Long road home

I am not going to lie, friends. Yesterday's trip to Louisiana was sooooo long. When we got to Houston and found that our next flight had been delayed, and then delayed again, I thought I'd perish. The boys were rolling around on the filthy floors, eating messily and popping back into their mouths what fell onto said floors. I have a very high threshold for germ toleration but this took even me down. Meanwhile, Jack refused to remove his Pokémon glove which resulted in his looking like a terrifying cross between Michael Jackson and an 80s poser dude. Please observe. And the ever-boogery Oliver realized that if he squeezed his nose shut with his fingers and then inhaled deeply, his nose would stay shut and skeeve Jack out. I called him Voldemort, and every time Jack looked at Voldey, his eyes watered dramatically.

It was with enormous relief that we rounded the bend towards the baggage claim in LC and saw my parents. Once home, I poured a glass of wine and sat myself down. Hope y'all are well. No cooking for me today but tomorrow? Yes.

Shrimp and celery remoulade; peach pie

I had an enormous hankering for remoulade anything yesterday and so at the market picked up a celery root and bunch of celery, just in case. Today was fun but too busy to do anything but keep going, but late in the afternoon, as Tom drove the boys to his parents' house for a sleepover (yay!), I asked him to pick up a pound of shrimp on his way home. Remoulade was happening. I peeled and julienned the hairy, alien-like orb that is a celery root. I sliced some celery on the diagonal, and a handful of their leaves too. For good measure and to prevent browning, I doused all that with a hefty bath of lemon juice. I peeled and quick-boiled the shrimp in amply-salted water, slivered some green onions and whipped up a mustardy, horseradishy remoulade sauce. And then I mixed it all together happily, ogling its golden hue and inhaling its tangy fragrance deeply. It was so good. So fresh and bright and salty and lemony and seafoody and satisfying.

And all the while, a peach pie cooked in the oven, becoming golden and fragrant itself. And in our quiet home, we smelled good smells and watched Catching Fire and the newest episode of The Knick, and I thought about a powerful conversation I had earlier today and I felt good.

Peaches, brandy and friends

After getting the boys off to their last day of camp this morning, I returned home to put up some brandied peaches. My twenty pounds o' pêches are finally at the perfect point of ripeness, and as I'm heading home and my mother LOVES these brandied treats, I made her a few pints and also one for me. This is such an easy, wildly flavorful, impressive dessert, hell-of-a-snack recipe. Peaches, sugar, water and brandy, though I use Cognac. Leftover peach simple syrup saves well and is wonderful in iced tea. Aren't these gorgeous?

A friend I adore but have not seen in too long came to visit while the peaches were in the waterbath canner. She and I caught up and laughed for a good while and finally parted ways with big smiles. I highly recommend this one-friend-a-day visit thing. It's been so great seeing and having quality time with loved pals.