Burrito Night!

For as long as I can remember, I knew that summer was finally here once "Burrito Night" began. It is a tradition at our neighbor's Heather and John's house to have their friends and a few neighbors over on Monday nights in the summer to eat burritos and other delicious treats together. Heather is an AMAZING cook, and was also my babysitter when I was younger. I remember when my parents went to Italy and Heather and John watched me while they were away...she would wake me up with heart shaped pancakes every morning! Needless to say, Mom and Dad coming home was kind of a bummer...

Anyways, Burrito Night is a great time to decompress and spend time with family and friends. Julia, my blogging muse, usually joins me as well. We love wandering around the house looking at the enormity of creativity be it food or crafts.

This week I experimented with Belgian Baking Chocolate and made Katharine Hepburn's Brownies with a little twist of my own. I substituted whole flour for the white and also swirled in Organic Peanut Butter.

They turned out pretty yummy and the whole wheat flour makes me think I'm almost being healthy!

There are so many delicious things to savor at Burrito Night that it's nearly impossible to not try them all. Heather cooks beans all day, Mexican rice in this darling heart-shaped pot, and steak. Plus there are a variety of salsas, corn casserole, and Heather's famous Cesar Salad that has a homemade lemon dressing. My other favorite dish is Sue's hot carrots, they are the perfect blend of spice and crunch!

And now, in a dramatic cliched finish, I'm going to tell you what the best part of all about Burrito Night is....cue to the drum roll.

Burrito Night is the one of the few places I know where everyone is accepted, and everyone is loved. It is a group of highly genuine, gloriously brilliant, and majorly creative people who all get together for the sole purpose of enjoying each other's company. We talk about books we've read, recipes we love, swap meets we've scored at, and anything else anyone wants to bring up. In an age of social networking, this sense of community can be hard to find beyond the walls of facebook and I am so grateful I have it a few houses away. Right around the corner is the house where I, and everyone else, is free to be celebrated as the creative and wonderful human being they are. Ideas and love are plenty, as is the food.

Father's Day

According to my dad, this was his favorite Father's Day ever. According to Rachel Ray, the meal I intended to make could be done in 30 minutes. One of them is lying...

If my sister and I had known all along that all it took to make Dad happy was to wake up at seven and surf with him, we probably could have saved ourselves some money over the years, not to mention spared my dad some pretty lame presents. I had also previously promised earlier in the week that I would undertake the making of the Father's Day meal. Normally reserved for my mom and Grandma Vi's Beef Stroganoff recipe, I thought it was time I took a little domestic initiative. I've been reading a lot of foodie blogs lately, and I thought to myself "Why not?". So after a fun, full family surf session(yay for warm water finally!), my dad and I ventured to the market to collect all the ingredients that I needed for this supposed 30 minute meal. Note to all the readers(and when I say "all", I mean all five of you), if Rachel Ray makes something in 30 minutes, a beginner should add two hours. But, alas, it is the journey. And oh what a journey it is to make Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken in a Mushroom Sauce! Especially if you decide to add Sundried tomatoes and Sauteed Artichoke Hearts into the mix as well...

Nevertheless, with a little help chopping and stirring from Mom, I managed to complete my first attempt at cooking for a large audience. Even, dare I say, with some degree of success and deliciousity(so not a word!).

But the thing is, I didn't make this meal to prove to anyone that I could be some gourmet chef, I made it because I love my dad and I love my family. And like I've said earlier, sometimes one of the best ways to show that love is to make something. Because, in the end, it is not the things we say or the cards we write or the amazing gifts we buy that show people that we care. Sometimes, it is the acts we do that prove that we are unequivocally devoted, that we are willing to sacrifice precious summer hours to labor in a kitchen for them.

And the payoff is great. It was so fulfilling to sit around a table filled with people I love(Mom, Dad, Molly, George, Puppa, and Jade) and watch them eat something that I loved making for them. From my beautiful older sister who still tries to get me to hold hands and tandem surf with her to Puppa who was just happy to sit and drink a couple Pacificos(Courtesy of Jade!), there was joy all around. Although this summer has been a somewhat tumultuous one, it has still been filled with incredible joy at times. As a family we have learned to accept the bumps as they come and savor the tiny moments when we are all together and laughing. There is no such thing as a 30 minute meal in life, everything good takes time, effort, and the occasional spill. Unless you are Rachel of course! Ciao Bellas!

Comfort Food with Dad

I am a firm believer that food can solve most of the problems of the world, in moderation of course! My dad and I cooked an awesome meal tonight while waiting for my mom to get home from a day of taking care of my grandma. First, we flash browned pork chops in olive oil and onions. Just a little browning on both sides is all that is needed. Then we cut up about four apples, fresh from the tree outside and placed them into a casserole dish with the pork loin. Covered it all with a little brown sugar and dry sherry and threw it into the oven at 425 for 30 min and then 325 for another 30 or so. We cooked up some garlic mashed potatoes and organic green beans from Puppa's yard, and VOILA! Healthy Comfort Food.

Sometimes it's retail therapy and sometimes it's a good book, but there are often times in life that a homecooked meal made with love is simple the only thing to make the stress and problems of the world disappear, at least for a half an hour. Then it's back to the grind of ringing cell phones, new emails, crashing stocks, facebook updates, and a world that seems to be constantly running on overdrive. So in the time of all this chaos, it's important to remember that comfort is simply an oven and some fresh ingredients away. Don't forget to throw a little love in before it hits the oven!

Friendship

Friendships among girls are a funny thing. They can often be plagued by cattiness and gossip, yet above all things they are resilient. Throughout the tiffs and arguments, deep down it is simply known that the friendship can always endure. I have always been blessed with the greatest of friends, regardless of the coast that I happen to be on at that moment. They are the girls that I laugh with and cry with, but mostly they are the girls I am myself with. We all come from different upbringings, we have different opinions about the gulf spill and hostels, but we are bonded by our indefinite love and loyalty for each other. I often think that if people would approach any human being they meet on the street in the same way that they approach their best friends, the world would be a much more enjoyable place to live in. Because, after all, it really doesn't matter if we don't all think the same thing as long as we have the ability to lend an ear to listen with and a heart for caring. In the worst of times, the times when we think that the world probably couldn't be an uglier place, it is the friendships that we have cultivated that remind us that love is simply a call or text away. Thanks to all my friends, from the ones that I talk to everyday to the ones that I can pick right up where we left off with, you mean more to me than I ever tell you--probably because I'm rambling to you already.

Para Empezar...

After months of talking to my friend Julia about wanting to start a blog, I have finally decided to jump on the bandwagon. I've always been a big fan of journals and diaries but always with the knowledge that no one was going to read them, this should be an interesting experience. I chose the name Golden Buttons because I have always had a thing for great antique buttons. Whenever I find them in my mom's sewing room, I think about the clothes they were on and the stories they could tell. There is just something so simple and sweet about golden buttons, a simple accessory that can make anything a little more interesting! Happy Reading!