Getting On

I was over at my neighbours house Saturday evening and boy did she put on a good spread. It was a casual late afternoon/early evening thingy and there were appetizers galore. There was guacamole, eggplant relish, crostini with an olives, anchovy, parmesan mixture, homemade pizza, lots of veggies, and lots of good drink. I brought a bean dip. It tasted better than it sounds.

There were several other women there. It was your basic chick party. Our conversation was varied and interesting. At one point we started talking about getting older and how our bodies and faces are changing. The words I heard were not all kind. This was a roomful of attractive, accomplished and intelligent women. We should all be patting ourselves on the back for how awesome we are. I'm not saying I don't have insecurities, or that I've never fretted about being the skinniest or smartest person in the room, but I have never worried about my wrinkles or getting old. I love that I look all of my 38 years, and that I've had the pleasure of living this long. I think our society has it all wrong. Why would you fight against aging when you have no chance of winning. I have no desire to look 20 or to do my twenties over again. I look forward to getting older. Every decade holds new possibilities and I'm eager to greet them even if they come with a few more wrinkles.

Here's the recipe for the dip I made. Bean dip sounds boring but it's worth the trip to beantown. It's guaranteed to make you look your age but you'll look good eating it.

Bean Dip

2 cups cooked kidney beans (1-15 oz can), rinsed and drained
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 medium sized tomato
1 to 2 medium cloves of garlic, minced
a handful of parsley
a handful of cilantro
3/4 tsp of cumin
1 scallion minced
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
black pepper and cayenne to taste

Peel and seed the tomato by dropping it in a pan of boiling water for 10 seconds. Remove it and peel off the skin. Cut the tomato in half and squeeze out and discard the seeds. Chop the remaining pulp. Put tomato and the rest of the ingredients in a food processor and blend it up. Serve with veggies, chips or eat with a spoon.

My Favorite Slab

I love bacon. Is there anything it can't do? Well it won't make you skinny, that's for damn sure. Bacon and peanut butter sammies, bacon and maple syrup, bacon in my grilled cheese, bacon in my mushroom risotto, really it partners well with anything. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if it were socially acceptable I'd marry a pound of bacon. Not the all fat crap you get from Maple Leaf and all the other big boys but the thickly sliced kind you find down at the market.

I used to be a vegetarian. That may be hard to believe from some of my recent statements, but it's true. When I went off to university I wasn't living high on the hog. I was pretty broke, and it turns out that meat costs a pretty penny. I started making lots of veggie dishes and soon enough I wasn't that interested in meats of any kind. When I did splurge and eat meat, it always made me feel a little ill.

Then along came Jess. When we started dating over a decade ago, he was very committed to wining and dining me several times a week. He made it his personal mission to free me from the chains of vegetarianism. It was all subtle pressure. Every dinner he'd order a meaty appetizer, at home he'd be making tasty looking hoagies, and at brunch he would he would opt for the bacon and sausage. Well what is a girl to do? There is only so many times I can look an enoki beef roll or some crispy bacon in the eye before I succumb. And now look at me, I crumble at the faint whiff of bacon frying. So let's raise a glass to meaty delights and bacon in any form. Here's one of my tastiest bacon combinations.

Bacon Nuggets

12 dates
12 half inch wedges of parmesan cheese
6 slices of bacon

Cut bacon slices in half. Roll one date and one parmesan wedge in a half slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Repeat. Place rolls on a tray and bake in oven at 425 F for 15 minutes. Serve immediately.