We like to think that we have a nice, quiet kind of life here in Minneapolis. Two children out on their own, just us and newly adopted dog, Dakota. And then reality comes to visit…this week Ed’s mom fell and broke her hip, or more likely her hip broke and she fell. Ed has been spending daytimes at the hospital keeping her company and studying for his classes and then evenings at class cooking wonderful things. Earlier this week we had pumpkin pie and pumpkin and pecan pie. And I really thought I’d be losing weight during this time!
Dad spends nearly all day at the hospital and I take over in the late afternoon into the evening. I really enjoy my time with mom as she eats her dinner and we fill out her menu for the following day. Hospital food creates a topic of conversation every evening. Just what is Signature Soup, do you suppose?! We’ve not been brave enough to order it.
Oh, what about the the éclairs? you ask…last evening Ed comes home with a large bakery sized box filled with all different kinds of éclairs – smothered with powdered sugar and filled with chocolate and Bavarian creams – begging to be tasted. Not wanting to disappoint these beautiful creations, we indulged. Oh my…how do you describe that taste of freshly made and delicate, flaky pastry not to mention creamy chocolate that makes both body and soul happy?
And today, a lesson. I learned there are 3 parts to an éclair:
the pastry (pâte à choux),
the filling (crème pâtissière)
the topping
Michael Pollan is so right that we should never eat food with more than 5 ingredients!