Wednesday, April 16, 2008

It Always Comes Back to Food


Proof of my ninja skills at restraint. I did NOT eat the whole thing! In one sitting that is. I figure I'll have the rest for breakfast. Hey, it has dairy (mascarpone CHEESE), it has grain (well, cake is made from flour which comes from WHEAT), it has vegetable (duh, cocoa BEANS are used to make chocolate).

After making a big pan of tiramisu for the bridal shower, I had to use the leftovers to create these cute little individual desserts. "Waste not, want not." And I really WANTED these :-)

Also made chicken salad and southern sweet tea with mint. Tomorrow I'll whip up a double batch of lemon bars and some Ghirardelli brownies. Gotta have balance with the dessert options.

On the savory side we'll be serving chicken salad on croissants, fresh tomato salsa bruschetta and vegetable "pizza" (crescent dough topped with spinach dip and pretty raw vegetables).

Besides the southern sweet tea we'll offer iced mocha and what we call "fruity goodness" -- a combination of orange juice and grapefruit soda. Obviously pretending we're in the south instead of the not-quite-thawed-out north. But hey, we southern gals are quite adept at making up our own reality. Bless our hearts.

Although it's supposed to cool off on Saturday (just in time for the shower) we are currently enjoying primo weather. Today was windy but also warm and wonderful. Took a nice walk with hubby through the neighborhood. Guess because we're getting ready to move, the walk made us reminisce about our time in Michigan.

We've really enjoyed living in a small town (technically we're so small we're not even a town, but a village). Being on a first-name basis with many of the shop owners and a lot of the other residents. Able to walk to the library or the hardware store. Having neighbors who plow you out in the winter or look after your pets when you go on vacation.

So we wonder, what will it be like living in a big city? Carlos Paz has over 60,000 people crammed into a small area at the foot of a long valley, sort of squashed between the mountains and the lake. Houses piled practically on top of each other, climbing up the mountains, small homes with virtually no yard space. Homes with bars on the windows and triple locks on the doors. Many have fences and locked gates. Although it's a relatively safe area, no one takes any chances.

There will definitely be some adjustment necessary. Except when it comes to food. And it ALWAYS comes back to food, doesn't it :-) Plenty of good Argentine beef (best in the world!), amazing fresh bread from the bakery every day...and because so many Argentines can trace their ancestry back to Italy, there's lots of fresh pasta -- and desserts like tiramisu!

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