Musings in Mud Season
I usually
include enticingly beautiful photos of the Maine Coast in my blog entries. But just to prevent readers from getting too
serious a case of “Maine envy”, this photo shows what it really is like to live
in Northern New England in March, a.k.a. Mud Season! I live on this dirt road with a few other
hardy home owners. Those without
four-wheel-drive better stay home this time of year! The pot holes are pools and the
ruts are canals! The road will look like
this for about a month! The timing of
this spring phenomenon is such that it serves to depress Mainers, who’ve just
about had it with winter, have seen a few glimmers of spring-like weather, only to
be stuck in the mud for a few more weeks.
Those nice walks in the woods?
Forget about it, the trails are extremely wet and muddy!
The subtitle
for the blog entry might be: “Making and Taking Sides”!
In the “slice of life” segment of my blog, I’ll be talking about what happens with those couple friends whom you saw socially with your loved one, once your partner is gone. Even if you are not widowed, and don't plan to be, maybe you know a widow, so I hope you read this piece. That is the “Taking Sides” piece. And the “Making Sides” is the foodie piece, with recipes for my favorite side dishes.
Taking
Sides
Everyone who
has been in a long-term relationship will know what I mean when I say “Couple
friends”. These are the folks you meet
out for dinner or drinks, have over for a BBQ and you almost always do things
as a foursome. These friends are brought
into your social circle by one or the other mate, a childhood friend and their
spouse, a co-worker and spouse, that kind of thing. You bond with these couple friends over time
and share life’s ups and downs. So, what
happens to your couple friends when you are no longer part of a couple? It has
been interesting to see how our “couple” relationships changed after Bruce passed
away. The answer seems to be “depends”… The two sides are: “will continue friendship”
or “will fade away”.
As a widow,
I have to accept that I’ll be a third wheel sometimes, in social situations. It
is so important to get over feeling that you are being invited out of sympathy,
and to realize that your friends love you too. I am so fortunate that two of our longtime
couple friends have steadfastly kept in touch with me and we still share
dinners, lunches, drinks and boat rides regularly. We usually mention Bruce and share fond
memories as part of the conversation. Then there are the couples that we used to see
socially, who faded away after the funeral, never to be heard from again. I get it. These particular friends were friends of Bruce
well before I met him, in high school and when he was in his twenties. So, they
are his age and have serious health issues too.
I think the onus is on me to reach out to these couples, as I may find
that by now there is another widow in the making. It is
perfectly fine to acknowledge that you don’t feel like pursuing a certain
friendship if it just doesn’t fit anymore.
But it surely makes me treasure the friends I have even more! If you know someone who used to be in a
twosome, and is now alone, please do invite them to join you for a meal or
event. They might be reluctant to be the
“third wheel” but I’m betting they will be so happy once they accept your
invitation!
Making
Sides
Having a
nice repertoire of side dishes to choose from is a fantastic way of adding
variety to your meals. The same old main
dish can be revitalized when you pair it with a different side dish! I am sharing two side dishes that are very
quick and easy to make. One is based on a canned vegetable and the other uses
fresh produce. Enjoy!
Seen here, the simple ingredients:
To quote
from the old Monty Python show, “And now for something completely different!”
The kidney bean is a legume native to Mexico and Central America. They are a great source of protein, carbs and fiber. The carbs in the kidney bean are the “slow release” kind, and therefore an OK choice for Type II diabetics. You'll find cans of white kidney beans labeled after the Italian word for white kidney beans: "Cannellini".
This is very easy to make, ready in about 35 minutes and this makes a great side dish for roast chicken pieces or pork chops.
2
tablespoons virgin olive oil
2 small or 2
medium onion, chopped
2 carrots,
chopped
2 celery
stalks, chopped
1 clove of
garlic, chopped
1 can of
cannellini beans (white kidney beans)
1 cup
chicken broth
Ground
pepper and salt to taste
1 tablespoon butter
In a
saucepan, saute’ onions, carrots, celery and garlic until tender (5-10
minutes).
Drain the
can of beans and add to the vegetables, then add chicken broth. Add seasoning and stir. Simmer, uncovered for 20-25 minutes, until
the broth is reduced to the consistency of gravy.
Add butter,
stir until melted and serve! Here's the finished dish..
Chicago
Steak House Creamed Spinach
Seen here: Creamed spinach with lamb chops
The
traditional Chicago Steak House style restaurants offer side dishes separately. One of the best of these side dishes, is
creamed spinach. It is so easy to make
and this homemade version tastes so much better than the supermarket frozen
version, that you’ll never go back! This
side dish is of course, perfect with your favorite steak and also good with
some seafood. I also serve this with
scallops, either pan fried in butter or wrapped in bacon, to make a meal!
To serve
one:
½ package of
fresh spinach (about 4 oz.)
1 cup
chopped mushrooms
2
tablespoons of olive oil or butter
1/3 cup
light cream
2-3
tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
2-3
tablespoons of shredded cheddar
Salt and pepper to taste. I prefer Aleppo pepper.
Heat olive
oil or butter in large skillet which as a lid.
Add
mushrooms and saute’ until just tender.
Add spinach
and place lid on the pan. (At first, the spinach will look like a large pile,
spilling out of the pan, but will quickly reduce in volume).
Cook with
lid on for 4-5 minutes. Remove lid, add cream and heat again, add two cheeses
and season to taste. Serve hot on the
side!
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