Grace Before Meals - Fr. Leo vs.Bobby Flay!

Last night, I had the pleasure of having dinner with my good friend MFF at Amicci's in Baltimore's Little Italy. After a delicious meal of house salad with calamari (MFF had a Caesar salad with shrimp), garlic bread and a glass of red wine (full-bodied Chianti), we walked across the street to the parking lot of Da Mimmo's to watch a big screen presentation of "Throw Down with Bobby Flay" featuring one of Baltimore's own Catholic priests, Fr. Leo Patalinghug. Bobby and Fr. Leo were in a contest to create the best fajita and Fr. Leo won. You may be familiar with Fr. Leo - he is a cookbook author, creator and host of "Grace Before Meals." His message is pretty simple -- the act of creating and sharing a meal can strengthen all kinds of relationships -- Check out his website at www.gracebeforemeals.com

Now that our children, K & J, are out of the house, I realize just how important it was to gather together nightly for a meal. At the time, J didn't think so -- Here is a sample scenario circa 2004-05:

Dad: (with a smile) "How was your day"? J: (without a smile) Fine. (then dead silence..) Dad: (still smiling) "What did you do at school today"? J: (still not smiling) Nothing.....(silence continues throughout the rest of the meal)
Mom tries to make small talk to break the silence, but to no avail.

And so it went. Now that D and I eat alone (don't get me wrong, every night is a date night when your children are gone), I do miss a crowded table and the "stimulating conversation" we shared with the angst filled teenaged boy (who has turned in to a fine young man BTW!).

If you don't know about GBM, visit the website. Here is a recipe that I have tried that is just delish -

Mushrooms Stuffed with Honey Sausages

Ingredients: Olive oil, Mushrooms, Sausage, Honey, Blue Cheese, Fresh Spinach

How to make it: Add olive oil to Pan. Cut stems off large mushrooms and place cap-up in the pan. Carmelize for a few minutes. Remove casing from sausage. Form meat into mini meatballs and cook in a second pan. Add ½ cup water and allow meat to cook in the steam. Add a few tablespoons of honey and blue cheese to the pan. Fill mushrooms with meatballs and pour honey sauce over top. Add Spinach to the pan and sauté for a few minutes. Plate spinach, place mushrooms around it in a circle.

Simple Meal!

Time Flies!!

So, my last post was almost two months ago! I think I said in that post that I was going to be more dedicated to posting.....oh well!! It is not that I was hanging out doing nothing. Just when you think your life is getting a little less stressful and you think you can relax, the "Man Upstairs" sends something more for you to handle -- the story of my life -- and where I will begin today.

When I started to post again in April, I was just finishing up helping my dear Mother-in-Law through some pretty serious surgery and rehabilitation. She, at 87 1/2 years old, was diagnosed with breast cancer in January and underwent a mastectomy in late February. While she was in hospital, she was found to have some other health complications, that were not life-threatening, but did require her to have a 30 day stay in a rehab facility. Attending to her needs, with the help of my husband and our niece, Dee, took a huge chunk out of my winter/early spring, but on April 15 she was given a "cancer-free" diagnosis from her oncologist. We rejoiced and felt pretty confident that our lives and schedules were going to get back "to normal."

But when man plans, God laughs...so the very next day -- April 16 -- at Noon, I received a call from my brother that my 72-year old father, who has Alzheimer's Disease. fell and could not get up. By 2:00 PM that day, less than 24 hours after my M-i-L's "all clear," I found myself once again in a hospital, now taking care of my Dad. After a week at Johns Hopkins, he too went to rehab (the same one as my M-i-L) to regain his strength, but he did not get any better. My dad passed away on Tuesday. May 5.

For the past three and one-half weeks, I have started the task of dismantling my father's life, going through his belongings, washing and then donating old clothes. clearing off shelves and laughing and crying while looking at old pictures and momentos. This has been a crazy, and unexpected, year for me so far. It has not all been bad though, there is a lot if good news to post as well and this time, I promise to sat in top of it!