In general it is not a recommended move to go out for Valentine's Day at a restaurant. It's expensive, crowded, slow, and just generally a more poor experience than you would normally have at that restaurant.
However, we had a very generous offer from my cousin Rebecca to babysit the babies so we were totally pumped to get out for the evening. It didn't really matter that it was Valentine's Day. It was just amazing to be out for a couple of hours.
Last night Jen's mum and sister arrived. Unfortunately the Wombats were already in bed so they had to wait until this morning to commence their baby-snuggling. In short it has been like we've been on vacation for the past 48 hours. We've had a 100% increase in snuggle-hungry adults around to care for the guys. I almost don't know what to do with all the free time. Other than laundry. And dishes. And all the other errands we've been ignoring.
For lunch we tried mashing up some banana and avocado together. Elliott liked it but Martin seemed to hate it even more than stand alone bananas. It was like we betrayed him by mixing one of his favorite foods with one of his least favorite foods.
I imagine he will spend the next decade planning his revenge.
Before dinner I cracked open one a new IPA from Captain Lawrence Brewing Company. Strangely they've never made just a plain IPA and this was release just a couple of weeks ago. It was very nice but reminded me more of an IPA from the west coast rather than one made about ten miles from here.
For dinner I put together this odd "risotto" with freekeh, barley, onion, garlic, carrot, grape tomato, vegetable stock, cream, a touch of tomato sauce, Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt, and pepper. I wasn't really sure about this one but it went over really well.
Martin sat in my lap while we ate and was extremely interested in dinner. I dipped my finger in the sauce and let him suck on it and he pretty much took the skin off my hand. I'm thinking we're going to start pureeing our dinner for them pretty soon. That way they can be insufferable food snobs . . . just like mom and dad!
Jen and her mum both enjoyed this 2009 Domaine de Poulvarel.
Not wanting to let a good beer opportunity go to waste I had this The Talented Mr. Orangutan from Evil Twin Brewing in Denmark. I didn't know anything about this beer other than that it happened to have an amazing name. It turns out it was a stout that was brewed with oranges. It was a bit of an odd pairing with tonight's dinner but I'm glad I had it. I'm not sure what exactly I would pair with this in the future if I ever had it again. Still, with a name like that who really cares?
On our walk today I found this Sweet Potato and Torched Marshmallow ice cream from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. I had to give this a shot and I was glad I did. Jen found it merely "interesting" while I thought it was quite delicious. Jen's mum and Lauren opted out entirely. I am fine with not sharing any of the remainder of this ice cream with anyone. There was actually a plastic shaving in the first bite I took but it was so good that I really didn't care.
I do wonder if each container is hand written with Sharpie or if that is just a really cleverly printed label. It's like those letters that come in the mail and look like they're handwritten to get you to open them then when you open them you find out it's a total scam designed to get you to send someone money in exchange for a fake rock to hide your spare house key.
Spending the whole day with the dudes is always great. Spending the whole day with the dudes with two additional helpers is like a walk in the park. It's like our lives have become the easiest lives in America overnight.
Now I just need to figure out a way into bribing our guests into staying a little bit longer. Like for ETERNITY!
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