Winter coat weather

What happened to sweater weather?  I mean, really... we had snow flurries today.  Actually, flurries may not be the correct word.  It was much more like what the old timers called "spitting snow".  But it was white and falling from the sky...

I must admit that there is one thing about snow I miss from the years we lived near the lake shore in Michigan.  That is the beauty of lake affect snowflakes.  Once I allowed myself to view them with childlike wonder and remove the grownup lens in which I usually looked at snow in Michigan (that being that it was going to be one heck of a drive to work)... I adored standing outside as those larger than life flakes landed all around.

But I'm glad it was just "spitting snow" today.

The quite cold weather has inspired my cooking this week.  I used up a whole bunch of overly ripe bananas to make banana bread late this afternoon.  The aroma was coming from the oven as I warmed leftover chili on the stove.  I could hardly wait for it to cool down enough to slice into it (for if one does not wait, one gets crumbs of banana bread and not slices). Yum...

I really shouldn't, even though my recipe only calls for half a cup of brown sugar and it was made with half whole wheat flour, it does have five ripe bananas.  I don't even want to think of what it does to my blood sugar.

Speaking of food and all, my son called close to lunchtime a few weeks ago and asked if I was busy.  I was actually driving on the road from the highway at the time, almost at the stop sign near my home.  But I would soon not be busy.

He was going out to lunch and wanted to try a new Korean restaurant he had heard about.  I immediately said, YES!  He loves to try new foods.  I love to try new foods.  Stephanie loves to try new foods.  It is something in our DNA.  Hubby and Mrs. Christopher... not so much.

So Christopher picked me up and we headed back to the highway where there is the tiniest of shopping centers, all Asian related.  One of the doors led to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, although quite nice inside.

We both ordered a different entree so we could try each other's choice.  Both were delicious.  However, what really excited us were the condiments that were served on the side of the meal... kimchee, seaweed, some potato dish, fish, and a few other items I was unfamiliar with.

We had so much fun, catching up on what is new in his world and trying unfamiliar foods.  I liked the kimchee more than he did but he liked the potato dish more.  We both were amazed by the seaweed, which was in some kind of a sweet and sour dressing and was absolutely delicious.

I brought home some of my entree for Hubby to try, a very safe beef and rice dish.   I thought about bringing home a taste of kimchee, except there were two problems.  One... each condiment bowl only held a tiny amount and Two... he hates kimchee.

We have a saying in our home that he brought back from the Viet Nam war, if someone is in trouble they are in "deep kimchee".  Oh, no... it is not his idea of something good to eat.  But then again, the kimchee he tried in Viet Nam had been fermented in the ground. 

So... as it is to be well below normal in the temperature department for the next few days, chicken soup will be on my menu tomorrow.  Maybe.  It depends on if I decide to serve it for dinner or let it sit in the frig overnight to skim the fat off the top of the broth.  That decision will be made tomorrow.

It is time to dream of foreign foods in far away lands, until someone wants to take me to lunch!