My Little Prince

I'm free from classes and studies for the summer!

I've no idea if I will return to UA in the fall, but it's been an interesting experience.

My Latin Final was yesterday; this week is for decompressing.
Let the recovery begin!
And my little prince is happy to show me how to do just that.

Lay Healers

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/nov12.html

"A popular homeopathic lay healer within her community … , Elizabeth Cady Stanton doctored family, friends, and neighbors armed with a homeopathic domestic medical kit … Stanton was proud of her self-reliance, successfully managing her own parturitions, and of nursing her children through malaria, whooping cough, mumps, and broken limbs. After the 1852 birth of her daughter, Stanton wrote to her friend … 'Dear me, how much cruel bondage of mind and suffering of body poor woman will escape when she takes the liberty of being her own physician of both body and soul!' Stanton denounced both the Protestant and 'medical ministries' for their manipulation of women, arguing that the 'genteel' and 'civilized' woman was made ill and unnecessarily dependent upon their authority." 

The above is an excerpt from the engaging book A Vital Force: Women in American Homeopathy by Anne Taylor Kirschmann. I have been reading this book while working on my assignments in this semester's English class, which focus upon rhetoric, controversy, and, as my topic of choice, homeopathy.

Scrumptious!

Best birthday dinner EVER! 

Everyone in my family knows that one of the best gifts they can give me is a yummy meal, and Ron took me out to dinner yesterday for a belated birthday bonanza of food. I had heard about the restaurant called Feast from a man who works at Whole Foods, so it was my first choice. Sure enough…I was in heavenly bliss for the entire meal. My photos aren't the greatest, but you get the idea… :-)

For appetizer, we chose the:
Eggplant Napoleon~ Crisp eggplant chips layered with herbed goat cheese. Served with chunky roasted tomato beurre blanc.

For my dinner, I chose:
Roasted Beet Cake ~ savory cake of roasted beets, caramelized onions and garlic, served over sautéed spinach with braised fennel, red wine syrup and goat cheese lumpia.

Ron chose:
Pan-Roasted Chicken Breast with dukkah marshmallow, sautéed haricots verts and tahini chicken reduction.

We shared an order of:
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with fresh corn, sautéed kale and poblano chili cream sauce.

Our desserts were (shared, though Ron let the Birthday Girl have nearly all the exquisite, melt-in-your-mouth Exploradora):
Lemon-Date Verrine~ Lemon-tequila curd and date cream, layered in a glass with toasted almonds. 
and
Exploradora~ Girl Scout Cookie Shortbread Crust with cayenne caramel custard, salted chocolate ganache and smoked paprika. Candied hazelnut garnish.

I salivate recalling every scrumptious bite! Plus, as an added bonus, the atmosphere was quite, relaxing, and the chef came around greeting customers about the time our dessert was served. Even Ron (who prefers very basic meals without much spice or sauce) said it was an excellent meal!

Overall, a fabulous, decadent experience, and the quality of the food has moved Feast to the very top of my favorite meals list.

Childhood Friends

My favorite thing about Facebook (which I keep threatening to delete! LOL) is the ability to find friends from long ago. This weekend, I found a childhood friend--she had been my BFF throughout grade school--who I lost touch with when my parents moved us out of state halfway through seventh grade. Her name popped into my head, I searched, and…there she was! Imagine my delight! We've now emailed, even talked on the phone, and the next time I drive up to see my mom I will stop and see said friend (she's blessedly right on the way). I wouldn't have recognized her, of course, if I'd bumped right into her because this is how I remember her:

Do you have long-lost friends you'd love to find?