Riding the Wave of Grief

Last week I was driving home from some errands and started thinking about my dad. I don't even remember what prompted me to think of him, but I caught myself smiling.

I started to reflect on how far the wave of grief has taken me since his passing on May 11, 2021.

I vividly remember the morning of May 11, 2021. John and I were on our way to Florida, as my dad went into hospice the day before and we knew it wouldn't be long before he passed away. My Mom called me while we were in the airport and told me that hospice had called her and told her to come right away. In hindsight, her telling me this was likely her way of preparing me from the inevitable. We boarded our flight, and I cried off and on during the two-hour journey. 

As the flight landed and started taxiing toward the gate, I turned on my phone. Almost instantaneously, it rang. It was my mom telling me that my dad had passed away. 

At that moment, I remember a distinct feeling of time stopping- but just for me. Passengers on the plane were chatting and looking out the windows. They were carrying on with their lives. Performing normal acts of "being." I thought to myself- how can they do this? Don't they know that a great man is no longer on this Earth? I kept looking around expecting everything and everyone to stop, pause, and acknowledge this unimaginable loss, but it didn't happen. It seemed like I was somewhere between being underwater and having an out of body experience. 

That feeling was SO deep. And it lasted for a day or so. It was so strange. I've never experienced anything like it.

Now, almost two years later, I can look around and see people going about their business and living life and not be resentful or angry. I'm still angry it happened to him. I'm still sad. I still miss him. But I can now smile when I think of him and if you know him, you'd know that's what he'd want me to do. 

Also, I don't want to be the jinx, but I think it's the Bruins' year and I really wish he was here to see it.

Don't Try a New Recipe on a Holiday

Leading up to Christmas, some friends/co-workers and I were talking about what we would serve/eat on the big holiday. One of them related that her husband felt she shouldn't try a new recipe on a holiday. 

I started thinking about that, as I was planning on breaking that "rule." 

I'd been craving stuffed mushrooms and as John doesn't care for mushrooms, I thought I'd make them when I had a wider audience. I started searching for recipes in Pinterest, with the key qualifier, "easy." 

Let's stop here for a moment, shall we?

Apparently, I have lived 50 years (gasp!) only knowing one kind of stuffed mushroom. A mushroom with bread crumb stuffing. Plain and simple.

Pinterest was giving me recipes for mushrooms with cream cheese stuffing (not for me!), sausage stuffing (maybe?), and seafood stuffing (possibly?). I was overwhelmed and slightly annoyed that I couldn't find a "regular" stuffed mushroom recipe.

Then, all of sudden and randomly, I came across this one.

Stuffed mushroom recipe from a Chinese food blog? YES!

I was a bit reticent at first, but this was the simplest, most straightforward recipe I could find for what I wanted.

Prep was easy/straightforward. If you've never made them, do pay attention to the "do not soak the mushrooms" instruction. (My mother reinforced this while I was wiping mine off.)

I will say that I ended up with a fair amount of extra stuffing, so depending on whether you have extra mushrooms to stuff or not, you may want to cut back on that.

I only got a pre-cooked photo, but you can see they are stuffed generously.

They came out GREAT! Cooking time/temperature was just right. Texture/flavor was great. 

They were a crowd pleaser (even John had one!) and I would definitely make them again. Even on a holiday. 😀 I guess I proved that adage wrong!

Thank you Woks of Life blog for coming through!

Consumer Report: January 2023

Hello and Happy New Year! I'm trying to start the year off right by blogging within the first week (it's a Christmas/New Year's miracle!)

Here are some items that I've tried for the first time recently (well, recently as in "within the last six months.") 😉 and my opinions on them.

First up, Cinnamon Crunch Pop Corners:

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I absolutely love Pop Corners. Spicy Queso and White Cheddar are two of my favorites. They're "never fried," so in my mind, I'm eating a healthy snack! (I'm sure they are healthy, but my mind might think they're healthier than they actually are...lol.) I was in BJ's (New England's local version of Costco) and saw a gigundo bag of the Cinnamon Crunch Pop Corners and thought I'd give them a try.

My verdict- they are good! It's rare (for me at least) to find a crunchy snack that satisfies a sweet craving, which this does for me. Not enough to buy a gigundo bag (which I ended up throwing out probably 1/2 of because they got stale). If you can find a normal sized bag, give them a try. However, if you're looking for another opinion, here's what John had to say- "they still taste like cardboard." 🤣 (They're definitely no Doritos or potato chips!)

Continuing the purple item theme (not on purpose!), next up is Tostitos Restaurant Style Salsa.

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I have never been able to find a jarred salsa that isn't chunky. I don't like chunky salsa (neither does John). I like thin (is that the right word?) non-chunky salsa. I saw this in the grocery store but didn't try it until mid-last year. It's several steps in the right direction towards Mexican restaurant salsa. It's not quite there, but honestly, I'll take it. (It prevents me from thinking about blenderizing chunky jarred salsa- no extra step!)

Moving along to other colors of the rainbow...

Next up are some very tasty, canned spirits.

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Cranberry Island Cocktail and Blueshine Lemonade by Maine Craft Distilling.

I absolutely positively love both of these! If I was held at gunpoint and asked which was my favorite, I'd have to say the Blueshine Lemonade (but only by a hair.) They're both refreshing, light and not overly syrupy sweet. These are perfect for the summer, but honestly, they're great year-round. 

Continuing the boozy theme...

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Blake's Triple Jam Hard Cider. This was a bit of a random find for me. Since I live in Massachusetts, I saw the Maine Distilling drinks in liquor stores in Mass and grocery stores in NH, so they were familiar to me. I was looking for another fruity hard cider and started doing some Googling. I stumbled upon this, but once I saw it was brewed in Michigan, I thought I wouldn't be able to find it nearby. Wrong! I found it less than 2 miles from my house, ran out, and scooped it up. LOVE it. Probably love it slightly more than the Maine Distilling drinks. I was really worried this would be overly sweet and heavy, having three fruity flavors. Wrong again! Sweet, but not too sweet. Tasty and refreshing. If you like fruity hard cider, you must try this! (Plus, the can illustration is fabulous!)

I really thought there was one other thing I wanted to review, but at my advanced age, it's not surprising that I've forgotten it. 

Have you tried any of these? Thoughts?

Happy eating and drinking!