A post in which we celebrate Rhondee's birthday

I found out on Wednesday last week that it was Rhonda's birthday.  I had taken her out for dinner on Monday night and she had never said peep one.  Go figure.  Mother did tell me "You realize, of course, that you're supposed to remember this.  You shouldn't need to be told."  She is of course absolutely correct, and that passive-aggressiveness (which seems to be inherent in male/female relationships) is one of the many reasons that I would make a terrible heterosexual.  Rhonda of course emailed me to tell me that it was fine, and that dinner out Monday was what she considered her present.  She is a peach.

But of course I wanted to do something for her.  Russ had gotten in touch to tell me that we were taking her to dinner tonight.  Presumably she enjoyed our little trip to Kannika's earlier this week, because she again opted for Thai, which of course suited me just fine and dandy.

I went on to the flea market to get produce, because I knew that I would spend a lot of time tomorrow with Father's Day luncheon.  I have been craving squash casserole, so I went to my favorite website and looked up a recipe for one.  I have a kind-of recipe in my head (who uses a written recipe for squash casserole?), but decided to try an actual recipe to see if I could cut out some of the gratuitous fat and Campbell's creamy soup.  I love 'em, and was raised eating Campbell's soup in things.  Indeed my tiny Steve palate was conditioned to expect them in certain dishes, but they have God-only-knows what kind of chemical stabilizers, emulsifiers, and various Dow Chemical detritus in them (actually, I just looked up the ingredients, and about the worst to be found is MSG, my apologies to the Campbells' folks).  I thought if worst came to worst, I could toddle on up to Whole Foods for some organic cream soups, at least.  My favorite website came through though, and I found a highly-rated recipe that had no soup in it at all.  I was game. 

I went and bought beautiful squash and zucchini from my favorite produce vendor.  I also picked up some pretty (if troublingly hard) white peaches.  I've been dying for peaches, and they are finally coming in.  I went home and proceeded to casserole-ize the veggies.  I had a lot, so I ended up with three casseroles.  A regular 2 quart, a vintage 1 quart, and a tiny also-vintage like pint one.  I divided up the 2 quart for lunches, decided to take the medium one to Rhonda and Tony, and ate the tiny one for lunch.  It turned out pretty good.  Unusual for a squash casserole, although considering the ingredients, it tasted much more conventional than I expected it to.

I also made a pan of brownies.  I have been getting a lot of mileage out of that recipe of late.  They are just SO good.  They are the best brownies I have ever eaten.  I'm not blowing my own horn here - my homemade brownies sucked before I found this recipe.  But it is a great recipe.  Rhonda had been wanting to taste them, but she never seemed to be there when I took them for something, so it was the perfect thing to bring tonight. 

My brownies, as yet un-garnished because they were still warm.  This recipe is gorgeously delicious, but because of the chocolate chips I add they come out looking rather like the lunar landscape.  I always dust them with powdered sugar for aesthetic reasons before serving.

Dinner tonight was at Thai Taste in Spartanburg.  The food at Thai Taste is gorgeously delicious.  I was a bit trepidatious because the last time I was there I was a little disappointed; but that was during treatment, so there were extenuating circumstances that might have had nothing to do with the food.  The screaming baby that was there that time didn't help either.  Happily, my fears were without justification, and our food tonight was magnificent, as before.   

After supper we headed to the house for dessert.  Russ had decided that we needed ice cream to go with the brownies, and although I privately felt that this was not only unnecessary but vaguely insulting, I got over myself and went along with it.  They were Rhonda's birthday brownies, and if she wanted to adulterate my scratch goodness with store-boughten ice cream, well that was her prerogative. 

Every now and then though, fate just gives you a little present.  Russ and Logan were at the register debating over who was going to pay for the ice cream, when the clerk interjected "Father's Day doesn't start until tomorrow..."  I will brazenly admit that I literally clapped my hands with glee when this anecdote was relayed to me.  Schadenfreude is such an ugly emotion to have to admit, but I did indulge.  (Eh screw it, he has two husbands.)  Not only did I indulge though; I held that little gem quietly to my heart and cherished it like a precious until later in the evening, when I reminded Russ that Father's Day didn't start until tomorrow, after all.  I can be such a shit sometimes.  It is a miracle that my friends put up with me and love me anyway.

Dessert was pleasant (the ice cream, a brand I had never heard of called Turkey Hill, was actually surprisingly good) and I enjoyed seeing and visiting with everyone.  We got sucked into a marathon of Oddities, a show I don't watch that often, but which is strangely compelling.  Eventually, though, I had to pull myself away.  I had an early lunch tomorrow.  I dropped Rhonda by her place and went on home.  I think she enjoyed herself.