In the oven, a casserole of smoked chicken and prosciutto with penne pasta in a cream sauce of Fontina, Asiago, Romano and fresh Parmesan (with a little crushed red pepper), baked until it's gets all bubbly, crisp and brown around the edges, to be served on a bed of roasted asparagus, enough to share, as a friend may pop in later.
Then, later tonight, a long soak with my new Dirty Annie's Soaps. These particular soaps have been through a bit. The order from last month did not arrive. Then I got a personal phone call from Tracy, the creator of Dirty Annie's out in the Oklahoma City area,. Although she and her boys were fine after the tornado, my package was returned to her a week or two later, battered to smithereens, at one time soaking wet and mostly dried out, but returned, the little return address about all that was legible. Apparently it had a run in with some severe weather.
So she boxed me up a new order which arrived yesterday, with a couple surprise goodies thrown in as a thanks for my patience. I can hardly wait for my long bath. Pictured - Bubbly which smells like champagne and has avocado and mango butter in it and B.W.I. - Bathing While Intoxicated which smells like beer - who doesn't like beer? I also have a Lilac one with Loofah bits to exfoliate, honey almond, coconut, and Italian Ginger Lime (yummm).
click photo to enlarge
With that, a sip of a bottle of 16 year old Glenlivet Nadurra, which I've not tried before but is reputed to be non chill filtered to give it more body and a distinctly creamy texture and mouth feel. That will be savored with a square of TCHO Peruvian dark chocolate (with a slight fruity undertone) and a book to curl up with before sleep, a great read by author Mathew Paust, If the Woodsman is Late, on growing up in an America where gun ownership was part of a society's framework, and respected.
Hard work isn't termed "hard" for it's solidity but it does have its rewards. And I appreciate it greatly, because for every night like this, there were five in a hotel cooking raman noodles in the coffee maker or savoring the "local" cuisine (I think it moved!)
Life is good, even the parts where you get a bit beat up. Savor it all.
Cheers!
Brigid and Barkley
