Cheers · Emptying the nest

Things that heat up our empty nest kitchen

Shelley

Every dinner starts with the same scene.  I stare out the window, while I wait for dinner to appear on my plate.  Mr. does the cooking to heat things up in the kitchen and I wait.  I’m spoiled, yes, I am.

While he cooks, I keep occupied.  I learned a long time ago to mind my own business and try not to be overly helpful in the kitchen.  Last night, as I waited, I noticed my flowers –  I sure love all the different colors.

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They’re looking a bit messy in this bed, but the Black Eyed Susan blossoms and other brightly colored buds still attract the hummingbirds and bees.  They have also attracted the scoundrel rabbit of the yard.  My mood heated up as I watched it munch away on the stems of the flowers.  Mr. came to the rescue and ran outside to scare it away.  The pre-dinner show is never dull around here.

Then I noticed this female hummingbird who was doing a little pole dance.

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She’s taken over where the aggressive male left off.  I, of course, grabbed my camera, switched out the lens to the zoom lens, and snapped a few shots of her dance while it lasted.

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I watched Mr. cook our dinner, and thought, what the heck, even if this isn’t the right lens to use for catching him in the action of cooking, why not try?!  It is fun to play and see what happens.

I zoomed in on the Wok and flashbacks to our early life together warmed my heart as I watched the garlic heat up in the oil.  I smiled.

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Mr.’s a keeper, and a great cook, he’s been that way since we first met.  I would never trade him in on a different model.  Nor would he trade in his favorite Wok (or me his loyal fan).

I also would never try to use a scrubbing pad on Mr.’s Wok ever again.  I did that once when we were first dating.  After he made me a delicious meal, to pay him back, I offered to help out.  I volunteered to wash the dishes.  It’s been my part-time job ever since.

We chatted while I washed, we snuck a few kisses and sipped wine in between each dish I washed, and then it was time to wash the Wok.  I worked up a sweat as I scrubbed vigorously away.

That reminds me, last night we finally decided to try a bottle of wine we purchased earlier this summer at the spontaneous stop at a winery.  It pairs well with the Venison and broccoli dish.  Oh, and, cooking venison in a Wok produces tender mouth-watering meat.  

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Where was I?  Oh, yeah, back to the romantic dinner for two dishwashing event.  After scrubbing on the Wok for quite some time, I wiped my forehead and finally said, “I don’t know if I can get this any cleaner.”

He looked down, took a deep breath, leaned in for a kiss and took a peek, then sighed, “Oh, dear, um…it’s not supposed to be scrubbed clean, it was seasoned to be that way.”

“Oh, no, I’m sorry…what does that mean…seasoned, but it was dirty!?”

He smiled, gave me a kiss, and said, “It’s okay, just gives me more reasons to keep cooking, the Wok is supposed to be seasoned and not shiny.”

He still married me.  And we’re still working on re-seasoning the Wok after 30 years of togetherness bliss in our kitchen.  No worries, with Mr.’s magic, it still works to heat things up in the kitchen and he can cook up a delicious meal for two (with leftovers for the next day…now that the kids aren’t here, we have leftovers!).

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And I (he) would never let the scrubbing pad near it again.  It’s way too valuable of a tool to use to create heavenly meals fit for a king and queen of our empty nest.

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Cheers to the scenes that still heat things up in our empty nest world!

Post Inspired by #AugustBreak2018 – I would never and  Dutch Goes the Photo Tuesday Challenge – Scene

PS – Are you a Wok cooking person too?  What is your favorite dish?  Do you share tasks in the kitchen with someone special?  What do you do while dinner is cooking?  

 

Published by Shelley

Letting my quirk out one post at a time.

43 thoughts on “Things that heat up our empty nest kitchen”

  2. Looks delicious! He sounds like me in the kitchen. I prefer to be left to do the cooking myself and not have help other than putting dishes out or helping me clean up after. My father was the cook most of the time and made delicious food. You are a lucky lady!!=) That hummingbird is absolutely precious. Your flowers look beautiful and hold onto those moments, its WI and its all coming to a close too quickly=(. Have a wonderful day, Shelley! ~Anne

    1. Aw, thank you, Anne! I bet with all your herbs, your meals are DELICIOUS! I’m still inspired by you to try herbs next year instead of flowers! You’re right, winter is just around the corner – enjoy every bit of heat we can now! Hope you have a wonderful day too!

      1. Basil, sage, thyme, & rosemary are great to dry for adding to cooking and pineapple sage, catmint, chives (garlic chive flowers are white and onion chives are purple) and mint offer beautiful flowers that the pests, from my experience, do not bother!

  9. I actually write a food column for our local newspaper called, “The Takeout Queen.” I don’t cook, my husband doesn’t cook, and my cat eats food from a can. We have no need for a kitchen. It’s wonderful that your husband cooks!

    1. Wow – I didn’t know that about you! Is it an article that can be found online? You’re right, you don’t need a kitchen then! I so appreciate my husband’s willingness and talent to cook.

      1. So kind of you to ask! No, the column isn’t online because it’s a local paper, and the material in the column is only relevant to people who live in my area. I guess if I had a husband who cooked I wouldn’t need to write it. LOL! 🙂 Enjoy your delicious meals. It’s much healthier to make them at home.

  11. We are wok cookers but mostly for egg roll filing. I learned about seasoning the wok the same way you did. B does 99.9% of our cooking these days. I’m the resident pot scrubber and bottle washer and to me that’s a fair trade. 😂

    1. Yes – we love egg roll filling too! LOL – glad I’m not the only one with the seasoning issue and the dedication to assistant in the kitchen. I agree it is a fair trade, and we both get to enjoy the rewards of the meal! 🙂

  12. Great post Shelley. I hit the forward on the slideshow and the Hummingbird dance is fantastic. I am a cook too so I can understand the wok thing. I am glad the meal and wine heated things up. Kisses between courses is always a great way to thank the cook.

    1. Aw, thank you, Brian! I’m happy to read you’re able to relate to the post and that you enjoyed the hummingbird dance! Enjoy your moments of cooking up some heat in your kitchen too :-)!

  14. Love that hummingbird. Few years back a hummingbird built her nest on my patio. Everyday morning I will get up and observe her. It was bliss. And one day she flew away, never to return.

    1. Aw, glad you had a season with the little bird. Since we put out feeders every year, they seem to return to our yard. We’ve seen more this year since I planted flowers. Hope someday you get return visitors to enjoy!

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