Happy Birthday, Shirah

My wife Shirah is five weeks older than I am. That means that any birthday-related "cleverness" I feel obliged to perpetrate on her will come back at me five-fold in five weeks time. This is one of the reasons I am always nice to my wife in July.

I am nice to her for other reasons as well. Not the least of which is that she has put up with me for 16 years. Some would say this entitles her to a purple heart. Others would say that in 4 years she is eligible for parole.

So, to celebrate her 40th birthday (yes, the cat's out of the bag...but you all figured that out when I said she was five weeks older than me...oh, never mind) I threw her a party. She decided that she wanted a fiesta theme, which meant that we had a vegetarian taco bar, enchiladas, tropical fruit salad, guacamole, roasted corn salsa, cayenne pepper picante, horchata to drink, and baklava for dessert.

OK, so maybe baklava isn't exactly fiesta food. OK, so maybe it isn't fiesta food at all. A party is a party, and she knew what she wanted. Besides, I've developed a certain reputation for my baklava. Play to your strengths, I always say.

She insisted on other non-fiesta desserts as well; Hoosier desserts from her youth. So, I made peanut butter squares and chocolate oatmeal bars. Both recipes are good. I mean sinfully good. And there are still leftovers in the refrigerator. This is bad. Very, very bad. If you'll excuse me, I'll be right back...

We tried to make the party as kid-friendly as possible. I mean, c'mon...we had tacos and soda. We rented a room at the Post Road Park Banquet and Meeting Facility, which has a convenient playground right outside the building. So, when the kids got antsy waiting for someone to entertain them, I took them all outside into the 90 degree heat and schvitzed while they ran around the playground. Meanwhile, my wife stayed inside the air-conditioned building and chatted with the adults.

Yes, I love my wife. I just hope this all comes back to me five-fold in five weeks time. I'd even settle for some peanut butter squares.

Saddle Sores

The Official Zev Winicur Monon Milestone Birthday Ride grows ever closer. Thankfully, I'm getting closer to my 30 mile goal. I biked 25 miles today along the Monon, so with any luck, I should have no problems fulfilling my goal on August 19. Of course, I'm feeling very, VERY sore today.

Again, if anyone wants to join me on my bike run, the invitation still stands. You don't even have to be nearing 40 to join me. You can be a young pup or an old timer. I don't care. You just have to keep up. Or, more importantly, not make me look too bad.

Roasted Sweet Potato Burritos with Homemade Tortillas

Here is another off-the-cuff recipe that came to me in a moment of inspiration. The homemade tortillas would probably have come out better if I had a tortilladora (tortilla press), but I was able to roll out the tortillas between two sheets of parchment paper nonetheless. As it is, the rough edges of the tortillas give them a more nouvelle cuisine appeal.

SWEET POTATO FILLING
1 large sweet potato
1 16-oz can tomato sauce
1 cup granulated textured vegetable protein (TVP)
1 Tbs ketchup
2 green onions, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
2-3 Tbs canola oil
1 Tbs chili powder
1/4 cup prepared picante (preferably Pace)

Peel the sweet potato and cut it into 1/2 inch-size squares. Coat the sweet potato with 1 Tbs canola oil and place under a broiler for 5-10 minutes, flipping the potatoes every 3-5 minutes until they are tender and browned.

Mix the ketchup with 7/8 cup hot water and add TVP. Mix until TVP is completely rehydrated.

Saute the green onion and bell pepper in 1-2 Tbs oil until lightly browned. Add tomato sauce and stir. Add picante sauce and chili powder and cook sauce for 5 more minutes. Mix in rehydrated TVP and sweet potato.

HOMEMADE TORTILLAS
2 cups masa flour
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 tsp salt

Mix together flour, salt, and water to make a soft dough. Knead dough for about 2 minutes. Divide dough into 16 equal parts. Keep covered with damp cloth to keep dough moist. Line a tortilla press with two sheets of thick plastic wrap. Place each ball between plastic and press until tortilla measures 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Alternatively, you can roll out the ball between two sheets of parchment paper, although this is a lot trickier.

Preheat ungreased skillet. Cook tortillas one at a time for 50 seconds or until just barely brown. Turn, then cook the other side for another 50 seconds. Cover tortillas with cloth napkin to keep soft and warm.

Spoon about 1/4 to 1/2 cup sweet potato filling along a line just off the meridian of the tortilla. Wrap the tortilla around the filling and serve.

Happy Birthday, Micah!

Happy Birthday, Micah! May you grow older and wiser but never bitter nor jaded. May the world continue to delight and surprise you. May you always see the best in others and help them to see it in themselves.

And may you always be able to charm the socks off of everyone and anyone. It's a valuable skill to have. Don't lose it.

Six years old. Wow. That's six-tenths of a decade. It's like having your very first birthday again...and again and again and again and again. It's old enough to play Laser Tag. I know this because you've reminded me...again and again and again and again.

It amazes me that even as Micah grows older and smarter and more eloquent (using big words like "artificial sweetener" and "inedible"), he never seems to lose that wide-eyed fascination of the world. I pray he never does.

Two weeks ago, Micah and I went to the Bill Monroe Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival. After spending all Saturday at the festival, we camped overnight in our deluxe-ish Eddie Bauer tent. It was Micah's first time camping. It was a BIG DEAL. He was fascinated by everything: by the informal jam sessions throughout the campground, by the talented players on the stage, by our sleeping bags and inflatable pillows, and by learning to brush his teeth "the camping way" (pouring water from a bottle on the toothbrush, brushing his teeth outside the tent, and spitting on the ground). I got to experience camping all over again through his eyes.

And I could never tell just what would get his attention. There he was in the midst of the music festival, Bluegrass all around him, big bag of kettle corn next to his chair, having watched me erect our tent, having watched our neighbors play mandolin, banjo, bass, and dobro right in front of him...you know, the full experience. He climbed into my lap, gave me a big hug, and peeked over my shoulder at the people behind us. "Cool, Cheez-its!" he said as he spotted the crackers the people behind us were snacking on. He said it the same way I might have said, "Cool, a Lamborghini!"

Naturally, the people behind us offered him Cheez-its. After all, Micah still can charm the socks off of anyone.