We are all finally well for the first time since Christmas, when Owen famously spiked a high fever and spent the last hours of yuletide fun at the hospital. Since then it’s been colds, bugs, infections, on and on – fortunately never anything serious, and I am grateful for that, and it’s not like we had any major plans other than riding out snowstorms, but still, I’m glad to see this ongoing series of sicknesses get cancelled, or at least sent back to preproduction for the time being.
The big challenge now that we’re relatively healthy is to avoid setting off the smoke detector, which has gone off frustratingly often lately. It was installed just on the other side of the kitchen doorway, right where smoke goes when something drips into the oven, and it’s been traumatizing O ever since. Now that he has words, he has a name for his pain: “beep!” he said, cowering, during one of the recent eruptions. This Wednesday, on a manic cooking day, I decided to make homemade pita bread to go with some storebought falafel mix. They turned out pretty well, but a) it’s a long and slightly involved process and b) I managed to set off the smoke alarm again. Good thing Owen wasn’t here to hear it. The real success was with the pistachio-chai muffins, which were insanely great. I don’t know who thinks these recipes up, but I’m sure glad they do.
