GRATITUDES:
1. An outing with one of my kids
2. A plate of leftover gnocchi for breakfast
3. My morning cup of coffee

I made potato gnocchi for the first time a few nights ago and I pilfered the leftovers for my breakfast this morning. Dang, they’re satisfying, or in the words of Sam Gamgee, “the Gaffer’s delight and rare good ballast for an empty belly.” Especially when sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and black pepper.😍 They’re every bit as tasty as schupfnudeln (they’re very closely related, after all) and easier to make, although I’m going to have to work on my technique for curling them off the tines of a fork. That part of the process didn’t go so well but since these weird little nuggets are so tasty, they’ll definitely be making another appearance on our dinner menu!

Basil wants to go clothes shopping today so we’ll be heading down to either Selma or San Marcos to check out the holiday sales at Old Navy. We may start off with a trip to Goodwill but I’m not sure that they’ll be open today. I’m not looking forward to getting on the highway though. Driving on the I-35 freeway is, at the best of times, like re-enacting one of the most insane vehicle chases imaginable from a “Mad Max” film. Yes, it’s that bad. Big rigs in the NUMBER ONE LANE, barreling along at 80+mph. Urban assault vehicle-style trucks, complete with massive reinforced bumper guards, riding your tail while doing the same speed (or faster). Idiots who, with absolutely no warning and no turn signals, decide that they have to swerve from the fast lane to the oncoming off-ramp less than 100 feet ahead RIGHT THIS DARN MINUTE. Poor timid souls who are so petrified of the highway that they STOP at the top of the off-ramp. You think I’m kidding? I’ve experienced all of this madness. It’s no wonder that the I-35 is considered one of the deadliest highways in the US. The entire 405 at peak rush hour is a cakewalk in comparison. Oy.

Shopping is accomplished. We survived the holiday drivers and lived to see another day. Basil collected some cute, comfy-looking summer shorts and a Led Zeppelin t-shirt. I snorted at the latter and asked them if they knew anything at all about the band. I was given a blank look in return, and felt compelled to educate them, at least a little bit. Of course, this kid seems to like collecting shirts with old band logos and photos – they also have a Nirvana shirt and one featuring the iconic photo of the Beatles crossing Abbey Road. I’ve actually caught them listening to “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and they’ve heard the Beatles since they were tiny, thanks to their parents’ rather eclectic musical tastes. I love this kid.❤️

OH – forgot to mention: I have a new food obsession, or maybe “mission” might be a better way to describe it. I’ve discovered that Basil LOVES kimchi. I bought a container of the stuff for them last week and thought that it might last more than a few days. No dice. I caught the kid, parked in the kitchen, eating the kimchi out of the container with chop sticks. SO, I tracked down what looks to be an authentic Korean recipe and found some 1/2 gallon wide mouth Mason jars at Target today that I’ll use as fermentation jars. All I need now is the gochugaru, or Korean red pepper powder, which I’ve ordered from Amazon, and we’ll be in the kimchi-making business! I sincerely hope that the recipe yields some tasty stuff; otherwise, I’m going to have a lot of weird pickled cabbage lying about that no one wants to eat.😱