Hit by Spring

It's my day off, and I'm currently sitting at my desk smelling the flowers on the tree outside. Funny, that tree didn't smell on Monday. Must be that when spring makes up its mind to come, it hits all at once, and I daresay this is what has happened to me the last couple of days. Yesterday, Boston saw record highs - it reached 92, and we could feel it - so much so that I couldn't stand the thought of getting on a crowded Green Line trolley when I got out of work.

I wandered down the trail in the Fens, toward the Fenway stop not too far away, thinking I might just be ready to get on the train once I got there. But no, I still wasn't ready. So I kept going, down Beacon Street, the Comm Ave, passing stop after stop until I was almost to Copley Square. Thinking it would be silly to arrive at my friend Joel's building just as he was getting out of work and not make an appearance, I stole him away for dinner and one of the best salads I've had in a while (the Harrington at Parish Cafe - I added steak). After a Ben and Jerry's cone, we walked to the station in gathering rain clouds, and I was thankful for my adventure.

But the insistence of spring and the rapidity at which it hit us leeched over into my personal life, and as I walked home from the station I met up with Myque, who I've been excited to spend the summer with before he leaves for school in the fall. He found out yesterday that his job can't keep him through May, so his departure will be moved up two months. Even though I should have known better, I've gotten close to him and was very disappointed. So this spring will be a rebirth, sure, but also bring with it another lesson in packing a lot of life into a short amount of time.

I think with my walk home yesterday I did that, so it will be a challenge to continue the trend.

Cooking a la Estrop

My early attempts at cooking were, in a word, atrocious. It is only natural to assume they were probably on par with everyone else’s early attempts, but I think I had my struggles later in life because my mother was such an avid cook. We ate a square meal every night after everyone got home, so I never really had the opportunity to cook for myself. In fact, I found it a treat to “cook” an afternoon snack of Kraft Mac and Cheese at my friend Jenna’s house every now and again (there was no way mom would ever let me make that at home). It wasn’t until the summer between my sophomore and junior year of college that I started to cook for myself, since I ate at the cafeteria during the school year.

Tom remembers, without much zeal, I’m sure, an early meal I made for him – grilled chicken breasts that were flavorless and charred, rubbery steamed broccoli, and crunchy, microwaved potatoes. At home, I was experimenting – half-heartedly – with pasta, olive oil, and garlic powder. I ate it because it was there, but I really didn’t get into cooking anything more complicated until I moved in with Tom and we started following recipes.

Ah, recipes! Why hadn’t I really followed them earlier? They made food taste good! Soon we were amassing recipes from America’s Test Kitchen, thanks to Tom’s dad, and later we joined Brian and Kela four to five nights a week for dinner and my cooking advanced more. For a long time I was cooking a la Hamilton, and things were more delicious than ever. Chicken Teriyaki and Beef Stroganoff, Chicken Piccata and Crab Legs – I had really moved on from half-cooked potatoes and charred chicken.

Now that I’m living on my own and cooking for others very rarely, I’m sort of developing my own style. Cooking a la Hamilton is far too much for just one person, although I have been known to pull out the America’s Test Kitchen cookbook on more than one occasion. Thanks to Tom, I’ve developed a taste for Strawberries and Cream. And thanks to my mom, I know how to pick out good salmon. It’s kind of cool to have my own ways of doing things, and I think that as I cook more, I will become better at certain things and there will be a style, a la Estrop, all my own. Until then, I’m experimenting with my own buffalo wing sauce, the tastiest method for cooking asparagus, and re-discovering my good friends Ben and Jerry.

And what good friends they are…

New phone. Trying out mobile blogging. Slowly getting the hang of the touch screen. Can now share random thoughts from the t. Beware!

Bad Joke Challenge UPDATE

Thanks for the idea, Brian!

Q. Why did the turkeys cross Longwood Ave?
A. They thought a trip to the otolaryngologist would keep them from getting stuffed.

Rurban Girl

Rural Girl has now made a full metamorphosis into Rurban Girl! Full urban transition is not expected, as long as I still like petting zoos and wide open spaces.

How had this transition finally taken place, you ask?

I rode my bike. In traffic. To go somewhere. Not just for exercise! I filled the tires. I locked it up. I carried it back down to the basement. I even beat the rain home! All on the bike I've had so long that inside the helmet it says,

Katie Estrop
829 S. Lincoln St.
Springfield, IL 62704
(217) 546-0835

My old friend's happy to be out in the world again, although my thighs and butt will probably complain for several days.

Bad Joke Challenge

Q: Why did the turkeys cross Longwood Ave?
A: _______________

I am now accepting punchline suggestions!