RD3
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ElleBsee, 2012
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Whitney just sent me our Martha's Vineyard To-Do List for this weekend.
- Check out Allen Sheep Farm BABIESSS aka lambs
- Chilmark Chocolates voyage
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Peanuts #1, ca. 1953
cover by Charles M. Schulz
When I arrived home from work there was a pretty white bag on the kitchen table. I figured it was for Mom, but it was an engagement gift for Bernie and I from the Tortorellos!
I can’t get over how sweet it was of them to do something like this. The champagne flutes are absolutely beautiful. I can’t wait to pop this bubbly and use the glasses to toast at our wedding! What a generous and thoughtful thing to do.
Love those Torts. Somebody’s getting a hand-written thank-you note!
It’s surprising, but Lilac House has the best Spicy Orange Beef (or chicken) in Fairfield County, including the higher end restaurants. The secret ingredient must be crack because I crave it constantly.
This morning I made a smoothie that had kale, avocado, and some Benefiber in it. I felt like a total badass and it tasted pretty good, too. The Crowley girls have a history of making trips to the hospital for digestive issues. My motto has always been this: “Some kale a day keeps the doctor away!”
The best quote ever came from my dad: “I’m sick of paying hospital bills ‘cause you’re all full-a shit.”
Me too, Dad. Me too.
I also had a ton of energy at the gym this morning as a result of said smoothie. It’s power-food. People have actuall started commenting on my enthusiastic advocacy of kale, but I stand by it. Best. Vegetable. Ever.
In other news, I’m super excited that Doodies is home from school so we can tag-team meals and keep healthy food in the house. I’m also really proud of Casey - she made totally solid gluten-free baked Mac and Cheese yesterday.
Setting up the platers on the fire escape was like playing Tetris.
Bernie’s cousin, Andrew, arrived from New Orleans last night. The exciting part? He’s here for the whole summer! He has an internship with Grow NYC. They are one of my favorite NPOs in the city, as they are are responsible for many of the gardens and the NYC Greenmarkets - which, as you know, are my favorite!
This morning we brought Andrew to the market at Fort Greene Park to pick up the plants for the 2012 Pratley Vegetable Garden. We came home with 20 herb and veggie plants! This years garden will have: Cherry tomatoes, brandywine tomatoes, sweet Italian peppers, bell peppers, pickle cucumbers, spinach, three types of basil, cilantro, chives, rosemary, and strawberries!
(Window) Herb Garden: mint, oregano, sage, lavender, and thyme.
Breakfast = Sorta-Side-Car Kale, topped with raw eggs and then baked at 350-degrees for 10 minutes. I’m not going to be modest here - it’s amazing. With a crescent roll and a cup of coffee, we are talking an actual breakfast of champions. Saturday! Bring it on!
Every time I make a Bloody Mary I think about my Popop. He used to make them with his lunch and, as his devout follower, I had the process down to a science by the time I was 5. Of course, I called my beverage “spicy tomato juice”, and I’m pretty sure I was the only kid in my class who liked to drink a spicy virgin Mary with their tuna sandwich between Reading Corner and Nap Time.
This literally has been my favorite drink since before I even knew what it was. Cheers, Popop. Thinking of you always.
Bernie makes a lot of really good food. Some of what he cooks comes from old family recipes, most of what he cooks would kill you if you ate it too frequently, all of what he cooks makes me so excited that I get to spend the rest of my life with him (the irony being in the fact that my life could be considerably shorter if I let Bernie cook all the meals).
They boy has some southern-grown skills.
One of my favorite dishes that Bernie makes is River Road Shrimp. The first time he ever made it for me was (almost exactly) one year ago when we were vacationing on the gulf in Florida. With butter, wine, olive oil, rosemary, garlic, and shrimp the size of solo cups, Bernie forever changed my idea of what shrimp should taste like.
We got 1.5 lbs of mega-shrimp and we ate it all.
So now, every time I see shrimp, I ask Bernie if he will make me this amazing River Road Shrimp. Apparently my mom and I are on the same page, because it turns out that all she wanted from me for Mother’s Day was for me to ask Bernie to make her River Road Shrimp, you know (so Grandma could try it).
You can make River Road Shrimp with frozen shrimp, but it would be well worth the effort to be patient and wait for fresh shrimp. make sure you have a huge baguette for dipping in the leftover sauce! It’s like scampi - but better.
River Road Shrimp
Serves 6
1 Stick Butter
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
8 chopped cloves garlic
4 bay leaves
Hot sauce
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary plucked from the stems
2 lbs unpeeled shrimp (medium to jumbo)
1 tsp Tony Chachere’s or other ‘cajun/creole seasoning’
½ cup dry white wine
1. Melt 1 stick butter in a skillet. Add the garlic and olive oil.
2. Add 1-2 bay leaves, 5-10 drops hot sauce, and rosemary leaves.
3. Saute at low heat until garlic is soft. Add shrimp unpeeled.
4. Toss to coat and cook 8-10 minutes or until the shrimp are just pink.
5. Midway through cooking, add the Tony’s and ½ cup dry white wine.
6. Pour everything into a bowl in the center of the table and let guests take from the bowl.
Note: You eat this with your hands and, yes, it will make a huge mess. Worth it. Make sure guests have bowls for the sauce as well.
Serve with hot French bread for strategic dipping purposes.
Bernie Prat fires the ‘Cannon of Life’ to kick off the engagement!
Saturday, May 12th was an awesome day. I was introduced to chipotle bacon, the Rangers kicked the Caps out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Bernie asked me if I’d marry him.
After a comedy of errors during which I unwittingly challenged every single one of Bernie’s grand proposal plans, we ended up hiking to a small ledge in my favorite wooded area, Lake Mohegan, for a picnic. It was there that Bernie dropped to one knee a little too quickly, hit a rock, and asked me if I’d marry him.
Bernie has asked me if I would marry him every day since January 1, 2011. So my response was, “Yeah, you know this,” and I started walking away. It wasn’t until he told me to hold still so that he could put the ring on my finger that I realized he was serious and squeaked out the most giddy “YES, OF COURSE!” ever.
Bernie puts it best:
Some quotes:
“This is better than a dishwasher!” ~Grandma Crowley. Apparently, we one-upped the mother’s day gift that her sons got for her.
“Finally!” ~Jenny’s Mom.
“Hey man, Congrats. Keiren is sobbing, hold on a sec.” ~Cousin Martin, referencing my godmother.
We have not set an official date yet. However we are overjoyed with the support, congratulations, and well wishes that we have received from everyone.
It appears the South has truly surrendered to the North.
We could not be happier, and are so grateful for all of the support we have received from our family and friends. Party time.
