Another New Beginning

You may have seen my update on Facebook or Twitter:

It’s not Christmas but Arthur gave me something sparkly.

After Thanksgiving dinner, while the rest of the family lounged over dessert, Arthur suggested we move to the living room. He gave me a beautiful engagement ring, which made me lose my breath and giggle like a little girl. I ran to the dining room and flashed the ring. The adults refused to believe it until Arthur proposed loud enough for them to hear. We all hugged, some of us got emotional. We all floated away from the table happy and excited. I later learned, Arthur had Lesli approve the ring before presenting it to me.

The next morning it started to hit me. I AM GETTING MARRIED! I have to plan a wedding. Correction, we have to plan a wedding. I have to juggle my work schedule while finishing this semester, then Spring 2012, at least, before becoming Arthur’s wife (or as Latinos say, la señora de Arturo). Add in Arthur’s work schedule and we have a lot to coordinate while planning for the joyous event.

There are so many things to be planned, purchased, paid for, positioned. Every time I turn around it seems another item is added to the list.

So far we have decided a few things:

• Ceremony location – the place where we met.
• Colors – ocean and sand (shush, it’s better than blush and bashful in Steel Magnolias).
• Theme – tropical, beach, relaxed.
• Wedding date – early summer, after school ends for me and the children we want in the procession.

Invitations and printed items are still to be decided. Call me a digital bride, I fail to understand the need for tissue over the invitation. I also wonder about response cards. So many people call, text or email with questions. Enclosing these extras with the invitation seems a bit unnecessary unless the menu has choices like beef, chicken or fish. Which leads me to:

The reception menu is still to be decided. So far we know we want to share our favorite foods. We both enjoy sushi, barbecue, pasta, rice, seafood, pastries, cakes, you name it. This also leads to another sticky point:

We will not serve liquor during our reception, except perhaps for the toast.

As I mentioned above, so many things I never considered are now becoming important. What seems most important right this minute is to practice the following phrase, maybe use it two times a day during the planning and decision time:

I need to check with Arthur on that.

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Yum! McDonald’s free drink

You may not be a “free hound”, maybe that’s just me searching for deals. I can admit without hesitation that if something is no charge, gratis, zero dollars, I always want to try.

I have had the strawberry lemonade, even paid for it, and there is no bad time to have one. On a hot day .. it cools me down. On a cold day, it reminds me of warm tropical weather.

Today only, McDonald’s restaurants of the New York /New Jersey /Connecticut tri-state area issued a coupon for a free drink on Twitter. Print it here, and enjoy! I think it will go nicely with a Southwest salad.

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Almost Caprese Salad – Three Ways! Sabroso Saturday

In case you couldn’t tell from the general tone of my food posts, I really like mozzarella cheese. I mean, I really, really like mozzarella cheese. Fresh mozzarella is soft, almost spongy, mild. Smoked mozzarella is firm, dense and rich. Melted mozzarella is springy, tender and chewy in the best way. I could go on but by now the cheese people are drooling!

Earlier this week (Tuesday?) I was at our local market and spotted the display of mozzarella. I looked around quickly for lettuce, tomatoes and a short line. Yes, express checkout! I called Lesli, gave her the goods and went off to run errands. When I got back she had made one salad for herself using fresh tomatoes, and one for me using sun dried tomatoes. My sun dried tomatoes came from a jar, with olive oil. Before I took my first bite, there was a drizzle of fancy oil – a hostess gift from Chela, when she came to visit us in New Jersey a few months ago.

Caprese Three Ways

Wednesday, I went out for prosciutto. Lesli got inspired and made salads again. This time she used prosciutto in mine, and still kept hers the same.

If you want precise measurements, you’re about to be disappointed. You should know by now, in our house whatever looks good ends up on the plate. Recipes are suggestions.

So here’s what Lesli did for her salad – which was almost a traditional Caprese salad. For truly traditional Caprese salad, check out what Pioneer Woman did – it’s an amazingly beautiful salad, with ingredients that are easy to find.

Lesli used

Romaine lettuce (chopped)
Fresh juicy tomatoes (sliced and chopped into half-inch cubes)
Mozzarella cheese (sliced and chopped into quarter-inch cubes)

Rinse and dry lettuce. Top with tomato and mozzarella. Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, red pepper flakes – or if you’re lucky, red-pepper-infused oil.

What else can a girl want? Friends to share it. Or maybe a second plate. I have to properly thank Lesli for making that second salad the next night, with prosciutto! The salty tang and texture of prosciutto make it another favorite of mine. But that’s a story for some other time. Maybe next week?

This post is part of the Sabroso Saturday blog hop originated by MsLatina. Check in at her site for links to recipes from other bloggers across the country, and from all corners of the internet. There’s no telling what everyone will cook!

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