The Funky Kitchen

There’s a ring on my finger that has a neat little roll of painter’s tape wrapped around the band to help hold it in place.

This story starts last August, when Mr and I returned home from a family reunion. (I guess it really starts in January 2008 when I met a man wearing a toque who had very handsome arms, but that is a story for a different post, methinks). He had spent the day getting interrogated by various great aunts and second cousins as to why we weren’t married yet. It was interrogation (mostly) in jest, but interrogation nonetheless.

Our friend Mykola came over to the house afterward, and in response to Mr’s airing of his frustrations at having been questioned all day, Mykola asked, “Well, why aren’t you guys married yet?”

(He always knows the perfect thing to say).

Mr, in a perfectly Mr sort of way, did an about face and asked with a small measure of incredulity, “How am I supposed to get her a ring if I don’t know what size her finger is?”

Let’s just say I promptly googled how to figure out what your ring size is, and communicated that to him.

Fast forward to this spring: when he got permission to use his grandma’s ring from his mum, and aunt and uncles, he took it to get sized to the numbers I had given him. Much to his surprise, the ring was already that size!

Then he waited until the moment was right.  We cuddled together on the bed, and he sang me our song, and he asked. It was perfect. I had no idea it was coming.  Mr, as you could probably tell by all of the gleeful hopping up and down, you make me the happiest person. I love you.

In the end, either the internet lied as to how to measure your ring size or I am not very good at handling directions because the ring is too large, hence the piece of tape wrapped around the band, helping it to stay in place. I know I need to get it sized properly, but I just can’t bear the thought of taking it off just yet because it feels so right.

Mr. asked!

I said yes!

I’ve been hopping up and down non stop ever since. I’m so excited! Details of the story will soon follow!

Spaghetti with Brown Butter and Mizithra Cheese

spaghetti

1/4 Cup butter

60 grams mizithra cheese

Directions

• Prepare the spaghetti according to instructions. Be a little more generous than usual when salting your water for boiling the pasta.
• In a second pot, brown your butter.
• When the pasta is al dente, strain it out of the water and toss with the browned butter and half of the mizithra cheese.
• Sprinkle the remaining mizithra over top and serve.

This is one of Mr’s most favorite things. He says: it’s delicious. And it is. Just serve it alongside some veggies and celebrate!

This time last year: Overloaded Barbecued Cast Iron Brownie

And the year before: Bacon, Peach and Chicken Skewers

Now that the weather has sweetened and the grass has greened Trooper the Wonder Puppy and I have been spending a lot more time outside. It seems that we are of one mind about this May weather being much more clement than past months. It’s just so nice out! (When it isn’t raining…)

Trooper has developed a really adorable habit on our walks. Dandelions are his enemy. When he comes across them in his path he pounces on them and gets all snarly bounding and leaping from weed to weed, biting off the blooms, leaving the wreckage behind him.

What dandelions ever did to him, I don’t think I’ll ever know, but he sure is adorable in the process. Trooper the Wonder Puppy is a friend to gardeners and a scourge to the dandelion population.

Trooper is also very interested in salads when they smell like bacon.

Spinach and Bacon Salad with Pickled Red Onion and Feta

(adapted from Chef Michael Smith’s Kitchen: 100 of My Favorite Recipes)

For the onions:

1 Cup sugar

1 Cup apple cider vinegar

1 tsp sriracha sauce

1 tsp freshly cracked pepper

pinch of salt

1 large red onion

For the salad:

8 slices of bacon

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp Dijon mustard

salt and pepper

12 ounces spinach

6 ounces feta cheese

Directions

• Pickle the onions first. This can be done a day ahead. In a small saucepan, boil together the sugar, apple cider vinegar, sriracha, salt and pepper.
• Cut the onion into very thin rounds (if you have a mandoline, this is the perfect time for it.
• Add the onion to the pickling liquid and continue to simmer for 2 minutes.
• Allow to cool.
• Cook the bacon in a pan, reserving 1 Tbsp of the fat once finished.
• Dice the bacon.
• Whip up a vinaigrette using the reserved bacon fat, vinegar, olive oil and dijon. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Toss the spinach with the vinaigrette, and then garnish it with the cooked bacon, crumbled feta cheese and some slivers of pickled red onion.

This recipe gives you way more of the pickled red onion than you need to use in the salad. It’s been really tasty to sneak into other salads, and sandwiches as well. The difference a quick pickle can make, yum! Just store what’s left of your pickled red onions in a jar in the fridge.

Normally, I’m a stickler for a salad having good toothsome crunch, and spinach isn’t really the green to use for that. Still, this salad brings together smoky, sour, sweet, salty, and briny flavors perfect for an (almost) summer day.

Mr says that the pickled red onions go really well with the vinaigrette.

This time last year: Sour Cream Ice Cream

And the year before: Roasted Butternut Squash