Back to the drawing board

The temperature pleased us both for once as we slept in beautiful Birch Point. It was cool with the window open; here in the country it’s on my side and apparently doesn’t create a draft in Gilly’s direction. I awoke at 9:00 and fell headfirst into a fabulous book. When i looked up it was nearly noon; I could not believe how quickly the time had passed. I made some serious noise to rouse Gilly from sleep, but the blender didn’t do the trick. I went upstairs and made an appeal in person. Even though I wasn’t too worried (Gilly usually falls asleep in his chair rather early in the evening, and because of the trip up north, he was still awake at midnight last night, so it's not surprising he was tired) I declared that enough is enough.

The weather could not have been more glorious; it hovered between 24º and 26ºC, there was not a cloud to be seen, and the breeze was truly delightful. We walked twice (maintaining the 3 mile record). I thoroughly enjoyed a long lake swim (or Lac Long swim). At my request, Liylah was taken off rescue duty, and remained was cooped up inside with her best friend for an hour. I respect myself enough to believe that I deserve some peace now and again.

Gittit shared her family’s Medjaderah recipe with me today. I remember Yuval making it in my kitchen a few years back, and so I thought that brown rice with lentils would go over well with Gilly. It is so nutritious, and best of all, it is rich in protein. I made one part seasoned up as per instructions with a dash of my own creativity, and left the other part plain to allow Gilly to choose. Gilly preferred the dish just plain and simple, rather than seasoned with onions, garlic, slivered almonds and spices. Now that we’ve finished eating, he has a stomach ache. Back to the drawing board….Someone keeps changing the rules to this game!

I used to cook to my husband’s specs with ease. Now we’re eating concoctions I’d never have thrown together in the past. It’s as if I’m cooking in a foreign country. I actually did that a year ago when we traveled together to Malawi. Gilly insisted that I teach John, the cook to prepare some of my recipes, especially soups. Whenever he worked for Central East African Railway, he stayed at a company house for weeks on end; Gilly considered John, who called him ‘Master’ and waited on him hand and foot, a lousy cook (which he really was, I must admit. Much of the food he put before us was inedible, and let’s not discuss the sanitation situation. He himself has no running water or refrigeration in his own house, so he has no clue what to do with these modern conveniences). I tried to teach him to prepare a few of Gilly’s ‘comfort foods’, but the ingredients were so different that I had to improvise in highly experimental ways, much more so that what I usually do at home (what my family likes to call oops cooking). The kitchen tools ranged from unfamiliar to dysfunctional to nonexistent. I tried so hard, because Gilly wanted John to know how to cook for him so he’d eat well during future trips to Malawi. I felt like an alien, just as I do today in my own kitchen.

When I get back to town, I’ll post a photo of John and Gilly in Malawi (pictures take too long to load here with the dial-up connection). He was a real character, and we enjoyed learning about the local culture through his eyes.

Taste-wise, Giily seems to have taken a step backwards this evening. Yesterday, he was beginning to get some pleasure from his meals. The company (or lack thereof) may be a contributing factor. Shabbat with just the two of us is not too stimulating, I suppose. When eating with our children, he smiles and listens to their banter, nibbling absentmindedly. Hopefully, when the house fills up this evening, he’ll regain what seemed last night to be a renewed appetite. Evan and Keren are expected any minute with some Israeli cousins of Keren’s. That ought to make Gilly feel right at home.