Today is a landmark day in my life, it is not only my birthday or a good excuse to eat bacon*, it is in fact my thirtieth birthday. I love my birthday, I embrace it, I use it as an excuse to eat bacon. Despite my recently deteriorating eyesight and a new obsession with moisturizing, age doesn’t seem to scare me. I would even go so far as to say that I look forward to the rest of my life, especially now I have learned that I need to live it.
I also hope that eventually going grey may actually give my hair some texture.
These are the fireworks the city of Seattle put on in honor of my birthday.As I enter my fourth decade on this earth it is difficult not to reflect on the last three and wonder about the next. My early twenties were fun and a little reckless, but eventually gave way to an overly cautious person. A person full of self-doubt, lost in expectation, a person whom I only recently shed. I don’t worry so much about what others think and have learned to ignore the expectations of others, while reminding myself of a lesson from my early twenties; perhaps a little risk is good now and again. As evidence of that I will share with you that I am now studying to get my motorcycle drivers permit!
When I was a child my family would storm my bedroom before dawn, with presents and breakfast in bed singing at the tops of their lungs. My parents treat my friends and I to a play, usually “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” or “Annie”. I was always accommodated with my favorite meal of spaghetti with meat sauce followed by my favorite poppy seed cake. As I got older the celebration grew and instead of a birthday, it became a birthweek and by the time I reached 21 it had become a birthmonth. After all, I had to go for drinks with each friend in turn. My favorite birthday was one six years ago when Phil asked me to go for coffee and a slightly rainy walk on the waterfront. That was when he asked me to marry him.
These days my birthdays are a bit more quiet. I still love my birthday, but instead of singing along with the guy playing the shalalee at Kells while throwing back black & tans, I prefer spending a quiet day visiting my favorite haunts with my husband, lingering over a glass of wine and enjoying a fine meal. Although I still insist on going home to poppy seed cake for dessert. This year, being close to family and friends after being in New York for so long the celebration has amped up a bit. It began on Saturday with a day at the spa and lunch with my dear friend Christa and will end a week later with a small party at my sister’s house. Phil and I will spend my actual birthday ice skating, shopping and eating bacon. Quietly ringing in my thirties together.
* I am passionate about bacon, but have to restrict my intake or else become a side of bacon. On my birthday I cut loose and O.D. on really good thick cut bacon.
Happy Birthday, Erin!!!!!!!!!!!
I remember your 21st birthday very well and I can hardly believe how time has passed… memories…
Now go to the eye doctor, Grandma!
Happy Birthday, Erin!
In the spirit of the day and bacon can I offer this as a little prezzie? It’s my husband’s favorite and I just made it for him last night. I would think it would be great for a rainy Seattle day.
Corn Chowder
Recipe By: Woman’s Day Encyclopedia of Cookery
Yield: 2 quarts
• 8 ounces bacon, diced (Trader Joe’s puts bacon in 12-ounce packages so I use that)
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery (with leaves), chopped
• 1 bay leaf, crumbed
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups waxy, thin-skinned potato, diced but no need to peel them
• 2 14.75-ounce cans creamed corn
• 1 11-ounce can niblets corn, with its liquid
• 2 cups evaporated milk, (one 12-ounce can will do just as well)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• parsley, chopped
• paprika
In a large kettle sauté bacon bits until browned and crisp pouring off fat as necessary and reserving 3 tablespoons. Remove cooked bacon from pan and put on paper to drain.
Return bacon fat to the pan and use it to sweat the onions, celery and bay leaf. Add flour and stir to coat the veggies. Add the water, potatoes, salt and half the bacon to the pot. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes until potatoes are tender.
Add corn, evaporated milk and all but a few tablespoons of bacon. Taste to correct seasoning and simmer until well heated.
At this point you can stir in the parsley, ladle into bowls and top with a sprinkling of paprika and crumble on bits of bacon to serve. Or you can put the chowder in the fridge overnight to deepen the flavors. When you are ready to serve it, bring it up to well heated and garnish as before.
Notes:
A chopper that makes quick little cubes of the onions and potatoes really speeds the preparation of this one! (At least for those of us like me who have no knife skills. Bet you’d have the veggies chopped before I got my chopper out. =o)
I don’t find that bay leaves “crumble” all that well. And when I tried to mince it, the pieces shattered and flew to the winds. Now I cut both sides free of the center vein with a small pair of scissors and put the leaf under the celery leaves and/or parsley. That way I can chop it up along with them and the bits stay in the mince. (BTW, celery leaves may be my favorite “herb”.)
Here’s a pic so you can appreciate the baconiness. http://www.flickr.com/photos/75667634@N00/3108601209/
If that doesn’t seem like the right b-day treat perhaps this would do. http://www.slashfood.com/2008/12/03/apple-pie-with-a-bacon-lattice-top-and-more/
Go for it! You’ve got the rest of your life to diet. ;>
Leslie, I’ll never forget you taking me for my first legal drink, the clock turning to 12:01am and my first and last Long Island Iced Tea. Thanks lady. . . I’ll ignore the comment about the glasses.
Rainey, That looks wonderful! Thank you for my delicious present! I’ll be making it this week.
Happy birthday, Erin! I’m loving being in my 30s. It’s a much calmer, more assured time, I think.
Enjoy the bacon!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Happy Birthday Erin. Have a wonderful celebration.
Erin!!
Happy, happy birthday to you! It only gets better from here.
Party like a rock star,
Jen
Angela, ttfn300, Barbara and Jen, Thank you very much! I am excited to see what my thirties bring.
Yay for 30! Ha! I’ve been thinking about your this week — b-day…and I’m showing my kids StarWars. Some of them haven’t seen it?!??! Who are these strange creatures?!?!
Kim, Strange creatures indeed. . .
Very lovely birthday entry- I enjoyed reading it. Turning 30 was okay, turning 31 was scary. But now that 33 is looming I tend to forget where I actually am and always subtract a year. But whatever, as you say, one changes from your early twenties and you seem to worry less and enjoy more. So happy 30th to you, albeit a little late!
Bordeaux, thank you! I can tell you that at almost a month in 30 is already turning out to be a great year . . . except for the glasses, I am still having a hard time coming to grips with that one.