The Month In Review, Part 1

Do you ever have the feeling that you're drowning? Not actually drowning in water, but the sensation of drowning because life is throwing everything she's got at you and you can't keep up. I had thought that once the Spring semester was over, things would calm down and I would be able to take a deep breath and relax a bit. I'm still waiting for that to happen, and I feel like I'm trying to tread water in a fast and treacherous current. To help explain what has been going on, this will be the first of at least two posts about life, the universe, and everything. And no, the answer is not 42 (bonus points if you get the reference).

I went to spend some time with family after the passing of another great lady in my family (see my last post). It was a time spent talking and eating good food, and once again I was inspired by the healing that can be accomplished with family and a wonderful meal. It really is amazing how food can bring a family together. A meal becomes a time to share laughter, love, pain, sorrow, and joy. In its own way, family meal time can become a therapy session (although the success of such really depends on the family--a family divided may not find meal time to be very pleasant or healing). The first night I was at The Ranch, we went to an Italian restaurant in a nearby town. As proud Italians ourselves (on my mom's side of the family), we know good Italian food. This was good Italian food. The restaurant has this outside seating area that's a wooden structure with wooden tables and benches, and potted plants on the ground, the tables, along the walls, and hanging from overhead. In the evening, it's a truly lovely place to eat a meal as the sun dips behind the trees and darkness starts to fall. You can hear the breeze and the birds as you sip your wine and reminisce about old times. Which is exactly what we did.

And because the menu looked so good and it was so hard for us to pick, we chose several different things to taste--and boy did my taste buds have fun! Here's a look at what I got to try:

The roasted beets had such a wonderful and delicate flavor.

This is cuttlefish. Before this dish, I had never had cuttlefish, and I actually had to look it up to figure out what it was. What it was was tasty!

These are anchovies--not salty like the ones found in a can, but fresh and cooked with tomato, potato, and other fresh ingredients. It was surprisingly good!

Gnocchi and rabbit, an excellent pairing if I do say so myself.

Now this may not cater to everyone's tastes, but I found this tripe to be very tender and tasty.

This tiramisu was the only disappointment. My mom makes the best tiramisu that I've ever had, and I've never been able to find a restaurant that makes tiramisu that's as good or better than hers, not even at this one. However, I did like the presentation--having it served in a jar is a cute idea.

We lingered over our food and even though we got there long before the dinner rush, the sun was starting to dip behind the trees before we finished and left. It was calming to the body, mind, and soul to eat this wonderful meal in a charming setting and talk about Zia, the "good old days," the food, and anything else that came to mind.

The next night, we ate a wonderful home-cooked meal. My mom made baccala with olive oil, Italian herbs, and garlic, and polenta to go with it. Our cousin made chicken livers, and while I had only ever had liver in pate form, I did tentatively try them--and they were excellent. Our homemade dinner was just as good as the one we had at the restaurant, and once again our table was filled with not only incredible food but love and stories of the family told by Zio, our resident old-timer (who also wrote two books about his father, my great-grandfather).

It was good to be around family, and I returned home with a much lighter heart.