So Wednesday was the drive from New York City to Massena New York, a seven hour drive with an inadvertent stopover to Canada for much needed sleep. The Ramada at Cornwall, Canada was your standard hotel room; the only complaint I have is that the next day on the way to picking up Nolwenn, I started itching and I now have seven nasty bug bites on my legs, my arms, my fingers, my neck and the side of my face. My mommy was blaming bedbugs but she didn’t get bitten by anything, so I don’t know. Whatever it was, I am on fire and itchy.
Thursday was a full day yet again, driving from Massena, N.Y to Blandford, MA took a full six hours, not counting stopping for food and then stopping at Westfield, MA to go food shopping for Friday’s birthday celebration. The car ride was very enjoyable, my mommy and Nolwenn talking about a whole bunch of things while I listened and drove us through the autumn countryside of both New York and Massachusetts. I have to admit that by the time we got to Westfield, I was spent so the food shopping was a blur. When we got home at 8 p.m, it was all that I could do to unload the car with my mommy and Nolwenn, get them all settled and get some food in them as well as walk Jack. Oh yeah, I still managed to roast butternut squash and garlic, sauté onions and combine everything with chicken stock and dried sage to make butternut squash soup for Friday night. I also poached salmon, minced smoked salmon, flaked the cooked salmon and combined the two with room temperature butter, minced chive, lemon juice and salt and pepper. This makes for a nice spread called rillettes de saumon; my baby boy loves this very much served with good crusty bread or crispy water crackers. When I fell into bed at midnight, I was proud of myself for a good long day of solid work.
Friday was a new day and a new day for more cooking, walking and doing things. After breakfast, all three of us took Jack for a walk that lasted two hours, that wasn’t planned, but it did us a lot of good, breathing all that clean mountain air, it also worked our muscles that had been seated for two days in the car. Once we got back home, we ate simple sandwiches and Nolwenn helped me make a clafoutis de pommes. A clafoutis is a fruit filled flan; eggs, milk, sugar, a little flour and apples, very simple. Dessert was taken care of; another part of the menu done.
We ran back to Westfield for bread and a birthday present for the baby boy. We came back and I started, with help from my mommy and Nolwenn, to sauté shrimp with garlic and parsley, stripped down paella rice with caramelized onions, tomatoes, garlic and saffron and sautéed string beans with garlic. By this time everyone was home; my hubby, both the baby boy and baby girl and they were ready for dinner.
We started with the soup, then came the rillettes de saumon, followed by the shrimp, rice and string beans and then the grand finale, the clafoutis de pommes. After all this; present time for the baby boy. It was such a nice family dinner, the kids were talking about this in that, going in and out of French and English, a lot of laughing going on, mostly from me. I laugh at anything, especially when I am happy.
Today is Saturday, my mommy and Nolwenn left this morning and I have been resting and unwinding. All my adrenaline of the past few days has worn off, so I am pooped. Hooray for tomorrow, Sunday, the official day of rest.
laurieanichols 