The Almost Finished Kitchen

May 10, 2014 – The Almost Finished Kitchen

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been three weeks since we demolished the old kitchen.  Our new kitchen isn’t completed yet, but we’re making steady progress.  During the past few days, we made several trips to Home Depot, of course, where Elliott had fun sawing strips of quarter round.  We don’t have countertops yet (nor a working stove or sink) but I’ve started unpacking boxes and filling the cabinets.  My cookbooks are settling nicely into their new home.  We’re both delighted with the new look.  Most importantly, our stress level has dropped and Elliott and I are talking to each other like normal human beings again.  

The kitchen at the end of week 3

 The granite won’t be installed until next Friday, so we’ll continue using our temporary kitchen for at least another week.  It hasn’t felt like a hardship for me, but Elliott is getting a little tired of his limited meal options.  Since I knew he was feeling deprived, I took him out for some “real food” last Friday evening.  At Artie’s in Fairfax, Elliott ordered a Caesar salad and a 24 oz. prime rib with a loaded baked potato, followed by crème brulee for dessert.  You can see how pleased he was: 

This is how you feed a growing boy!

We shared the creme brulee.

Fortunately, Elliott’s leftovers will last for a couple of days because I came home on Saturday with the leftovers from the second session of my Indian fish cooking class.  This time, the theme was favorite foods from Mumbai.  Since Mumbai has a very diverse population (Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Parsees, Chinese and Japanese immigrants, etc.), you can find a wide range of cuisines there.  Under the direction of our wonderfully talented and entertaining chef/instructor, Devaki Das, we prepared three dishes: fish filets marinated in a coconut chutney and cooked in banana leaves (a Parsee wedding dish), spicy fried prawns, and a buttery pulao (basmati rice) with prawns and peas.  To obtain the richly complex flavors, we used the Magic Bullet to grind the spices for the masalas (spice mixtures) and marinades.  Grinding an array of whole spices (coriander seeds, fenugreek, ajwain seeds, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom seeds) for each dish brought out richly complex flavors that I’ve never been able to produce at home.   

Devaki Das using the Magic Bullet to create the coconut chutney

I was anticipating this Mother's Day this year with a bit of anxiety.  When I visited my mother earlier in the week, I brought her a framed photo from her wedding day (May 7, 1947).  She looked at the picture with a puzzled expression.  She couldn’t remember when it was taken.  It’s heartbreaking to see how much of her essence has slipped away.  Her smile is there, but there’s a vacant look in her eyes and I know I’m losing her.  

With Katie in front of my Mother's Day tree (a gift last year)

Today started well, however.  While I ate my oatmeal, Grieg’s piano music on the radio lifted my spirits.  Then a walk in the woods – looking up through the leafy canopy, smelling the green, swinging my arms, crunching gravel under my feet, and exchanging greetings with a mourning dove perched on a wooden fence – brought a feeling of calm.  A sweet card and a phone call from Elisa, and a message from Debbie reminded me how lucky I am.   

Elisa at the Met's Gala for the Costume Institute last Monday

The day continued to improve with a Mother’s Day lunch at Passion Fin.  Being together with Katie, Elliott and our wonderful boys (Matt and Marshall) made this occasion very special for me.  From the pan-Asian menu, we selected lettuce wraps, seaweed salad, miso soup, deluxe rainbow rolls, sesame chicken, Thai basil chicken, and teriyaki salmon.  We concluded our feast with three flavors of mochi, the Japanese rice cakes filled with ice cream (strawberry, red bean, and green tea).  

Deluxe Rainbow Roll at Passion Fin