Yankee Doodle Dandy

Well, today is the 4th of July, our country’s independence day. But it certainly does not feel that way to me. In order to have our barbeque spread, we need to make hamburger buns, potato chips, and ice cream. Ugh!

I woke up this morning, not feeling my best, and not really in the mood to cook. I have a new found respect for those families in the world that cook—I mean really cook. It is exhausting. It is worse than laundry. The cooking never ends, and those family members that are reliant on the cook are relentless =) And so begins my day…

Breakfast is a blur, but not long after we clean up, we are back in the kitchen making the base for chocolate fudge ice cream. Once completed, we pop it in the refrigerator to put the chill on per Alton Brown. We move on to the base for the caramel and sea salt ice cream—complete and the off to the fridge. What’s next? You guessed it; time to clean up again. At this point, I believe I am losing it a bit. I love cooking, and actually have an affinity for cleaning, but today my heart is not in it. To give you an idea of how much my heart is not in it; I have agreed to go 40 minutes north to spend my afternoon shopping—at Walmart. For as fond of cooking and cleaning as I am, I am polar-opposite when it comes to shopping; especially at Walmart. Everyone but Brian piles into the car and we are off. I have released myself of my self-imposed burden and feel a momentary calm come over me just in time to enter the store. I will not go into the details of shopping, it only saddens me. We did however make it out without any casualties.

As we drive home, the impending baking is weighing heavy on me. I realize that I should not have left and am a bit ashamed that I have done so. I decide that I need to adjust my attitude and by the time we pull in the drive I have reclaimed my focus and commitment to the experiment. Better later than never, right? We enter to the smell of potato chips and yeast bellowing through the atmosphere. Not a bad combo; particularly if you have not eaten in some time. I veer towards the kitchen to see my knight in shining armor over a greasy pot of oil making some of the best potato chips I have ever eaten.



If that were not enough, he has made the hamburger rolls and is just about to put them into the oven for baking. I am aglow.



The rolls turn out beautifully and we are able to sit down to a very festive 4th of July with all the trimmings. As the evening wraps up, everyone has a bit of fun with sparklers.