Out of the Fog and into the Kitchen

Another way we are "reclaiming our life" is by starting to entertain. It took a long time for me to have the energy to host - our evenings are a crazy blur of bath-bed-dinner-bed-collapse. The ping pong table has saved our sanity by providing a fun activity for after the kids are in bed that isn't dishes or laundry; but we have really missed visiting socially with other adults. Since Elliott goes to bed around 6pm, we don't have a lot of opportunities to go to other people's homes, and it gives me nightmares to even consider dining out.

So. We've started inviting people over for dinner. And last weekend we hosted a Sake Tasting party for Dan's lab. This morphed into Japanese night. And it was really fun! Well really fun for Dan, and mostly fun for me (although I was on kid duty the entire time, not to mention I don't particularly like sake).

Only at Uwajimaya (Asian grocery) could you find pink dinosaur kid chopsticks!

Edamame. The Japanese have gotten the art of the easy appetizer perfected.

Who knew that there are so many types of sake? Oh that one on the end with a red cap is soy sauce, better be careful what you pour. The unanimous favorite was the pink bottle, an unfiltered sake.

Dan and his work peeps. I was a little concerned when some real asians showed up, but they were either a) very polite or b) totally fooled by my attempt at "authentic" miso soup.

Nory thought the fact that the seaweed is called "Nori" was very funny indeed!

Turns out that sushi rice is a great baby food!