Since 2012, during the Summer months, a very special neighbor who has become family provides us with an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables several times a week. I incorporate them into our meals, snacks, and desserts. I also prep a good portion to freeze. We also share a lot of what I make with him and his wife to extend our gratitude.
A couple of days ago, he gave us a large basket of tomatoes. This was the first time we had received so many tomatoes at once.
I'm not going to lie. I was a little overwhelmed. Our kids do not eat tomatoes. We use them in salads, salsa, for snacking, sandwiches, and pasta salad. But, even with that, we had too many.
Over dinner last night, Lisa asked what I was going to do with all of the tomatoes.
"I have no idea..."
Without hesitation, Lisa shed a bit of light.
"Why don't you make a big batch of your homemade spaghetti sauce to simmer in the crockpot. We can freeze the leftover pureed tomatoes."
Holy! Holy! Holy!
One of our kitchen cupboards is almost always stocked with cans of high-quality tomatoes to use for my homemade spaghetti sauce.
I've never had enough freshly picked tomatoes to do this.
"Okay. I'll do that."
"Good. Because you make the best."
While Lisa was at work this morning, I washed and cut the tomatoes. Ran them through our food processor. Put enough in the crockpot for a big batch of homemade spaghetti sauce. Filled up a few quart bags of pureed tomatoes to freeze.
By early afternoon, our home smelled amazing!
When Lisa arrived home from work, we tackled some Fall cleaning. Then, during the late afternoon hours, Lisa decided to conquer the yard work and mowing.
While she was doing that, I put the final touches on my homemade spaghetti sauce. Cooked pasta. Prepped a couple of freshly picked eggplant to fry.
By the time Lisa was finished and took the kids outside for playtime and fed them dinner, our meal was almost prepared.
The. Best. Eggplant. Parmesan. Ever.
I'm not tooting my own horn or putting myself on a pedestal.
When I serve a meal that is this seasonally fresh...
From the garden.
Lisa and I ate with gusto.
After a few bites, Lisa shook her head and exhaled...
"I know this meal took a long time for you to make. It is incredible. Better than any restaurant."
I just smiled. Blushed a little bit.
"Thank you."
I embrace moments like this. Not for the compliments. But, for inspiration.
This past year has gone by so fast.
Originally, it was supposed to be "my year" on the career end of things.
But, that didn't exactly happen.
However, as I have taken steps back and observed from the outside looking in, I realized that I needed to learn quite a bit. See things for what they are. Be inspired outside of the "work" realm of things.
I needed that time between what happened last year and the years prior and what's going to happen next year.
The biggest lesson I learned is that it's not about it being "my year." It is about it being our year. Lisa. Myself. Our family. Dealing with the unexpected. The long hours. Our tribe getting smaller and smaller.
But, more importantly...
Excelling in Our Bodacious Dog Mom Life.
It is about all of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment