What is Marriage: Gin Rosemary Lemonade

Apparently this is the week I abandon all former waltzes with vegetarianism and cook things in bacon fat, because I can, and because it proves my southern heritage in a way that no paprika-roasted chickpea ever will.

I'm okay with it. Things feel a bit more sluggish than when my diet is plant-based, but have you ever tasted potatoes fried in bacon fat and turned into summer hash? It's indulgent, comforting, and delicious. This week has been a respite from an otherwise frantic summer - a husband and wife taking refuge from the professional rat race, and instead, cooking meals, watching thunderstorms beside our dog.

John and I have shared four homes together, some more brief than others, and the kitchen has become our center in each one. In Cleveland, it was by far the most spacious room, and the place we first discovered our love of dinnertime. It was the warmest place to be, next to our wonderful gas stove, in the midst of a very cold winter. It was a given.

Greenville continues that trend, with many nights spent happily side by side, John doing fine chopping and cleanup and me, production. For the record, I hate chopping anything that's tiny, one of many shortcomings that first endeared him to me in the grand old state of Oklahoma, summer 2008. John always volunteers to be sous chef, which works well when I'm on, but keeps a willingness to take the helm at a moment's notice, if necessary. There have been days when that was welcomed, gladly. I feel lucky that the two of us can interchange roles so easily. Chef, sous chef, leader, follower.

This week has been a food intensive week for me. I have tested and would recommend several things from The Newlywed Cookbook and Smitten Kitchen, our favorites. I'm not sure where these bursts of energy in the kitchen come from, except that they are probably a need to busy myself, escape from concerns of the day, and focus on only the task at hand.

Tonight, I finished work around 7 and focused on dinner, while John created a gin-rosemary-lemonade cocktail for both of us that was refreshing and sweet. Not too sweet, because he knows I hate that.

We marveled at how much we've loved every night this week, spent next to each other in our kitchen.


photo via Food Network