What's @ Steak

I slept in until 8am and woke feeling great. I slipped quietly out of bed then headed downstairs to start some coffee. It was gorgeous and warm outside. Looked like a great day was in the offing. I spent about an hour drinking coffee and playing around on the internet. Mindy was up around 9am and promptly headed out on the deck with coffee where I eventually joined her. It wasn’t too much longer before Bella was out there with us. I was a little surprised that she was up that early.

I hung out on the deck for just a few minutes. It was well after 9am and I still hadn’t completed my run. I stretched then headed out near 940am. It was already about 70 degrees and said to be heading into the 90s again. During my run I contemplated how my day might unfold. I really wanted to go after our skis in Lewis Center, but also wanted to cut the lawn and make risotto balls. Golf was a remote possibility too, but as it was, I didn’t have any firm plans or a playing partner. I ran the usual 3 mile track returning home around 1015am.

Once inside and toweled off, I tried phoning the ASBCO Lewis Center store but got no answer. Their Sunday hours are 12noon – 5pm. What to do? With at least an hour and a half before their opening I decided to head out and at least start on the lawn. Getting a jump on the day’s heat was paramount. Like the week before, I did the tractoring first and once again cut as much as possible with it. In fact, along the rear side I got stuck and had to run inside to ask for Jacob’s help. I had him operate the tractor while I pushed it backwards. It didn’t take me long to mow and blow the entire yard – no more than an hour. I skipped whacking and edging. I didn’t look as clean and crisp as it usually does, but it would suffice. Mindy was surprised that I was done so soon.

I thought about skipping a shower until later, but at Mindy’s suggestion I took one minutes after mowing and just before going to ASBCO. I must’ve stunk. I called ASBCO before driving all that way. A young girl naked Leah answered the phone. I asked if our stuff was ready. There was some confusion regarding how many pair of skis and then what boots of ours they had. Actually, I was incorrect too. I said 4 pair of skis, one snow board, and two sets of boots. In reality, we had 5 pair of skis. Finally, after several minutes of silence and checking, Leah said if there was an issue we’d straighten it once I got there. OK. I left for ASBCO around 1230pm.

I left knowing that Ashley was expected to come over around 1pm to show us her new car. I was hopeful that she’d wait /stay until I got home. It’s about a 20 mile drive from our house to ASBCO in Lewis Center. I made good time arriving near 1pm.

It wasn’t nearly as crowded as sale day two weeks ago, which was also opening day, but there was still quite a few customers there trying on new equipment. A different young lady than I talked with helped me as soon as I entered. She was very helpful, very cute. Couldn’t have been 18 years of age. Anyway, she said it would take a while for her to gather all of our stuff. I browsed the store while waiting. I was eager to make sure that all of our stuff was there and accounted for, but just as eager to see if they were able to get my Volkl AC30 edges cleaned up and sharp after finding them extremely pitted with rust. Yep, they had everything, and my edges looked great! I was impressed – better than new. The young lady went through the required binding check on Mindy and Bella’s new skis. I forgot to make sure the boots snapped in. If you remember, when I bought my AC30s they didn’t have them adjusted correctly.

Mindy’s new Volkl Aura’s look awesome. I am excited for her to give them a rub and a whirl. I was loaded for home by 115pm but headed back inside to finish browsing the store. I wasn’t long, not even 5 minutes.

I made it home before 2pm. I didn’t see Ashley’s car in front of the house or in the driveway. Either she didn’t show up or she’d already left. I backed into the drive and as soon as I opened my door Olivia came running out of the house and leaped into my lap and gave me a hug. I love that about her!

Said her mommy was giving Mindy a ride in her new car. Steven was inside and walking out to see me. Mindy & Ashley pulled up in the drive a few minutes later. Nice car! Looks like new. I noticed cigarette ashes on the back seat floor board. I asked Olivia if she’s smoking. Ashley claimed that no one smokes in her new car. Hey, I only pointed them out. I got the impression that they were from Steven. Oops!

Ashley and Co. hung out while we carried in all of our new and tuned ski gear. Everybody was excited with their new stuff. Made sure both Mindy & Bella’s boots snapped in as designed. Yep! We opted to store all of our gear under the guest bedroom bed this time to prevent the edges from rusting. I stowed them all in ski bags too, so they can’t be chewed.

Ashley, Steven and Olivia didn’t stay long. Although, long enough for Olivia to stop by Chrissy’s place for a quick visit. She was gone for no more than 5 minutes but returned with one of her flip-flops chewed in half by Tessa. We gave Ashley a little gift just before she left. She expressed much gratitude.

It was about 230pm and I’d completed two of the three items I wanted to get done. I decided to take a brief nap. I didn’t rest for long, however. By 3pm I was up and ready to make risotto balls. It’s an arduous process. First, you have to spoon the mixture into balls. Then, roll the balls in flour. Next, bathe the floured balls in egg. Then, roll them in bread crumbs. I made the balls a bit smaller this go round. I was able to make 4 dozen balls. It was 330pm by the time I finished shaping the balls and rolling all 48 in flour. Mindy entered the kitchen about then. I asked if she wanted to help. She did. That made the final two steps go much, much faster. I did the egg bath while she did the bread crumbs. We were a team.

It was 4pm by the time we had the 48 risotto balls ready to deep fry, but I cleaned the huge mess up before starting the deep frying. At the same time, Mindy started working on our steak dinner, though the steaks were already seasoned and ready to go. You may recall, she did that Saturday afternoon when we thought we were gonna have steaks then. We were expecting both my dad and her mom for dinner. I wasn’t sure what time exactly, but guessed around 5pm. While Mindy grilled peppers, I deep fried the risotto balls. I was very eager to taste my new spin – Asiago cheese infused risotto balls.

It took about 30 minutes to fry four dozen balls, 3 or 4 at a time. After the 2nd batch I gave ‘em a try. Good, but still not perfect. The Asiago made them very fragrant and flavorful but they still seemed to lack something. Next batch I’m going to add fresh oregano or parsley to the chilled mix. Mindy tried one then two. She really liked them. Of course we warmed some marinara sauce too.

We still had about 20 minutes before my dad and Gloria were expected to show up. I was actually napping briefly in the recliner when Gloria arrived. All that cooking wore me out. I napped for no more than 5 minutes, but it was 5 minutes well spent. I topped off my ice water then headed out to fire up the grill. It was still fairly warm from Mindy grilling the peppers a bit earlier. Five minutes later I called for the steaks. While waiting for the grill to preheat I noticed how dry all of our deck pots were after giving them a good soaking just the day before. Figured I would attend to the watering after dinner and company.

The Kroger steaks were t-bones but thinner than what we’ve been getting at the Market District. I kept that in mind as I grilled away. Mindy dispatched four hot dogs for grilling too. It didn’t take too long at all. Dad showed up mid-grilling. Joined me on the deck. Mindy served everybody’s plate, cutting up the four steaks into reasonable portions. To go along with steaks Mindy made garden salads, roasted green peppers, and macaroni. Of course we made risotto balls too.

Dinner was a hit! The steaks turned out even better than expected. Juicy and pink inside. Though as Jacob pointed out, there was an inordinate amount of fat running through them. The risotto balls were a hit with everyone as well, new both to Gloria and my dad. I failed to mention that we deep fried only 24 while stowing the other 2 dozen in Ziploc bags in the freezer. Two or three each is the usual serving size as an appetizer. They’re somewhat heavy.

Mindy actually helped with clean-up and offered up keylime pie for dessert. The four adults had some pie while the kids ran off to find and play with friends. Dad and Gloria hung out until just after 7pm. We spent the last 30 minutes or so chatting about the westside. Dad and Gloria both grew up in the bottoms and knew many of the same people.

After the parents departed, I headed around back to water flowers, and they were extra thirsty. It was 8pm and almost dark as I finished up outside. These late summer days are growing shorter and shorter. Soon the kids were back at home as we collectively began our wind down to the new work week. While the kids showered, I poured myself a Jack & Coke and tuned into the Sunday night football game on NBC pitting the Jets against the Panthers. Mindy headed to our room to read early. I’m thinking that it wasn’t yet 9pm. The kids weren’t that far behind either. I stayed up watching football until 1010pm.