Sea bass and sprouts

Ok, friends, I have finished mourning Benedict because, in the oh-so-truthful words of my trainer, "he was never yours anyway, girlfriend." True that. People, look at what my darling Oliver chose to wear to school yesterday:

Today he went for a different vest/jacket/bowtie mash-up, and I was newly grateful for Jack having gone through the "fancy dress" phase several years ago: back-up clothing stashes are clutch!

After feeding the boys army-sized portions over the course of three separate dinners last night, I got them to bed and busied myself making a good, good meal. I'd bought a gorgeous hunk of Chilean Sea Bass and also had a pound of Brussels sprouts that I wanted to use.

For the sea bass I made a marinade of Mirin, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and jalapeños. While that enjoyed its soak, I considered the fact that my stove was so very clean, so shiny and neat. Imelda had just worked her twice-monthly magic, and thus I couldn't possibly make my Crispy Brussels Sprouts -despite how delicious they are- because as y'all probably know, having a clean stove is a rare thing. It certainly is in my house. I couldn't bear to splatter it with oil after just a couple hours.

Instead, I made the recent winner of Food 52's Your Best Green Holiday Side contest: Brussels Sprouts with Pears and Pistachios by Bevi. I had a Bosc pear at the ready and love anything with pistachios, so there you have it. I shaved ten minutes off the cook time and would recommend doing that unless your sprouts are extremely large or you like them extremely done. With that minor tweak though, this was very delicious, and I happily enjoyed the rest of the batch today for lunch!

So...puzzles and pee

People, when Ol was sick last week, I ordered two new White Mountain 1,000-piece puzzles. Cuz that's how I roll when illness courses through our house. Ol has pretty much zero interest in puzzling, however, so I didn't start in on Wacky Packages until Saturday. I schlepped my trusty card table from the garage to the basement, set up shop on the couch and laid out about 80% of the border and a few of the silly packages before taking a break. Hours later, or was it overnight, I returned to the table, eager to continue.

What I found was the aftermath of a Tasmanian Devil's spin through the 1,000 pieces. Seriously, none of the pieces remained together, some were back in the box, the floor was littered... it was like some lunatic had tossed a giant puzzle salad with frenzy and then left as quickly as he'd arrived. But wait, what's that? Why are some of the pieces in the box wet? An anxious, investigatory sniff alerted me to the completely unwelcome presence of pee. Cat pee. Nutmeg, he of the UTI, had apparently gone apeshit in my puzzle and then iced the cake by wetting it. I dare say I was more offended than I've been in some time.

Tom was repulsed and suggested I throw the puzzle out. But I could tell just how challenging and enjoying Wacky Packages would be, and so I refused. I put that sucker together, piece by soggy piece, until I finished late yesterday afternoon. Disgusting, but I was not about to let Cat get in my way: Wacky Packages did not disappoint. Then I scoured my hands 85 times because really, it was kinda gross.

It's always something.

Oliver finally returned to school today, and it is unbelievable to have all this time on my hands. I took myself out for a quick breakfast and then exercised. And showered. And actually filed my nails. As our home would have been condemned had any non-family member seen it, it's good I have also had hours to clean.

Have y'all read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? I have been reading it aloud to Jack and Tom for the past two nights, and it is fabulous. Very edge-of-your-seat with innumerable opportunities to teach J new words. We've been lighting a fire and cuddling round the hearth. Thank you Verne!

Mio nipote

Could you die over those perfect lips??!! I cannot wait to hold him!