What I think of as home cookin'-comfort food

Well, it's another beautiful yet way-too-chilly day here, and while I'd love to dine al fresco tonight, with a glass of cold rosé and some screaming-spring meal, such is not to be. Instead, I'm going for comfort, warmth from the inside out both in the sense of a good hot meal, and staying inside to eat it. Chicken and dumplings fits the bill nicely, doesn't it? I admit to never having made this dish myself; in fact, perhaps frighteningly, the last time I had chicks-n-dumps was at a Cracker Barrel somewhere along I-10 in Louisiana. If memory serves, it was during the road trip my friend, Colleen, and I took to drive my stuff back to Lake Charles from Philadelphia (1,400 miles). She and I also once drove from Lake Charles to Boulder, CO; also a real haul in terms of mileage (about 1,300). How many Sonic lemon-lime slurpees we had on that trip, I'll never know, but driving across Texas and up through the mountains was cool. In any case, so was the trip south from Philly. And at some point during it, we had chicken and dumplings at an expansive Cracker Barrel.

Though I never had them, because she died before I was born, my Nanny's mom, Mema to my Mom and her siblings, is rumored to have made the best chicken and dumplings ever. Lighter than air yet rich in flavor, hers were the stuff of legend. More recently, a foodie friend, Suzanne (she of the pasta piselli), won a community pick nod from Food 52 for her lemony chicken and dumplings and that's the recipe route I'm taking tonight.

In addition, I'm still craving more banana cream anything  since that show-stopper T and I shared at Coquette last week. Pudding is like a dessert dumpling: soft, cozy, comforting, flavorful. The kind of thing that makes you close your eyes, sigh contentedly and slow down. Just before our trip, Melissa Clark wrote about her take  on a scrumptious banana cream pudding with pistachio crumble in which she recently indulged, and so that's soon to be in the works too. My bananas are perfect for it; they're no longer pretty, their yellow skins spotted and bruised, but those are the best for flavor in baking and so once again, patience is rewarded, the diamond in the rough truly that.

Articles, busyness

Ok, it's in the 40s today; gorgeous, and upper 40s, but it's April and the 40s should be long-gone. Grr. Did you read this heartbreaking article about a Afghan six-year-old promised to marriage as repayment for money borrowed for her mother's and siblings' medical care? Unbelievably awful. I read this, looked at Jack, and was literally sickened at the thought of some patriarchal elders telling me I had to GIVE UP my child TO MARRIAGE as if he were an inanimate piece of collateral. Of course, that wouldn't happen because he's male which is disgusting enough but six? Her parents sounds miserably sad but feel they have no recourse. What kind of society is that? Seriously!

This article, about brokering peace between fractured peoples, cultures, countries, was terrific.

I am so darn tired. Today is one of those on which I feel desperately ready for the kids to be in school full-time. I am so sick of trying to pack everything, huge amounts of errands, responsibilities, interests, into two or three hours.

On the flip side, today is my Mom's birthday so I'm sending her the happiest of vibes, and tonight, we are having a festive get-together with friends whose daughter will be in Oliver's class next year. Yay!

Light and lovely dinner

Buttermilk fennel vichyssoise (vichyssoise is such a pretty word) and a softly fried egg with pecorino on toast.

You cannot imagine the volume at which Jack turned on Free To Be, You and Me tonight when I told him he could listen to music as he went to sleep. I needed ear plugs. Downstairs. While cooking with the stove-top vent on. I like his choice, but really, man.

Who can help me understand Clive Davis' dyed green head? This is not fooling anyone, Clive. You are bald on top. Painting yourself to look like a mossy, swampy bit of turf just makes you look extremely odd.