What a good day today has been. I heard rumbling thunder as I drifted off to sleep. The streets around the Ancestral Digs were wet when I woke up. Over at the Farmer's Market, at half past noon, the sun burned through the overcast. Another week's worth of vine-ripe tomatoes, some lovely yellow pear tomatoes for tonight's dinner salad, and some more yellow freestone peaches.
We have family in town this weekend. The daughter of my cousin and her boyfriend are visiting from Cincinnati. They've been touring California for a week or so, and they're off to the City tomorrow to visit more cousins and some of their college friends. Family is always fun, it's always great to hear famous family legends as told by another generation of the clan.
I made a nice dinner. When I asked Jessica if they had any special dietary needs, she replied "We're vegetarians, but we eat fish"
Cool...any excuse to grill Wild King Salmon is fine by me!
At the grocery's produce department, I found some really nice asparagus tips, and the most beautiful Eggplant. My menu was set. BBQ Salmon with habanero/pineapple butter, steamed asparagus, and Grilled Eggplant Parmigiana. We were expecting the Siskiyou County Wing of the family, but they couldn't make the long drive this time around, so I used their homegrown garlic in the Eggplant.
Now, I'm the most Fearless Cook I know. I'll cook anything for the first time...even with company coming over...and yes, that includes family! Tonight was my first ever Parmigiana, so I called the GrillMaster, SturgeUrge for a quick how-to. Not a recipe, mind you...just pointers. I made the eggplant around noon, and put more cheese on top before re-heating it for dinner...think: "lasagna's always better the second day" I got away with the time crunching...that was good Parmigiana! Grilling the thinly sliced eggplant is the trick.
After dinner, everyone settled in for some stupor. Jessica's boyfriend wanted to watch the USC vs Ohio State game, and I clicked back and forth to the Giants vs Dodgers during lulls in the action. We both backed losers tonight. We looked at some ancient family videos, and a brand new DVD of Jessica's latest Modern Dance Show, before I began to wonder if the Coma was contagious.
I made the time to watch this morning's Formula One Qualifying from Monza, too. It was a good day anyway you slice it.
A quick scan of the Blogosphere revealed that the 9/12 March On Washington was larger than anyone could have imagined. Estimates run from 300K (DC Police) to over 1 Million (Great Britain's Daily Mail) Tons of Handmade signs and placards...Astroturf you can believe in!
The renewed Spirit of September 12th America warmed my heart back up...like the eggplant. I felt so refreshed, that I didn't even look at the NWS Discussion, Forecast, or any weather at all.
Sure they missed by several miles yet again, but hey...I'm starting my weekend and don't want to harsh my own mellow.
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