Grasping reflex

[dorchadas]

Normally I would have posted this yesterday but sashagee and I went out to visit her parents and her grandmother yesterday in the suburbs. Her parents are going down to Florida to help her other grandparents move and will be gone for two weeks, and the grandparent who is here is in poor health. But only poor physical health--she said she didn't want to carry Laila because she was worried she might drop her, but there was nothing wrong with her mind. sashagee's parents cooked fish and made a salad with feta, walnuts, strawberries, blueberries, and put the fish on top, and most of the time we sat around and talked. At one point sashagee went with her stepmother to Costco and I sat outside talking with her grandmother until Laila got sleepy. Then Laila got angry, so I had to retreat into the bedroom to let her sleep on my lap. We can still do things even as new parents, but we're at the mercy of a tiny, very angry tyrant.

Speaking of Laila, she's able to independently grab things now! Not very well, and she can't hold on for very long, but we have some teething toys and when we hand one to her she'll hold it up to her mouth and nom on it. Most of the time. She's still figuring out her hands but as I write this she's over in her swing, holding on to her toy and chewing it. Delicious.

A wild garlic arancino from Sfera, with a side of turmeric sautéed banana peppers from Vangies Farm and store-bought Swiss chard.

Originally we were going to get riceballs from Onigiri Kokorin after hearing from aaron.hosek that they would be at the farmer's market, but it turns out that they were only at the Taste of Andersonville. However, since I took a late lunch and went to the farmer's market not that long after they opened, I got to Sfera before they sold out of all their arancini. They didn't have any porcini left, but they had classic (meat and cheese, which I got for sashagee) and wild garlic, which I got for me. Unfortunately, the vendor misunderstood me when I asked for two each and give me two total, one of each type.

sashagee said hers was okay and I'd have to concur--fried cheese and garlic isn't bad, certainly, but I definitely think it'd be better in the context of a warm Mediterranean evening, bought from a street vendor, the way most fried foods that easily fit on a stick are (see also: kushiyaki, corndogs). The banana peppers were good but surprisingly light on flavor, so I guess it's good that I loaded them down with delicious turmeric.

Random aside--there's a huge regional debate in Sicily over whether the singular is arancino or arancina. Not being Italian I don't have any stake in the matter, but after googling it I learned that some people really care.

Cinnamon churro babka from Masa Madre. When I saw a sign that said "Mexican. Jewish" and then a bunch of prices I had to go check it out, and it turned out to be two Mexican Jews selling various flavors of babka and challah. They also had chocolate babka and one other flavor I don't remember, but obviously the cinnamon churro was the flavor I had to get. It was delicious, spiced and a bit crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. I'll need to order more from them.

Google tells me that masa madre means "sourdough starter." A great name for a restaurant.


Laila can also fold her hands, which she's doing now. It's so cute, you don't even know.

Going to walk down to First Sip, where I used to go with meowtima for weekend morning coworking sessions, with thosesocks and get some drinks! I haven't had one of their gold milk teas or ubae noir tea in years at this point. Years. Now's the chance.

Comments

[corvi]

I am charmed that "masa madre" means sourdough starter. Dough mother! Hee hee.