Eat, Drink, and Be Merry!

2 Years, 5 Weeks.



Take a bite.  Close your eyes.  Taste it.  Savor it.

What is it about eating food that gives us so much pleasure?  I mean, food is food right?

Wrong.

If food was just food, then why do we have the desire to eat different things?  Why would we want to change up our meals?  What would be the point in having spices?  In having different supermarkets?  Why would we want to combine multiple ingredients or combine flavors?  Why wouldn't we just stick with one style of cooking?  Why would we need recipes?  Why would be want to go and eat out at restaurants?  Why would it matter at all?

The sweetness of luscious strawberries on cheesecake.  The crunch of crispy romaine drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette.  The bite of jalapeños on a crispy fish taco.  The burn of wasabi on butter like sashimi.  The tenderness of a perfectly cooked filet mignon. The briny flavor of sea salt caramel gelato.  The puckering tartness of a ridiculously good key lime pie.

Food comes in all shapes, sizes, and flavors.  Some simple, some intricately complex. But, made well, it brings the daily chore of eating to a whole different level.  And why should we deny ourselves the pleasure of enjoying the very things we choose to eat? God wouldn't have given us such sophistication in our sense of taste if it wasn't meant to be used.  If not for just the experience of trying new things.

I guess you can call me a "Foodie."

This past weekend we were treated to some wonderful culinary and gastronomic delights.

We were joined by my parents for the weekend again, at our request.  We had made plans for a date night on Saturday evening and needed some help watching the children; they were also going to be gone for another month long road trip soon after so it was another reason to see the grandkids one more time.  Anyway, they arrived just before six and we immediately set off to have dinner with the Ocoee Food Truck Pod, hooking up with the Cochrans along with Will's parents.  Just like last month, the forecast called for scattered thunderstorms, and the dark clouds were looming in the distance.  A solitary flash followed by slow rumbling.  We kept looking up at the sky, the imminent storm temporarily removing the pleasure of tasting some of the unique foods we were having: Vietnamese chicken on noodles.  Hawaiian hotdog smothered in pineapple.  Marinated and grilled chicken hearts on skewers.  William ordered the hit of the night:  Grilled brussel sprouts drizzled with a concoction of honey, soy sauce, and lime juice, among other things.  It was amazing.

The children playing while waiting for their food to arrive.

Enjoying our dinner at the tables...

while the sky becomes dark with rain clouds.

I had to get the recipe for the "Vanderbilt" brussels!

My parents had a good time as well, as they had never experienced the food trucks and had always read about us doing it and wanting to give it a try.  Lolo kept going back and forth looking at all the menu options of the different trucks, trying out a spicy Hawaiian hotdog and then waiting in line for 30 minutes for a shawarma gyro.  Lala enjoyed herself watching the children play and chase each other.  It started spitting on us and we thought for a second that there would be a downpour like last time, but then the winds shifted and the sky brightened up as we headed home, allowing for us to enjoy some peaches I had purchased at the farmer's market just before we left, under the lights of the pergola.

Lala enjoys the picnic blanket and festivities.

Watching the girls make funny faces.

Giving the three a ride on the hammock swing!

Sabbath morning brought us to church, although we didn't make it there as early as we had the previous couple of Sabbaths.  We managed to arrive midway through the sermon and snuck into the nursing mothers' room, where we tried to keep the children occupied while trying to make some semblance of the message.  The funniest part though was when they were doing the benediction, we were trying to tell the children to be quiet because it was time to pray.  Maddy, without any hesitation, folded her hands and closed her eyes, and loudly started to pray:  "Dear Jesus, thank you for our food.  Amen!"  I glanced over at my mother and Tangie, who were both trying very hard to keep their chuckles suppressed.  It took all my strength not to burst out laughing!  A lunch of salmon and pasta were waiting for us when we got home, followed quickly by naps.

Who is this masked marvel with the sun shaped wand?

Maddy shows off her shoulders in this stunning backless piece.

I think they all want careers as Sea World trainers!

Walking with each other after church.

Kohl thought something was real funny.

A personal pony ride!

Date night was the agenda for the evening.  Tangie's firm is a big contributor to the United Way charity organization, and Saturday night was their big annual fundraiser, the Chefs' Gala at Walt Disney World.  The actual event venue was at the World Showcase at EPCOT, and we arrived there dressed to the nines, luxury buses waiting to whisk us to a special hidden entrance to the rear of the park.  It was funny, walking into the park in your suit and cocktail dress, what with all the people in the park just staring at you, wondering who you were and why you all were dressed up, being escorted and led down the red carpet.  I overheard a lady comment, "Look at all the Money walking in..."  and I thought to myself  Really?  Weren't you the one that paid upwards of ninety bucks just for admission to the park?  It was a lot of fun though, walking down the red carpet and being greeted by all the event personnel.  It was like being rich and famous, without being rich or famous!

Over 20 gourmet chefs and their teams from renowned restaurants in Orlando, showcased their culinary masterpieces for us to enjoy.  Citricos from the Grand Floridian.  Napa from the Peabody.  The Chef's Table at the Edgewater.  Bull & Bear from Waldorf Astoria.  Todd English's Bluezoo.  And many, many more.  It was a blur of exquisite presentations and extraordinary tastes.  Teppan-seared Pacific Swordfish with Salad of Jumbo Spring Asparagus.  Heirloom Tomato Risotto with Currant Confit and Basil Foam.  Lamb Loin with Whole-Grain Couscous.  Seasoned Yellowfin Tuna with Tobiko Caviar.  Blue Velvet cupcakes from Sweet by Holly.  It kept coming and coming.  There were so many different dishes, and even more different ways of preparing them!  It was amazing to watch the chefs in action, observing their creations from start to finish.  It was also a great opportunity to try things we normally wouldn't order at a restaurant, let alone eat at one of these higher end establishments.  Even Tangie was a bit adventurous, I was so proud of her.  We ate to our hearts' content, and then, 3 hours later, after we were stuffed silly we could barely walk, we went to Citywalk at Universal Studios to watch, ironically, The Hunger Games movie.  We made it back home just a little after 3 AM, wondering when the last time we had ever stayed out so late was.

Inside the event venue, beautiful!

In line for some amazing sushi.  The flower vase had live goldfish swimming in it!

A rare photo op together.  Doesn't my date look dazzling?

My favorite dish:  Braised short ribs with lots of other stuff.

2 hours into the event and we're still eating!

Sweet by Holly's cupcake table.

The chefs get their picture together with Chef Mickey.

Lolo and Lala were gone early the next morning.  They were planning to attend a going away brunch for their pastor in Avon Park.  Early the week previous I had made plans to meet some dads with the kids for blueberry picking around  10, so I had to get up and get the team ready and fed, as the place was in Eustis, about 40 minutes away.  Tangie was going to stay behind and pack the children's clothes for our upcoming camping trip to Jekyll Island, as well as her stuff for her overnight trips to Tampa and Cleveland for some training this week.  We met up with William and his parents, and caravanned out to Sand Hill Farm.  We had gone there last year and had a great time, picking some huge blueberries the size of quarters.  But this year the twins are now able to walk around and pick their own, and that's what I was looking forward to.  We were joined there by Karis and his two boys, and then later on Doug Hilliard and his 3 kids (funny thing, he has a Maddie and a Cole, and our kids were getting confused when we were both calling out their names!)  Everything went great for the first 15 minutes or so, until Maddy started freaking out because of the love bugs flying around and getting in her pail or landing on her arm, which would cause hysterical screaming.  So I brought them back to the van and put on some Veggie Tales as I continued to pick berries, they always being in my line of sight.  Pretty soon, the other dads started wondering where their children were and sure enough, I had all 9 kids in our minivan watching the movie!  It was a pretty funny sight, although it did make it easier to pick blueberries.  What did they ever do back then without DVD players?!?  But then again, didn't we make this special trip out just for them??  Oh well.

Maddy shows me a blueberry she's picked...

as Kohlden keeps stuffing them in his mouth!

Brae was trying to find the largest blueberry in the patch.

Apparently this was way more interesting than picking blueberries!

Our loot, with 2 different varieties.

William, Karis, and I took the kids to Subway for lunch and then headed back for naps that afternoon.  Tangie was at a baby shower for Heather Cochran, held at Kelli Johnson's home in Altamonte Springs.  She had a good time and arrived back home just a little after the kids had all gotten up from their naps.  We had a Skype session with Papa and Nana in Denver and caught up with them, before having leftovers for dinner and then it was time for baths and bedtime routine.

The girls watch Heather open up her gifts.  They are having another boy.

Tangie was gone for the majority of this week, which left me the life as a single parent again.  So the twins and I brought Braelyn to school early each morning, and then picked her up in the afternoons.  Wednesday was her class's field trip to Sea World and since Tangie was out of town, I had to take all three munchkins with me, for the very first time by myself!  It wasn't too bad though, there were plenty of parents and friends, including teachers, who were willing to help.  And the twins did great too, interacting with Braelyn's friends and participating in a class where they learned about the different marine animals and their unique body parts.

The Pre-K class, along with the twins, learn about penguin feathers.

Trying to flirt with an older boy who showed no interest.  Thank God.

Spending some time on the dizzying kiddie rides!

Last stop of the day was the splash area to cool off.

Speaking of body parts, I have realized that it has now come to the age where I need to be a little bit more discreet when showering or changing in front of my five year old.  A little embarrassing revelation, actually, came to me unexpectedly, when I was reading to her Tuesday evening for bed, and she wanted to show me her project booklet from school.  So I started flipping through it and she was showing me the different things the teachers would ask them to draw and what she would end up drawing.  So on the very first page, her assignment was to draw things that make her happy, and she ended up drawing a picture of our family in stick figures.  I, of course, was the tallest one.  But then I noticed I also had an extra addition to my stick body, a protruding member, it being, as she pointed out, my "front bottom."  Great, just great.  Now her teachers know what my nether regions look like.  How perplexing!  I'm never leaving the house again!  Thankfully, it was only one drawing.  I made sure of this as I frantically combed each page!

This is my favorite one.  I mean, just look at Kohlden's face!

Dish this week:

Slow cooked salmon with bow tie pasta in tomato cream.

Quotes:

• We were driving back from blueberry picking on Sunday, and I was complimenting Braelyn on how well she helped with picking the berries:

          Me:  "You did a great job picking blueberries today Braelyn."

          Brae:  "I know that."

          Me:  "You must have picked at least $10 worth of blueberries!"

          Brae:  "Why?"

          Me:  "Because you picked a lot!  Your pail was almost full!"

          Brae:  [Extends her hand to me, palm up]  "Where's my ten dollars?"

          Wait a second.  Did I just set myself up?

• We picked Braelyn up from school Monday morning and she met us at the door with a sad face:

          Me:  "What's the matter Brae?"

          Brae:  [Shows me her left hand, a bandaid on the palm]  "I got a boo-boo."

          Me:  "Oh no.  What happened?"

          Brae:  "My blister popped on the monkey bars."

          Me:  "Oh, that's okay.  It will heal before you know it."

          Brae:  [A smile on her face]  "Yeah.  But I can still turn the TV on!"

          Oh good.  All is not lost!

• Same topic, different conversation:

          Brae:  "Daddy, I have another boo-boo."  [Points to her leg]

          Me:  "Wow, Braelyn.  Your whole body hurts!"

          Brae:  "But I don't feel like I'm dying!"

          Oh thank God.

• And still later that evening, as we were to eat supper:

          Me:  "Maddy, can you say prayer?"

          Maddy:  "Dear Jesus, thank you for our food.  Amen!"

          Me:  "Amen!  Kohlden's turn!"

          Kohl:  "Dear Jesus, thank you for our food.  Amen!"

          Me:  "Amen!  Braelyn's turn!"

          Brae:  "Dear Jesus, if you get a boo-boo, go and tell an adult.  Amen!"

           Okay, this is getting a bit much!

Team Isidro ready to head on out!

Have a great weekend!