Meals on Wheels

You know how older folks get "set in their ways?" Well, our parents are no different. My dad is perfectly content to eat at Emil Villa's or Hannabishi every single day while my father-in-law is happy eating a burger for lunch and a steak for dinner. Repetition with food is b-o-r-i-n-g in my book.

Since the end of my icky first trimester (when I didn't really cook lest I barf into the food), I've been back to cooking up a storm each weekend when Dave is home with me. Normally I make way too much for us to eat in only 3 days so I often send some back with Dave to eat in Gualala since I don't want to get stuck eating it all for the whole next week.

"Normal" food in our house ranges from Indian curries and Thai soups to homemade pizza and whatever random thing strikes my fancy that day. By my father-in-law's standards most of my food is super exotic and he's apparently been enjoying eating my food each week. Dave's mom said she's always excited to see what he's brought home with him. She doesn't have more than a taste, but John always eats the leftovers with Dave. I love hearing his dad's reactions to my dishes ("Oh my God Dave! You didn't tell me this was so hot!" ...even when it isn't hot at all...).

So now it is my goal each week to come up with something fun to cook on the weekends so John can enjoy a new flavor. This past weekend Dave took smoked ribs, pasta salad, and homemade cherry-lemon soda. Next week it will be tom ka gai soup, green curry, and pad thai noddles. The weekend after that my own dad will be here in Davis and we always like to cook up something new together so we'll just have to wait and see what we decide to make. I know I want to try making potato gnocchi again soon. Last time I made them the dough was terribly sticky and cooked up too fluffy for our taste. We like them dense.

Dave is my sous chef but he's becoming head chef at his parents' house. A few times he's made something for dinner up there that I've made before (like my stir fry with lots of diakon). His cooking skills amaze his dad so much that John has actually called me to tell me about it. I wasn't surprised at all--Dave's a great cook when he puts his mind to it!