Of love and lard

Normally, our anniversary celebrations range from slim to none. Our fifth year we spent apart-- he at a wedding and I at home with a baby that was not invited to attend. Others have been spent wishing we had the money to do something more extravagant than grilling out a nice steak and baking up some potatoes. And others have been spent like this year's-- tending to the needs of others; mainly the three little people that mess up our house and eat all of our food.
And today is no different. He will go to work, I will drive the kids around and try to squeeze in a few minutes of work at home in between restarting Yo Gabba Gabba and stuffing the baby with graham crackers so she'll hopefully take a nap. In the evening we'll all drive to a local nursing home where my kids will partake in a piano recital for the residents, as planned by their piano teacher.
But this is my 10th anniversary. Tenth! And it should be special, right?
Last night, after struggling to get those messy, hungry people to bed, my husband said from across the room over the shows that we had been TiVo-ing all week, "take yourself back ten years...and look at us now."
And then he added, "you didn't get me anything big, did you?"
"Heck no," I said. "Like I have time to shop. And you don't either, so I'm guessing you didn't get me anything big, right?"
He smiled. "Nothing."
And I smiled back.
That's how we work, he and I. Our wedding bands we bought wholesale from a jeweler's supply catalog. My engagement ring is safely put away because it doesn't suit my daily grind. We're not flashy, we not commercial. We just love each other and understand each other and couldn't imagine life any other way.
Because it is such a milestone (and quite an accomplishment these days, thankyouverymuch) we hope to sneak away for a dinner at a restaurant that doesn't include chicken fingers and fries on the menu. In the mean time, we'll come home from the piano fest at the nursing home and I fully plan on him grilling out that steak, no matter what the wicked fall weather has in store.
I'll be inside with the kids, cooking potatoes.


Happy Anniversary Potatoes

We've kind of upgraded from those early days of jabbing a 'tater with a fork and sticking it in the microwave. Or rather, on special occasions we break out the cast iron skillet and the lard.

Potatoes
Vidalia onion, rough chopped
Garlic
Lard or canola/olive oil and butter
Kosher salt
Pepper

(**To cheat, precook your potatoes in the microwave halfway.**)
Wash the potatoes and cut into thick slices, but no thicker than 1/4".
Heat the skillet on med-hi heat and add your fat of choice. (really, try lard. sure it's disgusting, but man is it good! Personal suggestion: wash it down with a glass of heart-healthy red wine. Voila, balance has been achieved!)
Toss in your potatoes-- they will take the longest to cook.
A few minutes later, add the onions.
Continue to cook and stir so that the potatoes all get a little crusty brown goodness on them.
When the taters are mostly done and the onion is mostly soft, toss in the garlic and cook for another minute or two, stirring so that the garlic doesn't burn.
Season it up with a nice coarse salt and some fresh ground pepper.

Nothing like celebrating your love with a pan full of lard and starch.