda. We figured that since it was the first quarter, we wouldn't miss much, but as soon as left our seats, we heard cries booming from the stadium announcing the arrival of one Shaquille O'Neal!

He scored.

The people screamed.

He scored again.

The people screamed louder.

We placed our order.

The people screamed again.

And as we returned, chili cheese fries in hand, fully prepared to see the greatest Big Man of his era dominate the game, we saw a familiar form limp towards the locker room tunnel, then bend over as if to throw up.

We never saw Shaq again.

My mother was very disappointed in me for missing this history in action.





After the game, Eric took this picture near Faneuil Hall. Behind me is the Boston Custom's House (now turned Marriott timeshare), one of Eric's favorite buildings in Boston. (Upon further reflection, Eric is unsure whether this really is one of his favorite buildings, but, in his own words, "I think I just liked everything that night." Groovy.)

A week later, we donned our Red Sox t-shirts and found ourselves in historic Fenway Park with tickets in hand to a coveted Red Sox-Yankees game! Armed with my Uncle Artie, a diehard Yankees fan who dared to enter enemy territory undercover in a Fenway Park t-shirt, my Aunt Stefanie, our friend Matt, and my mom, we ate hot dogs, snuck Italian sausages (yup--I know what you were up to when you disappeared, you, uh, person who will remain anonymous here!), and begged over and over again for the cotton candy man to please come up our row since you've already gone up and down everyone else's five times screaming, "Caaahhhtton Candy!" (He never did, but thanks to Matt and Uncle Artie, I got not one but two bags of the delicious stuff, which, btw, tastes delicious dipped in red wine; just eat it quickly before it melts away.)


Fenway looking as good now as she did 99 years ago. Uncle Artie told us all sorts of stories about the park--he was a good historian to have in our midst. He also taught me how to keep score, until he messed up the scoring sheet! I also learned the liberating feeling of throwing pistachio shells on the ground and about home runs over Lansdowne Street. Unfortunately, there weren't very many of those, at least not from the Sox, but Uncle Artie stood up and cheered when the Yankees accomplished the feat!


Finally, today is Eric's 30th birthday! And, to help Eric celebrate, Boston threw a marathon. How convenient! So we spent the late morning watching runners cross the finish line. I was too short to see most of them run past the crowd, but Eric and the sound of the crowd cheering let me know one was zooming by, and I would jump up and down and holler support! We felt like the whole city was cheering for Eric's birthday, and the marathoners were a convenient distraction to get them motivated! Plus, we got all sorts of gifts--free chips and hummus and bagels and bottles of fruit juice and water and chocolate milk. We left overloaded with free treats and a whole city cheering us on! Eric says he wants to try to run next year; I think it's the perfect goal for one's 30th year of heart beating, lung pumping life!

Finally....a Honeymoon!

I like to think of our honeymoon as a fine wine that only gets better with time--Sure, we may not have had that first vintage, leave after the reception adventure, but planning our honeymoon six months into the marriage has given us time to get a vacation with a richer, deeper, more mellow flavor. And, as was said at the wedding, I'll do anything to get a free trip, so the time has certainly allowed time for scheming!

In fact, part of the delay was due to scheming, as we realized that if Eric signed up for an airlines credit card, we would have enough miles for free, round trip tickets to Sydney. Two months ago the sign-on bonus miles credited to Eric's account, and we were able to book our trip (after three months of waiting)!

And so the adventure began: at 8am on a Thursday morning, I got up, called American Airlines, and asked them to find two tickets to Australia. Any date would do. Any time. Yes, we were willing to transfer. And the airline attendant found:

Nothing.

Nada.

From now through February, when they stopped booking tickets.

The attendant told me maybe it was because Qantas was sold out, so I called Qantas, but they said they had tons of empty seats; it was just that they hadn't released them to American yet. When I asked when they would, they said to just keep calling.


I never trust "Just keep calling."

Recognizing that Qantas might release, say, one ticket every 7.5 weeks at 11:16pm, I landed on a different plan: If we couldn't get to Sydney, we would book a flight that would take us as close to Sydney as possible.

Except that nothing is close to Sydney. Flights to Tasmania, New Zealand, etc. all fly on Qantas and all go through Sydney and there were no tickets to Sydney, so what's a gal to do? Take out her "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego" brain and a map of every Hyatt in Asia and get to work figuring out where else in the South Pacific would be a suitable alternative. I looked at Shanghai, Seoul, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Nadi, Bora Bora....and then it hit me: Bali. There was a great Hyatt in Bali; Bali was only a 3 hour flight from Cairns, where we were planning to go anyway, and thanks to Elizabeth Gilbert, we all now know that it's the place you go to find love, ergo, the perfect paradise for a honeymoon.

So I head back to the American Airlines folks and yes, they can fly us to Bali on Cathay Pacific--we'll fly to NY, Hong Kong, and then Denpasar. Terrific. Now we just need to get home.

And, of course, there were no flights from Sydney.

So I go through this whole routine with the map again (not wanting to go back to Bali--why go to a repeat location when you can go somewhere new?) and the locations, while exotic (i.e Goa, Ho Chi Minh City, etc.), really were taking us further and further from the down under. And so then I tried a new trick: Where do the Australian discount airlines fly, as they would be our transport to his as yet undetermined location. So with a map of Australia, a discount airline location list, and a Hyatt hotel list side by side, I had yet another moment of inspiration: I'd been looking at hotels that lay westward. What if I looked eastward? There wasn't much, since Tahiti and Fiji don't have Hyatts, but then, just a little further east in the Pacific lay that small cluster of islands home to Barack Obama and Israel Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole...Hawaii! And yes, American had flights for us to take home!

And so, dear friends, we wound up with a honeymoon even more adventurous, more exotic, more Danielle and Eric at it's core than the one we originally intended! The plan at the moment is to fly to Bali, spend some time in Nusa Dua, then fly to Cairns where we'll dive our way through the Great Barrier Reef, head to the Outback (Ayers Rock/Uluru), then to Sydney, and then Hawaii and back to Boston. We are so excited! Following my philosophy that every problem can be solved with the help of a book, I have dutifully gone and purchased travel guides to all these locations, which I am so enjoying scouring for deals and details! I even went and took an online Australian sample citizenship test, and got four out of five right!

We are both so excited for our adventure, and we're so grateful to our friends and family who contributed to our registry and who donated miles so we could go exploring. We sure hope it'll be the honeymoon of a lifetime...too bad we're not taking it til next January!

Guess perfection really is elusive, huh?

Reality at Six Months

We got a notification yesterday that a package arrived. I thought it was our new kitchenaid, because that's the only thing we're expecting at the moment, but when I went downstairs, there was a vase of beautiful orchids from Eric to celebrate our six month anniversary! I'd never gotten orchids before, and they're so elegant! Only two blossoms had erupted, so we're waiting for the others to bloom, which will be really exciting.

To celebrate further, we had our friend Michelle over for dinner (of sushi fame--see earlier post) and had a meal catered by our good friend Trader Giotto (aka Trader Joe's!) We made whole wheat pasta with a marinara sauce, grilled eggplant and zucchini, and turkey meatballs. Fun and easy. Then we made yellow cupcakes with a chocolate fudge frosting from a cupcake cookbook my friend gave me as a birthday gift (with extras, because we're bringing dessert over to some friends this evening). The hot, decadent cupcakes and chocolate fudge frosting, so shiny and smooth, was a really fun way to finish up our dinner.

And then reality set in: I had papers to grade and a prospectus to work on. Eric has an exam on Tuesday. We settled in for the night and Eric, at least, studied while I read Kitchen Confidential and went to bed early, so I could wake up early, full of prospectus-writing energy.

So what's the verdict six months in? Well, we've proven that we know how to celebrate life and definitely how to find good desserts! We just wish there was more time for those things!

Tales from the Ole' Boston Homestead

Study time has struck again at the Hansen homestead. Little Joe and Hoss are settling down to prepare for the bar exam. Dr. Quinn is continuing her medical education. Laura's writing another book, and even Kwai Chang Caine is meditatin' up a storm. But no one's harder at work than Danielle, who's fixin' up a fine sermon and preparing for a whole mess o' grading next week, and Eric, who's got one actuarial exam coming up faster than a rattler after a field mouse and another, black hat-wearing exam on the horizon.

“Why all the Western nonsense?” you might be a'pondering. Well, you grab yourself a sarsaparilla and settle in, because Eric's about to tell you a tale of a trip to the Border.

Friday night was filled with Plan A's that didn't come about and and Plan B's that worked out just fine.

At various points in time, we had envisioned having some tiny houseguests (and their esteemed parents); going to Williams-Sonoma to buy some kitchen knives (which we thought might be useful after our kitchen-knife-skills class from last week) and then to get dinner; and ordering out for delivery. None of these happened due to Boston traffic (typical) and a sudden and acute winter storm that dropped a little snow and a little more ice on the roads. Not to be deterred from having an awesome evening, we got back on the horse, so to speak, except this horse tasted like lobster ravioli (thanks Costco), with a delicious white wine/julienned onion/butter/soy milk sauce, with just the right amount of tarragon. So, nothing like a horse at all, really. After that, we settled down to catch up on our Oscar movies, taking in Black Swan and as a blast from the Oscar past, Transamerica.

Getting up at the crack of dawn (D that is; E's more like the crack of 9:00), we valiantly started working hard on our various endeavors, until heading out to visit a pioneering family of a different sort. D's college friend Elizabeth had been nice enough to invite us over for brunch and to meet her husband (Skuli, a fine gentleman from ICELAND! That's right, the land of exotic meats, geothermal power, fireworks on New Year's Eve, Bjork and Sigur Ros, and the best yogurt-like product you'll find anywhere – Skyr, not to mention the place where we really realized the other one was pretty darn spiffy and then some) and their 10 month-old, Scandinavian-elf-resembling daughter, Elinor. After a meal that stuck to our ribs and a healthy bout of conversation, we headed back to the homestead to study and write some more.

Several hours later, we took a break to see if we could make it to Williams-Sonoma after all to get some knives. Off we went to the Burlington Mall. W-S proved to be a bit more than we could handle. The staff person wasn't quite as helpful as the one that D had talked with before, and we couldn't decide which knives to go with without trying them out on a cutting board. After examining many knives and browsing for a smattering of other toys – er, tools – that I'd meant to get (crème brulee dishes and torch, salt and pepper shakers, and more), we finally left the store laden down with an entire shopping bag filled with – wait for it – one (1) silicon cooking spoon.

On the way out, D thought she'd stop by a White House/Black Market store to check on a dress that caught her eye for an upcoming interview with an agent. Not letting our W-S empty-handedness get us down, she picked out a smashing selection of dresses to buy, take home and try on. But here's the best part. D has been in need of a garment bag for some time. But none of the bags she's looked at have fit the bill. Usually they're too long for her clergy garb. Well, WH/BM gave her a free garment bag made of surprisingly nice material along with the dresses, which pretty much made our night.
So, to summarize, we came for knives, we left with a garment bag. Pretty much a total success in my book.

Finally, we'll get to the Western bit. We were about to hit the old dusty trail and head home when we felt a hunger a'growlin' in our bellies. The Cheesecake Factory was nearby, but no frilly citified grub was going to satisfy our needs. The Macaroni Grill was across the street, which was closer, but not quite right. And then down the hill our “covered wagon” rolled, straight to a pink neon-marked oasis called the Border Cafe. This place looked like a twister had rolled right through Texas, into New Orleans, past the Bahamas and up the Atlantic coast (picking up a shipwreck on the way) and dumped the whole steaming mess in Boston. And it was awesome. Chips and salsa – fantastic. The chips were hot and tasted fresh with almost a popcorn flavor, and the salsa was almost definitely not from New York City (NEW YORK CITY?!?) The server brought plenty, seeing that we were a couple of hungry cowpokes. We ordered up a plate full of chicken and chorizo etouffee and some blackened catfish fajitas. A few take-home boxes later, we turned the cattle drive back east to settle in for the night, after a little harmonica playing and singing under the stars.

Ya'll come back now, y'hear?

First Married Valentine's Day!

Last night at 10:30, Eric and I found ourselves watching Iron Chef America, special ingredient: Mexian Chocolate, and I burst out with: "How about we make chocolate pasta for Valentine's Day?"

To which Eric said: "Cool. What would we serve that with?"

And I replied: "No idea."

Then this morning I woke up as I opened my eyes, my first thought of the day was, "Mole! I'll make chicken mole to go with our chocolate pasta!"

Now, here is some background on chicken mole: Mole is a traditional Mexican sauce made with cocoa powder, and it can be served with chicken or other forms of protein. Eric had a particularly notable run-in with the dish back in a St. Andrews Mexican restaurant, where, in his own words, "I ordered a dish, resplendent with exotic flair, but when the server returned, she set down the dish and said, 'Here's your chocolate chicken.' She needed to work on her presentation."

Well, we figured this was our chance to redeem Eric's crestfallen encounter with chicken mole, and we figured this was also a great opportunity to show off our increasingly adventurous cooking skills to our friend Alice, who was visiting from out of town.

So, this afternoon I went into Williams-Sonoma and picked up a pasta making attachment to go with the Kitchen-Aid we're borrowing from our neighbor J (and shoutout of thanks also go to J,Q,A&E for the giftcard!) Since mole is a notoriously complex sauce, I figured I'd just buy a jar of it in Williams-Sonoma, run to the grocery store to get some chicken, come home, make the pasta and be done with it. But then......

drum roll....

Williams-Sonoma was out of mole sauce!

I tried Whole Foods.

They were out too!

There was an empty spot on the wall!

I didn't know where else to turn, and then....

A guy who worked at the Whole Foods said, "Well, why don't you make it yourself?" to which I thought, "But it is notoriously complex, and I am going to make chocolate pasta...isn't that enough?" but, like the Iron Chef, I didn't want to admit weakness, so instead I said, "Of course! Great idea. But I have no recipe." (Great way to save face, huh?)

His reply: "I'll go print you out one."

So off he went to the front of the store and five minutes later, he returned with a blessedly simple recipe, which I of course modified as soon as I got home!

The short story is that chocolate pasta + chicken mole is AMAZING! In Alice's own words of praise, "I must facebook about this!"

Danielle, Eric, and Alice's Favorite Valentine's Day Chocolate Pasta with Chicken Mole

To make the pasta:

3.5 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 eggs
pinch of salt
8 tablespoons water at minimum (add more as needed--I needed about 14)

Combine flour, salt, and cocoa powder; mix until well-blended.

Make a well in the center and add the eggs. Gently knead together, adding water as needed, until the dough is firm and elastic, but not too wet.

Let sit for half an hour for the gluten to activate (or so the recipe I used requested)

The next steps are really hard without a pasta maker and really easy with one. If you have a pasta maker, add the dough in (we used the rigatoni setting) and make your pasta. If not, roll out the dough really thin and then slice 1/2 inch wide strips to make a fettucine (we did not do this, but it seems the easiest thing to do without a pasta maker). Lay out the pasta on a flat towel sprinkled with cornmeal and let dry for 2-3 hours. When you boil the pasta, it will only need to cook about 2 minutes.

Chicken Mole:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 15 oz can tomato sauce (the kind that's just pureed tomatoes, not a flavored Italian sauce)
1/3 cup of water
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin seeds (or powder)
2-3 tsp chili powder (or to taste)
.5 tsp cloves
1 tbsp cocoa powder
2.5 pounds chicken breasts, cut in half
cilantro for garnish
gouda for garnish

Combine olive oil, onion, and green pepper and cook for a couple of minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the tomato sauce, water, cinnamon, coriander, cumin seeds, chili powder, cloves, and cocoa powder and bring to a simmer. Add in chicken, cover, and cook for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove chicken and shred it (you could leave it, if you prefer, but we shredded it).

Place mole on top of chocolate pasta, garnish with cilantro and gouda to taste.

Enjoy with those you love!

Happy Valentine's Day from D&E!

Locked In...

As many of you know, last Friday I had my top two wisdom teeth removed. Eric was an amazing caretaker--he took the morning off of work to come to the oral surgeon with me, and he was right there when I woke up, patiently telling me that no, I couldn't go back to sleep because it was time to go home. He drove us home, picked up my medicines, propped me in bed with some pillows, a bag of frozen peas, and the remote control, and dutifully headed back to work (though he came home early). All weekend, he made sure I had everything I needed, whether it was an Italian ice or an antibiotic!

So this week, I decided to surprise him with a thank you treat to celebrate his birthday (which yes, was in April, so he's been accruing great interest on this gift). To make the gift a fun surprise, I wrote out a sentence saying what it was, and then made a puzzle clue for each word of the sentence. Then, I got a bunch of my friends and his to send the clues, in order, to him so that once he figured out one of the clues, another would appear via text or e-mail. Here's the puzzle I put together; if you can figure it out, you'll know what we did!

P.S. Locked In is a clue!

When Matt, Kat, and Erica
ride a coaster rolling,
They scream this sound,
a pronoun too,
and hear their eardrums ringing.

The eighteenth letter
is the key to solving this little rhyme
Make it a verb
and be sure to curb
a squeal—you solved it just in time!

Good times, good times
uh huh, uh huh
Is how this song repeats
But what two words come prior?
Add –ing but delete the e!

In days of blank
is how this phrase
of old proceeds to go.
The empty word, it rhymes with pour
a hint to help you know!

To celebrate this prime number
She did not forget.
What is the one that has no sum?
Oops, dividend, and….check!

Three sixty five but plural
is this word’s crucial key
But sometimes it is 3-6-6,
That’s every fourth, you see.

A preposition, two letters short
an early and a late
The first is A, but guess the second,
the one that is its mate!

The different sounds that this word makes
depend on what comes aft
Sometimes it’s ee and sometimes uh,
The vowel sound it hast.

Life and pursuing happiness,
America’s founding phrase,
But in its first great city,
The absent word is placed.

The square root of four;
Six divided by three,
First half of the word is the answer, you see.
Take the hour of noon,
Add six hours, or sev’n
And you’ll have the time that your birthday begins!

Ordination!

This past Saturday was my ordination to the priesthood! Unlike my ordination to be a deacon, this was an Anglo-Catholic ceremony, which means it was very formal and very reminiscent of what might have been seen in a pre-Vatican II Church (for those Roman Catholic readers among us). I'm enclosing some photos of the day with captions. Hope you enjoy!



At the beginning of the service, there is a set of long prayers chanted by someone called a litanist (he or she chants the litany, a long list of petitions to God for just about everything). The litanist is who you see front and center in this photo. Behind her, lying prostrate on the ground, are the two folks getting ordained--I'm on the right and Robert is on the left. We're in a position of radical humility at the moment. Ahead of us, kneeling, is the bishop who consecrated us--if she looks familiar, it's because she also performed our wedding in September!


Closeup of us lying prostrate.

In the actual moment of consecration, all the already-ordained priests gather around the new priest and lay hands on her, thus conveying the spiritual authority they have onto her. This is done for every priest back to the earliest church leaders, who it is believed were touched by Jesus.

Here I am on the right, co-consecrating with the bishop. That means that we're consecrating the bread and wine together, even though she was really doing all the work! In front of us are a thurifer (who swings incense) and to her right, a boat girl. The boat girl (or boy) is usually a very young child and is often the youngest participant in a liturgy. (When I was about five, I was a boat girl, and I loved it!)

The boat girl's job is to carry the a container full of incense (called a boat) that gets put into the thurible (pot heated with charcoal) that the thurifer burns. Right before this photo was taken, I went to put the incense from the boat into the thurible, and one of the MCs for the service said, "Wait, only a priest can do that!"

There was an awkward pause while I held the spoon with the raw incense midway between the boat and the thurible, and then he said, "Oh wait! You are a priest! I'm so sorry, Mother!"


My first communion as a priest! The man standing next to me is the priest who sponsored me through ordination and rector of the church where the service was held. I'm serving Jane and Eric, who are also both ordained Episcopal clergy.

The procession out--a veritable trinity of crosses lead by the thurifer and boat girl!

After getting ordained, it is customary for the new priest to offer blessings. Our bishop was the first one who asked to be blessed.

And after all the blessings were complete....cupcakes! I actually never got to have any (due to lots of conversation and what I thought was nerves but was actually a stomach bug) but I hear from our resident cupcake expert, three-year-old Emma, that they were amazing!

Portrait of the new priests!

Happy 30th!

So on the 9th day of Christmas, I turned 30, and with all the festivities of the previous month, it was pretty hard to find people to celebrate the big day. Luckily, Ryan and Ben were around for an impromptu evening of homemade pizza (with rosemary, tomato, onion, zucchini, basil, and fresh mozzarella) and cake courtesy of Ryan, who made an amazing chocolate cake with raspberry filling, marzipan, and chocolate ganache.

But since it was a pretty quiet event, we decided to have a second birthday gathering at Julie and Quinn's house, where the twins always make a party just a little more festive, with their joyful smiles and silly dances. Unfortunately, by the time we had a chance to make the cake, they were already asleep, but they were there in spirit--lending their own birthday candles to the big event!

To honor the new decade, Eric said he would make me a cake, but we needed some supplies. Here's Elle delivering the new frosting needle (it's like a needle that takes the place of a pastry bag--very cool!)


Here is Eric with the crew spearheading the cake effort (and yes, Elle is wearing Aidan's Christmas present--she liked it so much that she just insisted!)!

Eric frosting the two-tiered masterpiece with a Swiss buttercream recipe courtesy of Martha. Three words: Best. Buttercream. Ever. (Except maybe for Sylvia's, but that doesn't count!) We also learned all about buttercream in the process of choosing this recipe--did you know there are four kinds of buttercream? Swiss, Italian, French, and American!

Blowing out the candles--shhhh! The wishes are secret!

Restful Weekend

Well, to be honest, the weekend wasn't too restful because I had to turn in edits for my book on Sunday (the request came in on Friday, eek!), so much of the weekend was spent reading, but there was some time for fun!

Friday night, Eric and I went out to Ristorante Maria di Napoli, a small Italian restaurant in Newton that smelled like my grandma's apartment. It had a cozy interior and was run by an older Italian couple who were amazingly sweet people. I had pasta and Eric had eggplant parmigiana and for dessert, we split spumoni and a cannoli. The food was so traditional that it really felt and tasted like my grandma had cooked it all. Talk about perfect comfort food! It was also a great way to celebrate the official end of my exams--that afternoon, I had my oral, which is the culmination of the comprehensive exams you take before writing a dissertation. I sat in a little room with my two advisors, who asked challenging questions about my previous exams and my dissertation ideas. Then I stepped out of the room while they deliberated whether to pass me, which, thankfully, they did! I can honestly say that I haven't been nervous like that in a long time--I was so lightheaded I almost couldn't answer their first question--but hearing the exams were over and I could move onto the next stage of the degree was really exciting!

Saturday morning, I woke up early to do some edits and go to yoga with a neighbor. After a quick lunch at UFood (where they had egg nog frozen yogurt--yum!), Eric and I went to see the new film Tangled with our friend and her five year old daughter. The movie was great, but the best part was watching the little girl standing up and just staring at the screen, completely enthralled by what was happening. The light in her eyes and her rapt attention just made the film-viewing experience really special for us. Not to mention her sitting on her mom's lap was really cute!

We all went out for hot chocolate afterward, and when we came home, we felt like we'd just had a really great Saturday filled with friends of all ages and smiles!

Little Miss Communication

Well, it has been way too long since our last blog! We promise to provide updates on our 22 hour, one passport trip to Montreal and a Thanksgiving where both our families joined up, but for now, we wanted to tell you about our latest adventure: going to see The Ego and the Oracle.

Our friends Priscilla and James offered us their ticket to this iPod shuffle meets psychic reading event because they'd already gone and wanted to spread the glee. We had no idea what we were in for! In line with our Driving to anyplace in Boston is horrible but the anyplace itself is great motto, the 20 minute drive took an hour, we couldn't find parking, and we barely made the start of the show, which was in the back of a cozy pub.

Here's the premise: everyone turns in a card with a question and a fake name (mine was Brand New Bride). Then the band comes out and a Wheel of Fortune (the oracle) and a guy who moderates. He pulls questions out, the person who asked the question comes up, spins the wheel, and then the oracle reveals a song, which the band plays, and then the moderator interprets how the song answers the question.

So, they called up Brand New Bride (aka, me) and my question was: "I'm newly married. Will my husband I be happy." Then I spun the oracle and the song that came up was...Miss Communication! Ha ha ha! The song was about all the miscommunications in relationships. Super perfect! Eric got called up as well (and was given the name BNG--Brand New Groom). Oh, and did I mention the band was good? Because they were awesome--their songs were clever and fun and catchy.

Afterwards, we went to a little crepes place and I got a lemon and sugar crepe and Eric got one with Belgian chocolate. It felt thoroughly magical to get to have crepes at 9pm on a school night in an area of Boston we rarely explore. A truly perfect evening. Thanks Priscilla and James!

Healthy Peanut Butter Remake For Everyone But Meredith, Who Is Still Allergic To Nuts (Hi, Meri!)

When I was a little girl, I used to go to the house of Julie--mother of Elle and Aidan of A&E Wedding Consultants, Inc.--in Ohio. I remember one visit when we made these peanut butter treats, and though I haven't made them in ages--perhaps you will surmise why in about 2 seconds--I still have the recipe memorized. Observe:

Julie and Danielle's Completely Unhealthy Childhood Peanut Butter Delight:

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Karo light (in color, not calories) corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups Kellogg's cornflakes

Melt peanut butter, sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. Mix in cornflakes. Spread onto wax paper and cool in the refrigerator until your sugary snack becomes of peanut brittle-like consistency.

So fast forward 20 years to Watertown, where the local Boston Sports Club sells peanut butter balls to restore energy post-workout. They're little balls of peanut butter, vanilla whey protein, and honey and they are to die for yummy, not to mention a total bargain at 75 cents per ball (and one ball is all you need). So this afternoon, I had this idea: what if I tried to make a Boston Sports Club healthy version of the childhood snack Julie and I created (even though I'm pretty sure we didn't create it and that it came off of the back of a cornflakes box)? So I warmed up my inventive cooking skills, took out measuring cups (a truly rare display) so could write down the recipe and not drive Julie crazy with my "Uh, just a bit of that...I don't know how much...maybe a 1/4 teaspoon, maybe a cup or maybe it wasn't olive oil but rice wine vinegar" style of cooking, and when I was done, Eric took one bite and went, "Aw yeah, that is amazing!"

So here it is, folks:

Danielle's Revision of Julie and Danielle's Completely Unhealthy Childhood Peanut Butter Delight as Inspired by Boston Sports Club and Endorsed by Eric:

1 cup unsalted peanut butter
1 cup unsweetened whey protein powder
3/4 cup agave nectar (or to taste)
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups Kashi 7 Whole Grain Flakes, crushed

Combine peanut butter, protein powder, agave nectar and vanilla extract until stiff dough forms. Add whole grain flakes and mix until well-blended (this will be a challenge, as the dough is very stiff). Place on wax or parchment paper and roll out until 1/4 inch thick. Slice into squares (this is a very calorie dense food, so a little goes a long way), wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator, or just skip straight to the eating and enjoying part!

Our First 10K!

Every year, Eric's company sponsors a 10K run/walk, so we decided to do it together. Eric planned on running the whole thing, but since I didn't train at all (and have never run vast distances), I figured I'd walk. Initially, Eric said he'd walk with me, but I know he loves to run, so I encouraged him to do the course on his own and wait for me at the end.

Yesterday was a beautiful morning for the event. The run didn't start until noon, so we studied a bit before heading over to Boston Common, where the race commenced. It was a bit insane, to be honest--approximately 10,000 people (mostly women, since it was an event to sponsor women's health) were filing through one staircase onto Beacon Street. When the race finally did begin, it took us about 5 minutes just to get to the starting line! Then it turned out that, though we thought we were with the walkers, we were still with the runners. Eric ran on ahead, and since I didn't want to get trampled, I thought, "Okay, well, I can surely run a little while until this breaks up."

It wound up not breaking up until halfway through the race, and I felt hugely empowered that I could keep up with the group!

Anyway, the course was beautiful--we ran across the Longfellow Bridge and then down Memorial Drive in Cambridge. We came back over another bridge and ran down Commonwealth Avenue back to Boston Common. You could see runners going on both sides of Memorial Drive, and at one point, I saw the winner zooming in the other direction and me and all the slower runners cheered her and the other faster folk along. I also saw Eric running on the other side at one point, and we both got excited when we got to wave to each other!

Eric finished about 20 minutes before I did, and he waited at the finish line for me. He was cheering me on when I got there, and it made me feel like I had the best husband in the world for believing in me and my absolutely abysmal running skills!

We both felt so proud of ourselves at the end! Eric completed the race in 52 minutes, with an average mile of 9 minutes 25 seconds, which was faster than his goal of 10 minutes! I finished with about 12 minute miles, which isn't too bad, considering that I walked about 2 miles of the course. Eric said he'd help me and maybe next year we'll run the whole thing together!

Anyway, we felt really, really proud of ourselves and proud that we supported each other for the race. We celebrated with a Cheesecake Factory trip that was kind of hilarious in its healthiness! On one side of us, a group of men got three plates of fried chicken and the fourth guy got salmon topped with French fries and onion rings! On our other side were two women who ordered avocado fried spring rolls, an avocado sandwich, and enchiladas. In between them was Eric--who ordered a salad with cranberries and feta cheese--and me--I got a salad with no dressing that had beans, corn, chicken, and pico de gallo. Then for dinner, we made ourselves fresh pasta with yummy fresh vegetables, chicken, and a balsamic glaze. We felt it was a healthy ending to our healthy day!

Danielle and Eric Originals!

Eric and I both love to cook and love a steaming, homemade meal. We also like to experiment in the kitchen, so we thought we'd include some of our favorite impromptu, composed by us recipes! Hope you enjoy!

Danielle's Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai with Marinated Tofu for veryone but Meredith, who is allergic to nuts

Ingredients:

For Marinated Tofu:
2 containers extra firm tofu
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp olive oil or sesame oil

For Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai:
1/3 cup peanut butter
3.5-4 tbsp water
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp brown sugar
1 clove minced garlic
1.5 tbsp fresh ginger
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 very large spaghetti squash
1 red pepper, chopped lengthwise
2 cups snap peas
green onions (to garnish)
cilantro (to garnish)
extra lime juice to spritz on top (as needed)

1. Drain tofu from and press between two plates lined with paper towels. Leave for half an hour.

2. Slice the tofu into 1/2 thick pieces. Toss with soy sauce and olive oil. Marinate for 30 minutes.

3. While marinating, preheat over to 350 degrees. You can also begin the spaghetti squash at this point. Feel free to prepare the spaghetti squash however you are used to doing it. I puncture holes in mine with a knife throughout the surface and then microwave it for about 12 minutes. When you do this, it softens the rind so it's easier to cut, and it also reduces cooking time. When it's done in the microwave, I cut it in half, wrap each piece in seran wrap, and microwave it for another 6 minutes. Make sure to handle the squash with oven mitts; it gets pretty hot!

4. While marinating, you can also make the sauce for the pad thai. To do this, combine the first seven ingredients in the pad thai recipe, and that's it!

5. When done marinating, place tofu on a lined and greased (I use Pam) baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip. Bake for another 10-20 minutes, depending on your oven. The tofu should be brown at the edges when it's done.

6. Scrape out the seeds from the squash (which you can use to make roasted squash seeds--see Eric's recipe below) and scoop out the spaghetti squash into a bowl.

7. Heat oil in a wok (if possible--if not, a large frying pan will do) and add onion. Saute until brown.

8. Add in spaghetti squash. Saute for about a minute.

9. Add in sauce and toss.

10. Add in snap peas; saute another 2-3 minutes.

11. Add in red peppers and tofu (I really don't like mushy peppers, so I don't cook this very long, only about 2 minutes until the pepper is warm but still crunchy, but you might want to leave it longer).

12. Remove from heat. Service with generous helpings of green onion and cilantro. Add in extra lime juice as needed!

Serves 6.

Eric's Roasted Spaghetti Squash Seeds

Ingredients:
Seeds of one spaghetti squash
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
Pam or vegetable oil or olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Separate seeds from remaining squash. Works best if you try to remove the squash from the seeds, not the seeds from the squash.

3. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Coat with Pam or oil.

4. Spread seeds on sheet. Sprinkle with salt.

5. Put seeds in preheated oven. Should take about 20-25 minutes. Check on them every ten.

6. Enjoy!


Danielle's Inventive Pasta

Ingredients:

whole wheat penne or rotini (as much as seems appropriate for 2 people)
2 cortland or macintosh apples
2 chicken breasts, cut into cubes
3 cups of freshly chopped kale
(here's where I start really estimating):
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tbsp smart balance/butter/butter equivalent (I used smart balance light)
1 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup white wine (I used a pinot grigio; a riesling probably would be fine too)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil water for pasta; add pasta when necessary.

2. Mix oil and butter (or butter equivalent) and heat on medium-high.

3. When butter is melted, toss in cubed chicken, salt, and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes.

4. Add apples, sage, and thyme and cover for about 5 minutes.

5. At this point, the chicken should be basically cooked; if it's not, wait a few minutes while the cover is still on for it to finish cooking through.

6. When the chicken is finished cooking, add the kale and mustard and cover again under the kale is slightly wilted (not overly wilted!)

7. Remove cover and add white wine. When alcohol has burned out of the wine (and presumably the pasta has been finished by this point), the meal is done! Mix pasta with everything else and enjoy.

Serves two, if you're hungry, three if you're not!

Eric's Indian Extravaganza!

Ingredients:
1 cup brown or basmati rice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 potato chopped into 1 inch cubes
1 onion, chopped
8 plum tomatoes, diced
3 bayleaves
1 cup chopped carrots
2 small breasts chicken (or one large), cut into 1 inch cubes
1 small eggplant (or half a large), sliced and quartered
1 tsp cumin (add to taste--D likes less; E likes more)
1 tsp curry powder (add to taste; see above)
2 tsp ground coriander (add to taste; see above)
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp fresh minced ginger
1 red pepper, chopped lengthwise
*Omit or add additional vegetables as the mood strikes!

1. Prepare rice as your rice container indicates.

2. Heat oil in a wok (or a large skillet) on medium heat.

3. Saute onions and tomatoes with bayleaves.

4. Meanwhile, microwave the potato until it's done or almost done (about 8 minutes). Don't forget to pierce holes to keep it from exploding!

5. Add chicken, carrots, eggplant, garlic, and spices (except ginger) and cover for about 8-10 minutes.

6. Add pepper, potato, and ginger. Heat for about two minutes.

7. Remove and serve with rice.

8. Add additional spices to taste.

Serves two, with leftovers.

Forgot something...

Forgot to mention that dinner was courtesy of Delaine, Rick, Michelle, Larry, and Sandy. Thanks for your gift! We had a wonderful dinner and thought of you on our one monthiversary!

Reflections on the One Monthiversary

Yesterday, it felt so strange to imagine that only 30 days ago we were with all our friends and family in New York. As the hours passed, we could recall where we were and what we were doing, how special every moment was. Around 12:30, I thought, "Leonora started my doing my hair around now," and around 8pm, we danced in our apartment, this time a relaxed Latin dance Eric taught me called the bachata. There was no applause, no friends to jump around with afterward, but we remembered them in that moment, and it made us smile.

It's surprising to us that even though we were only married a month ago, it feels like we've gone right back to normal life, a kind of normal life that we've been living forever. Eric goes to work; I study. We're definitely trying to figure out how to balance all the demands and constraints of married life and work with fun and social time and vacation. I think we'll get there.

We celebrated last night with a trip to Not Your Average Joe's, a restaurant here in Watertown that has some pretty creative cuisine. We split two appetizers (fresh veggie spring rolls and Korean BBQ chicken tacos) and one entree (chicken in a teriyaki orange glaze with sweet potato canneloni). Then we came back home, studied, and watched this awesome show called The Choir. If you haven't seen it, you must. It's a documentary about a British choir director who goes to a lower class British town and starts a town choir (actually three choirs really--one of adults, one of kids, and one just for men) to boost morale. It's a wonderful true story and definitely worth watching (it's on On Demand, for those of you with that feature).

Finally, at dinner, we sat down and told our waitress we were celebrating our anniversary.

"How many years?" she asked.

"One month!" I replied with enthusiasm, and Eric laughed.

We agreed after that to celebrate our marriage at every milestone possible, and to try to do as well in month two as we did in month one!

Danielle & Eric in Muppet form

Tonight we learned that you can make your own Muppet at FAO Schwartz. Not wanting to spend $100 per custom Muppet, we decided to design our own and take a picture of the computer screen instead!

So here are our doppelgangers: Muppet Eric and Danielle (respectively)

We made it to New Orleans!

At approximately 3:30 yesterday afternoon, we rolled into our hotel, the W. When we touched down at the airport, we had no faith that our luggage would be there, but amazingly, it was in the lost luggage room, staring at us through the glass.

Unfortunately, the office itself was closed, but once we got someone to open it, all our troubles melted away and off we went! The folks at our hotel were so gracious--they welcomed us with huge smiles and listened to our woes and even refunded the night we weren't there and gave us $125 worth of credits for dinner and drinks! Oh, and did I mention that there are doors that open automatically when you come in, and then a set of curtains that part automatically as you enter the lobby proper? Super chic. Also, Eric noticed that on the floor of the elevator is a mat saying, "Good morning," "Good afternoon" or "Good evening" depending on the time of day.

New Orleans made Las Vegas look like a Buddhist monastery last night because there was an Ole Miss vs. LSU game, but we still managed to procure some beignets and a frozen cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde (thanks to everyone who recommended that), wander around the French Quarter and Jackson Square, peek into some voodoo shops, reprise our first dance in the middle of Bourbon Street because we could hear people singing it inside a karaoke bar, and check out the cathedral on Jackson Square (there's a free concert tonight, so I think we're going to go back--hey, Matt, Kat, and Erica: Eric wanted to know what all the flags hanging from the cathedral were about and I said, "You know, I don't know, but I'd bet they're all the flags that have hung over the state of Louisiana, like at the Alamo and 6 Flags," and I was totally right! Yeah San Antonio 2010!).

Then we got dressed up and went to dinner at Galatoire's where I had poisson meuniere amandine (really good, but Julie, ours was better) and Eric had a red fish sauteed with mushrooms and crabmeat that was really amazing! We shared turtle soup as an appetizer that, well, was really made with turtle but tasted like beef, and the whole thing kind of disturbed me (especially when the waitress described them grinding the turtle) but it did taste really good. (Thanks to Delaine, Rick, Michelle, Sandy, and Larry, btw, for our dinner!)

I cannot describe how welcome and at home we felt when we arrived at the W. It's like we were finally able to take a deep breath and relax. So, to commemorate the occasion, we penned yet another set of lyrics to a first dance reject. Here is the song, accompanied by, of course, a link:

Broken Tarmac

We set out on a honeymoon many hours ago
Hoping we would find smooth travels from Boston to NOLA
Our bags got lost a time or two; stuck in DC, we did push through
We couldn’t see how every delay pointed straight to you.

And every long lost plane
Led us to where you are
Airlines that broke our hearts,
They were like southern stars
Pointing us on our way,
Into your loving arms
This much we know is true:
That God blessed the broken road that led us to the W.

We think about the day we spent
Just passing through
We’d like to have the day we lost and spend it here with you
But you just smile and take our bags
Give us a bed to sleep off jetlag
So we can spend our honeymoon, happily here with you!

And every long lost plane
Led us to where you are
Airlines that broke our hearts,
They were like southern stars
Pointing us on our way,
Into your loving arms
This much we know is true:
That God blessed the broken road that led us to the W.

We’re now finally walking in
Into our hotel room,
This much we know is true:
That God blessed the broken road that led us to the W!

In Need of a blue Robin Williams' voiced Genie!

Dear friends:

We are back at Dulles this morning having spent in a nice hotel that was hard to appreciate because, well, we wanted to be in the Big Easy! Plus, they were out of king beds and so they gave us two doubles--how ironic for a mini-moon!

Anyway, here's the latest composition from our trip, lyrics composed to one of the first dance rejects. Click on this link to the song, so you can follow along:

Eric:
I can show you the airport,
Shoddy, shabby, and sad
Tell me princess, now when did you last see our dear old bags?
I can open your eyes,
Take you airport to airport,
Don’t you wish we had gone instead on a magic carpet ride?
A whole new airport!
A very tragic point of view:
Everyone tells us no!
Not where we want to go:
“New Orleans? You must be dreaming!”

Danielle:
A whole new airport!
Another place I never knew!
And when I’m way down here, it’s crystal clear,
I don’t want to be here, though I’m with you!

Eric:
Now I’m a whole new airport with you!
Danielle:
Unbelievable service,
Often not in the good way,
They sent us on trains, and pods, and to a shuttle to a hotel!
A whole new airport!

Eric:
Don’t you dare close your eyes!

Danielle:
100,000 delays to be had!
Eric:
Hold your breath, it gets better!

Danielle:
Wish I had a shooting star to take me far
away from the airport where I used to be
Every delay a surprise,

Eric:
with few horizons to pursue

Danielle:
(‘Least the hotel was red letter)

Eric & Danielle:
I’ll chase our connection anywhere, no time to spare,
let me share this new airport with you.
Eric:
A whole new airport

Danielle:
(A whole new airport)
Eric:
That’s where we’ll be
Danielle:
(Yup, where we’ll be!)

Eric:
A crazy chase

Danielle:
A tiring place

Danielle and Eric:
For you and me!

Mini-Moon Woes

And now, friends, the world premiere version of our mini-moon woes, composed to the First Dance hit: 500 Miles. (Here's the Youtube link if you want to follow along!)

"1531 Miles" (from Boston to New Orleans)
By Danielle and Eric

When I wake up,
Well I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be going to the Big Easy with you!
And when I board the plane,
Well I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be boarding the tiny seats with you!
And when they delay the flight,
Well I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be exchanging doubtful looks with you!
And when they cancel the flight,
Well I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be calling customer services with you!
But I would walk 500 miles,
And I would walk 500 more
Just to be the spouse who walks a 1000 miles to build another person’s door!
When they seize our bags,
Well I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be saying goodbye to them with you!
And when they say,
when they say they will return
I’m gonna exchange another doubtful look with you!
When they put us
[when they put us]
On another later flight
I’m gonna be the one excited with you!
And when the fli----ight
Is delayed another hour
I’m gonna nearly avoid a meltdown next to you!
But I would walk 500 miles,
And I would walk 500 more
Just to be the spouse who walks a 1000 miles to build another person’s door!
US Air sucks
(US Air sucks)
US Air sucks
(US Air sucks)
But United is gonna help to save the day
US Air sucks
(US Air sucks)
US Air sucks
(US Air sucks)
But United may not take off anyway
When I’m hungry,
Well I know I’m gonna get
I’m gonna get a closed restaurant to cook for you!
And when our new flight
When our new flight is further delayed
I’m gonna laugh until my belly hurts with you!
When United
Offers to check our lost luggage
The tragic turns to co---mic with you.
And when dessert calls,
Well I know I will be sweet
I’m gonna charm them for some free fro-yo for you!
I’m gonna charm them for some free fro-yooooooooo [slow down music]….for you!
BUM BUM BUM BA DA DA DA BUM BUM….
But I would walk 500 miles,
And I would walk 500 more
Just to be the spouse who walks a 1000 miles to build another person’s door!
US Air sucks
(US Air sucks)
US Air sucks
(US Air sucks)
But United is gonna help to save the day
US Air sucks
(US Air sucks)
US Air sucks
(American too!)
But United may not take off anyway.
NOLA Mini-
(Moon, New Orleans)
NOLA Mini-
(Moon, New Orleans)
We’d get there if walk the whole way
NOLA Mini-
(Moon, New Orleans)
NOLA Mini-
(Moon, New Orleans)
It just may take an extra few days.
But I would walk 765.5 miles,
And I would walk 765.5 more
Just to be the spouse who had to walk 1531 miles because airline quality was no more!