Beets and Bratwurst: Sit Down, Stay Awhile

I join so many in experiencing horror shaped by the series of macabre events that have unfolded the past eight days or so. Last Saturday, as Matthew and I enjoyed a sublime salad of heirloom tomatoes and golden cornbread at the bar of Poole's Diner in Raleigh, we received an email from my sister alerting us as to an explosion that had taken just place one block from my folks apartment. From her flat only six blocks north, they heard the bomb detonate. She informed us that evening as well as the day following not to worry. That New Yorkers are resilient, standing united and this is now the world in which we live. Fast forward a pair of days to Charlotte. Overnight, our little world transformed into Gotham City. I have never seen so many helicopters in all my life. Our apartment building was on lockdown and our doorman advised us, at 5.30 p.m. one evening, not to leave. Like most, I am now glued to the television, utterly shocked by footage captured on cell phones, body-cams and dash-cams. These major scenarios are juxtaposed by added madness in the world; Minnesota, Washington mall shoots. I hate to say it, as I think myself an optimistic person, but who knows what will transpire this week. I regularly ask Matthew, and we want to bring a baby into this? And yes, of course, we do. I am however justly frightened by the world in which we now live.

I know I have been away for a while. I apologized the last go around and to no avail. I constantly think with the mind of a blogger. Anything I hear or think, I commit to speaking to and then in one ear it goes and directly out the other. I am trying to keep up via Instagram and Facebook (the latter of which I find myself using less and less). I dare not complain about time, or lack thereof, as I am certainly not alone. I do think I have gotten better about being more deliberate about maximizing the time that I do have. Instead of beating myself up about not working out as long as I should, owing to a helpful article from the New York Times (that basically underscores, do what you can), I am running five days a week, and capping myself at 30 minutes a session. If I can do more, wonderful. If I cannot; something is better than nothing. I have wholly fallen in love with podcasts and the Audible app. Each morning and evening, I catch up on life via a myriad of sources. This past week, I learned of an interesting food pairing: peanut butter and kimchi. Thank you Burnt Toast. My lovely guinea pig confirmed that the duo are an outstanding match. I learned how to make duck confit and pickled raisins. Danke Bon Appetit. I discovered that a favorite Brooklyn restaurant of mine is a husband / wife duo, and they even own the spot next door. I am learning about executive leadership, effective coaching and a myriad of dynamic topics via the Harvard Business Review. Never a dull moment to and fro Salisbury these days.

Our mother was a social worker, and since we were young, has been a tremendous proponent of continuous self-improvement. In turn, I am listening to The Happiness Project (both the book and the weekly podcasts) and implementing cool techniques that make my husband roll his eyes in a comical yet endearing kind of way. In fact, I even ordered a hard copy; talk about cross-pollinating. The one minute rule, whereby anything that can be done within a minute, you do immediately. Putting away dishes, clothes, hanging up towels and the likes. Stopping to smell the, whatever. In acknowledging smell, we are being mindful, and present. Roses, incense, a lovely candle, vanilla extract? Carry on. Journaling. Matthew and I both have one. For the sake of our old friend time again, at least one sentence a day highlighting something experienced. I try to keep it positive. Breathing. Ujjayi style, in and out. Namaste. There are other lessons I am trying to slowly absorb and implement. On my lethargic run this morning, I listened to her mantra of acting the way one wants to feel. And being cognizant of the fact that the woman of the house (and sometimes the man) sets the temperature of and for the day. Of course, it is a great deal to digest, and the thought of incorporating it all is a great deal to digest but for now, baby steps. And the lessons are happily unfolding, begging to be incorporated. Similar to my running. In being "out of commission" for some time now, I have added almost two minutes to my mile time, which is downright pathetic but I am working on not beating myself up over it, as I would have done some time ago. Slow and steady wins the race. So they say.

The maddening world in which we live aside, Matthew and I are doing marvelously just the two of us. Wednesday week marks a year ago that we got engaged. November, which is just around the corner, is our wedding anniversary. Time indeed flies when halcyon times are being had. I have fallen in love with pork rinds. A colleague remarked, how very trailer park chic of me. A few weeks back, I cut my hair short, and then to Matthew's chagrin, went shorter. I love it and can dry it in 46 seconds flat. Back to time, I am all about saving it. We are on a high protein diet during the week and continue to have a high-ho time on weekends. We are very on-the-move these days too so it seems. This past June, we celebrated a belated honeymoon in Iceland. It was a spectacular adventure and if you're looking for an off-the-beaten-path destination, we both highly recommend it. A pair of weeks ago, after a summer in Charlotte, we went to the beach. No low country boil this go around. Last week I went to Maine for a New York minute. Business aside, together with a companion, I enjoyed a progressive dinner, which was nothing short of sublime. I am officially a chicken liver stuffed ravioli with lobster mushroom convert. Oh, and did you know that turnips pair marvelously with pea shoots, rock salt and creamy goat cheese? I experienced raw clams on the half shell; a first for me and a date I intend to make again when I return in November.

We are headed to New York City on Wednesday of this week. As per usual, we have prepared a comprehensive epistle outlining all the gastronomic haunts and watering holes we aim to visit. We have learned that five of our South African cousins will be in town, so we are having a dinner party with them one night. On the Sunday, we are celebrating my birthday with a roof deck fete and 15 of my nearest and dearest. Save the best for last, we are so looking forward to spending quality time with my family and our little 'Uptown Bratwurst' Trey, who it appears via social media, has grown into an animated, lively nine month old little boy before our eyes. I am secretly wondering my brother will make an appearance from Los Angeles. He has a delightful habit of showing up. No judgement if you don't KEB. We are making plans to come to you. In a few weeks, we are headed to our nation's capital. We will be there the weekend following elections. I suppose not a great deal of thought went into that decision but c'est la vie. We are booked and ready to roll. Thanks to Zika, the Breyer's will spend both sets of holidays back in the Big Apple. I figure this will give us more opportunities to put a dent on our restaurant list. And so, the Fall is nearing upon us and we march on.

The below is a recipe first enjoyed at the home of my two Dads, Nathan and Keith. Keith, a CIA trained chef, is masterful and creative in every way of the words. He introduced the Breyer's to the joys of smoked trout. This recipe is a riff of what he prepared, and can be morphed any which way. You can add diced boiled potatoes. Chopped steamed broccoli sprouts. Cauliflower rice. My Matthew loves all things Korean and is besotted with sriracha, so we employ it often. In short, there are no two right ways to enjoy the below. Serve as an appetizer or enjoy on its own for a protein packed, no carb delight. I declined Panthers tickets today to sit down and right this. And regardless of how regularly I visit, I am thoroughly delighted to be back. I think of this space and all of you often. Much love for this world of ours and bon appetit.

Smoked Trout Salad stuffed Endive

Ingredients

1 package of smoked Trout

2 scallions (finely chopped)

Bunch of dill (finely chopped)

1 clove of garlic (smashed into a paste)

1 TBS sriracha

4 TBS extra virgin olive oil (please buy the best quality you can)

Juice of 2 lemons

Fresh cracked pepper (go to town)

Generous pinch of salt

Three little heads of endive