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A better day with the balance. I’m getting better. When I’m sick, it feels like I’ll never get better and I go through bouts of terrible thoughts that I’ll have to live with whatever is going on forever and I’ll never be able to enjoy life again. Dramatic, I know. But being laid out like this has made me also reflect on people who are sick who truly have no prospects of getting well. And that’s led to my feeling gratitude, for every day, every precious moment I have with my children, for every breath I can take with ease. I know these episodes of Meniere’s will return, but at least I know they will also eventually pass.

I drove today, and tonight Billy and I will go on a walk - my first walk in about a week. I sat in our garden today and had tea. It was beautiful! I enjoyed that hour so much, just sitting, talking with Billy outside, enjoying my tea and cookies, of course, and just being outdoors. So wonderful. There are buds in our yard.

Around 6:00 I got on dinner. I had pork chops but no recipe. I looked for some online, then just decided to chuck the recipe idea. I can do this! Smeared the chops with Dijon, dipped in flour, egg, and panko w/ oregano, and fried in a little olive oil and butter. We were all kind of swooning over the delicious smell. I made some garlic green beans and Billy mashed the garlic potatoes. YUM.

Lady Gaga, you got me at “.....our flag was still there.” And down came the tears.

What stood out was the dignity of those present and the relief, that our country is moving on from such a terrible phase. The poet laureate, Amanda Gorman, whom I had never heard read before, was a symbol of rising up and moving on, of power and of youth.

Celebrations mean cake! Also, Inauguration Day calls for a special dinner. Special to me is “Spag Bol”, as the Brits call it. Spaghetti Bolognese may be one of my favorite pasta meals. If I see it on a menu at a restaurant, I have to order it. Years ago, I scribbled out my British friend Sarah’s recipe, and today I dug it up and it’s now simmering on the stove. Smells divine. 

Amazon Chocolate Cake just came out of the oven. Later on tonight, we’ll have that with our champagne. Anger, divisiveness, meanness - good riddance. You are not welcome at this table. President Joe Biden, VP Kamala Harris, I’m happy for the normalcy and the respect you will bring to your offices, and for the tone that you’ve already set to help bring us back from the brink and back on to steady ground.

Good food, starting with chopped chicken liver, an old family favorite. (Butter, onions, liver, s&p, red wine sauteed then pureed.) Spread on a warm bagel for lunch, with a cup of hot tea.

Spag Bol:

Amazon Chocolate Cake, from Cafe Beaujolais Cookbook:

Let’s celebrate a new chapter.

What do you do when you have a small container of leftover coconut milk? You consult the cookbooks! Thinking I’d find another recipe for a curry. I grabbed a vegetarian cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey, which I bought at a used bookstore a while ago, but have never actually used. Until this morning. I stopped looking at the curries and turned to the desserts and found Leche Flan, a recipe from the Philippines. I am such a huge fan of flan, but I’ve never made it. Or, maybe I tried it once a long time ago but it was a flop. 

The recipe I found has three ingredients: coconut milk, three eggs, and sugar. It called for one cup, but I couldn’t bring myself to using that much. That would have meant a fourth of a cup per person. I used 2/3 (still a lot) but any less, and it wouldn’t have been flan. I also did a quick internet search to compare Jaffrey’s recipe to others. Hers is so much simpler than what I saw online. Other recipes used sweetened, condensed milk, and many more eggs (10??).

I finished lots of emails and planning this morning then looked at the clock. I had 50 minutes which would give me exactly enough time to get four ramekins of flan in and out of the oven before my class began. I threw myself into my project, ignoring Billy as he made his lunch, and gave my full attention to the recipe. I was melting sugar and I didn’t want to mess this up. It could go wrong so quickly. I stirred and stirred until the sugar became a golden liquid, then I quickly divided it among four ramekins before it hardened. It hardens fast. I whisked the eggs and sugar, poured that through a sieve, then poured it over the golden sugar. It occurred to me as I was frantically racing against the clock that I may be the only teacher in Montgomery County trying to get flan in the oven, mid-day. But hey. That’s why I’m part-time. So I can own at least one half of my day. 

Unmolding the flan was a breeze. Still warm, a knife helps loosen the edges, then it’s inverted onto a plate. It slipped right out. It’s the water bath that melts the sugar again and forms a smooth custard. Basically, it’s steam that cooks it. 

How I loved every bite. Not one to make dessert for the family mid-week, or when there’s no company, this flan was kind of an unusual treat. Ah how I wish I could have shared this discovery with my mom. Her favorite dessert was creme brulee, and this is very similar. She would have swooned.   

Here are the ramekins, in an oblong glass dish, about to go in the oven, with boiling water poured around them: