Life is the sum of the choices we make.
My parents and niece came to visit to watch little S dance at her creative ballet performance. (My sister could not come because she’s 8 1/2 months pregnant.)
They took the train down for the day and while they were here I got a tiny pang of “Oh, maybe I should move back to Boston.” The pangs have happened on occasion, more so since having a child, more so lately.
I’ve lived in New York for a long time now (since the late 90s), and I absolutely love it: the energy, the excitement, Central Park, The Met, theatre, friends, food, restaurants, just walking down the colorful streets. I made the choice to live here, away from “home,” during another era of my life. Now I have a child and while I still adore NYC, at times it’s a challenge, I’ll admit; I am the one who makes the trek to Boston for a variety of holidays and family events. I don’t have family here if I need someone to watch S if there’s an emergency (thankfully there haven’t been any). NYC can be crazy with a child (yet it can be very magical, too). Sometimes I think S should be closer to her cousins. And so on. There are moments I want to run over to my sister’s house and watch all the kids play, meet her at the swan boats or at The Museum of Science, go to dinner at erbaluce, stroll down Newbury St, meet friends in Harvard Square, have dinner at my parents’ house or play with their new dog. The four and half hour drive makes these things not impossible but not exactly convenient.
I’ve traded in some things for other things. I’ve chosen to live in NYC—it’s where I’m nesting, living and thriving. If I hadn’t moved here, I wouldn’t have S or the life I created. Of course I’d have a different life, but that’s not something I can speculate on.
Yet the current decision can morph into a new one. The choice I made years ago one day in autumn still stands at this moment. It’s one I like for a variety of reasons, but I can always do something new if I feel like it.
Life is fluid like that. That’s the beauty of the choices we make.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I’m delighted to have received a cookbook about burgers by a chef from Boston. Andy Husbands owns a wonderful restaurant, Tremont 457, which I highly recommend if you visit Boston. He teamed up with award-winning barbecue expert Chris Hart to write Wicked Good Burgers: Fearless recipes and uncompromising techniques for the ultimate patty.
So for dinner the other night I made this turkey burger, which was a huge hit with little S, who said: “I like everything you made tonight, Mama.”
I’ll definitely be revisiting Wicked Good Burgers over the summer. I want to make the beach house burger, homemade burger buns, peppered onion rings, the black bean portobello burger, quick kimchi, Moroccan chickpea burger with harissa mayo and something that really caught my eye: fifth dimension powder, which I’ll write about when I make it.
Their chapter on French fries has me doing google searches for a deep fryer and French fry cutter. (Not that I even eat fries all that much, but if I make them, I want them to be perfect.)
If you love burgers (beef, turkey, salmon, vegetarian), definitely check out Wicked Good Burgers.
For now, enjoy this stellar turkey burger that I am definitely making again.
Music: Sweet Caroline (okay, it’s the red Sox theme song and I am not into baseball, but it seems appropriate at the moment)
Wine: Hawke’s Bay Gimblett Gravels Te Kahu 2010 This Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec blend is fresh lively with plum and blackberry fruits with fresh mint and thyme.
[gmc_recipe 4770]