on tradition and welcome back
Life into my mid-thirties has struck me. I am turning thirty-five in August, and I wasn't warned about the chaos and the speed of time at this stage. With work, marriage, kids, health, life, everything goes so fast. I’m, with fervor, hanging onto moments - fleeting as I sprint.
In these fragments of time, I crave simplicity. Otherwise, I’m seeking to build an extraordinary life full of love, growth, beauty, and joy, each juxtaposed with their balanced dark sides (but that’s a story for another time). In these moments, simplicity, though, is what I crave, and I come back to traditions. Traditions with myself, my family, and my community. Not surprisingly, many traditions in my life surround food. Food prepared together, shared around a cozy table, rich with conversations spanning from the mundane day to day to probing into the vastness of our existence.
My dad is an accountant and has owned his practice for 32 years. His work ethic, procrastination, and furrowed brow are all things I have inherited, among much else. Every year on May 1 (right after our dreaded tax deadline in Canada), my family would play hooky and go to a darling brunch spot in my hometown (Knotty Pine RIP). He would work such long hours in April that it felt like the first time in over a month we’d all be coming together, present, and sharing joy. As a kid, this felt finite- the big work push is over. As an adult, I realize how naive that was. He still had endless files on his desk, but this sweet 2 hours we’d get was a tradition that made the long days worth it.
For years, as my brother and I left home, the tradition faded away. As a parent now, the idea of Ada leaving makes me want to weep, but we have time for that yet. The work remained, but this one particular joyful milestone just vanished. In a surprising turn of events, my brother and I found our way back to our hometown, something we never imagined possible (my parents are thrilled for the record). So I reinstated the tradition this year, just a few days late. Earlier this week, my family piled into our home bright and early Monday morning. Pancake batter and bacon wafted in the air, Ada’s morning voice carried around the house and the sun was sunning. We all had meetings to get to, files to work on, and errands to run, but we kept this morning to celebrate one work milestone passing, but more importantly, cherishing this small moment together.
I’m tragically off dairy and eggs for some time so had prepared a BLT for myself, inspiring my brother to make a pancake BLT wrap of sorts. I’m documenting it below because it was apparently delicious, and Ada wanted so badly to copy him and do it on her own. A few other recipes that I’ve made lately are tagged here, and I hope you can use one next time you’re celebrating with people you love.
Pancake BLT
Ingredients
1 pancake, I’ve forever used Martha Stewart’s buttermilk pancake recipe
Dollop of Sweet Potato Hummus (recipe below)
Strip of bacon
Sliced, salted, tomato
Lettuce
Drizzle of maple syrup
Assemble all ingredients onto the pancake, fold like a taco and enjoy :)
Sweet Potato Hummus
I am pulling from my hummus recipe and adding sweet potatoes
Ingredients
1 can chickpeas (drain and reserve water)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
Juice of half a lemon
¼ cup olive oil
½ tsp salt, and extra to taste
¼ tsp paprika
2 boiled small sweet potatoes or 1 large SP
Method
Add garlic, half the olive oil and lemon juice to a high powered blender. Blend on medium until garlic is partially minced
Add the chickpeas, salt, sweet potatoes, ½ cup reserved can water, remaining lemon juice and blend between medium and high until smooth (This takes anywhere from a minute to a minute and a half). Add in olive oil as you’re blending
If the blender is stalling and it’s not becoming smooth, add in a bit more water or oil
Scoop hummus into a bowl, top with a drizzle of olive oil and paprika and chill for at least an hour before serving
