Last week, my lost week of the bashed up face, I really didn’t cook too much. On Monday, my face was too sore – I had cereal and ice cream for all my meals. I’d been planning for awhile to make Jane and Michael Stern’s broccoli casserole, that I got out of the Splendid Table‘s How to Eat Supper cookbook. I bought the broccoli several co-op runs ago. I finally made it Wednesday night, left it in the oven while I opened an online meeting for students; it always takes longer to cook than the recipe says, and is best overcooked, and I used the kind of squishy baguette from Mariano’s that I’d brought back from Chicago after Alison’s recital – squishy white bread and overcooked – yum. Mark didn’t find it appealing when he got back from Chicago, but Megan and I ate more than half of the dish.
On Thursday, we went to Chicago for the Avett Brothers. When were getting into the car to drive to Harvard for the train, the New York Times news message that Prince had been found dead popped up on my phone. We got into the city in time to pick up pressed sandwiches at Cafecito, take them back to the apartment, and change and eat. Not so sure about the Avett Brothers – it was a good concert, no opening act and they started at 8:20 and just played for like two hours. They did Mama Tried for Merle, and I leaned over and said to Mark, “Bet they won’t do any Prince, though” – but they did – the first few lines of When Doves Cry. Must be all they knew. I liked them in Another Day Another Time, too, and I have the album in my iTunes. So not sure why I’m a little iffy about them now. Besides Mama Tried, they even did a song the whole Dead didn’t perform, only Jerry, Little Sadie. Maybe it’s the Tom Petty thing – I like them a song or two at a time, mixed in with other music (like hearing a Tom Petty song on the car radio) – but not an entire concert.
On Friday, we slept in a little, then went out for a big breakfast at the big Nookies Edgewater – it’s got a full bar.
On Friday night we went to see Mr. Burns, a new play at Forward Theater. It’s a post apocalyptic vision where different players are re-enacting a Simpsons episode. It reminded both me and Mark of a book we read, Station 11, that’s also set post apocalypse. There’s also a troupe of traveling players – but they’re performing Shakespeare. Station Eleven is from a few issues of a comic book that was hand drawn pre-apocalypse, and kind of turns into a relic, like the Simpsons in Mr. Burns. I liked it up to the third act – kind of like Avett Bros. I think in this case though they just went a little too far. the third act was 75 years into the future, and Mr. Burns kind of turned into the Minotaur, and things just got a little too strange.
On Saturday we went to the Farmer’s Market and I got a nice spring-y bunch of flowers.
We had a second night Passover sedar, and this is the only picture I took – the empty table.
I made (purchased items have *):
Roasted garlic hummus that I put out with Matzoh crackers* and cucumber* slices (from the market) that nobody ate
Date charoset – with Passover grape juice* instead of wine – and a surprising amount of it got eaten, too, much more than when I’ve made it with Passover wine. Note to self …
Fresh horseradish* that really packed a punch, and everyone loved – it’s so good when it’s a fresh jar. It was Silver Spring horseradish from right here in WI
Matzoh ball soup
Spinach kugel, made with kale
Roasted Salmon
Almond cake, served with strawberry sauce and blackberries and whipped cream
Chocolate chip meringues
Carol brought a nice big salad and Deena brought a not-kosher-for-Passover noodle kugel that everyone loved, especially Mark. Our neighbors, Nathan and Grace and their three little kids came; along with Nathan’s dad Murray who’s been staying with us while he visits form New Zealand, and they brought a big gorgeous vase of red and white tulips that is gracing Rach’s room now, and being protected from the cats.
