I am so looking forward to lunch today. I recently moved to a new city and through careful planning and dumb luck managed to find a house mere minutes from work. So I am going home for lunch today, but that’s not why I’m so looking forward to lunch today, not completely. This house is in a development with a fantastic clubhouse, and a common area which includes a fully furbished gym, 4 tennis courts, two soccer fields, and joy of joys, a 50m lap pool with 6 lanes! And it’s all covered by the association dues! That means, that during my lunch hour I’ll be able to swim an easy 1500, or a few hard 200’s, whatever I feel like! But really, that’s not why I’m looking forward to lunch today.
This last weekend was moving hell, a hell that was mercifully ameliorated by the help and presence of family and friends, some of whom are very able bodied and helped me carry several thousand pounds of boxes and furniture into my new, and not so humble abode. While an unbelievably large number of boxes still remain pushed against the various walls, hiding in their bowels urgently needed books and such, most of the clothes are hanging, the kitchen stuff put away, and the food in the pantry, which almost gets me to why I’m really looking forward to lunch today.
You see, in a brilliant stroke of madness my wife decided that since our new house is certainly large enough, we should offer room and board for the weekend to all our friendly helpers, this we did. And since one of our helpers also happened to be my father in law, he brought along his 1945 edition wife, also known as my mother in law. This edition of mother law is known for, among other less desirable features such as very loud voice and perpetually gloomy attitude, its unbelievable good cooking. Last night 1945MIL achieved culinary perfection, with a presentation of Cuban style tasajo, served over white rice, with a side of boiled Cuban sweet potatoes known as boniatos. Tasajo is a dried beef dish, where the beef is hydrated and cooked in a tomato and spices sauce, and it’s as close to heaven as mere mortals are allowed to get.
As I mentioned before we had a number of people over, helping with the move. As a result 1945MIL seriously miscalculated and ended up making much more tasajo than was consumed last night. That means that today, for lunch, after swimming a few laps to work up my appetite I will have tasajo over white rice, with a side of boniatos. I would almost say that I am crying with happiness, except of course that I am a Cuban man and forbidden by genetics and law from making such comments.