The first meal I served for our family reunion was the golden chicken curry that I’ve already told you about. I figured it would be a fast, nourishing, one-pot meal, something that the kids would like and that could be kept warm on the stove so people could eat whenever they ended up arriving. I made a double batch of the curry and then two kinds of rice: three cups of white rice cooked on the stove top and three cups of brown rice baked in the oven.

It was the first time I had ever baked rice like that and I wasn’t too sure it would turn out right. But I only have one kettle that does a good job cooking rice, and Cousin Zoe had said that it tasted really good, so I decided to go ahead and risk our dinner for the sake of convenience.

Which in retrospect is a really silly thing to say because that pan of brown rice made the best brown rice I’d ever eaten, I do declare, do I.

Each grain of rice was light and fluffy, nutty and toothsome, with not a trace of mushy gummy-ness to be found anywhere. I was thrilled.

Apparently everyone else was too, because it got eaten right up, at the same speed as the white rice. And then I had to make another pot of rice (white this time, for convenience and speed) because more guests were due to arrive and we had nary a grain of cooked rice left in the house.

The downside of this recipe is the extended hot oven time, but that could be a good thing, if, say, it’s winter and your house is on the chilly side and you’re looking for a good excuse to crank up the oven. Or, perhaps you’re baking an accompanying side dish anyway and it makes perfect sense to bake the rice alongside. Or, and this will put you in league of Amazing Kitchen Goddess, you bake this any time you are baking something else, be it baked oatmeal or spinach quiche or rhubarb cream pie, even though you’re not planning to eat rice right at that very exact moment—just stick it in the fridge after it has cooled and smile like an imp because you are so dang smart.

Baked Brown Rice
From my Cousin Zoe’s blog Whole Eats and Whole Treats

The chicken broth is optional but it does add such a lovely flavor, not to mention a nutritional boost.

3 cups brown rice
5 cups chicken broth or water, or a mixture
2-4 teaspoons butter
2-3 teaspoons salt

Combine everything and pour into a 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 ½ hours.

This same time, years previous: strawberry spinach salad, garden tales, part one, raspberry-mint tea, lemon-rhubarb chicken

I slapped out a quick post on Friday afternoon but then never got around to posting it. It’s mostly irrelevant now but there is one paragraph I’ll share:

The house is mostly ready. The food is mostly made. In two days, this family gathering that I’ve been planning and preparing for over the last couple months will be over. It always amazes me how much time and work gets poured into an event that is so quickly over.

And now it’s over. The guests have all traveled back to their respective homes, last night—right before I climbed into bed with a toddy of hot chocolate laced with Bailey’s and topped with a marshmallow (thanks, Honey)—there was a flurry of emails with video and picture attachments, and now, this morning, I have a load of towels in the washing machine.

Mostly I am peacefully happy, thrilled to have a fridge filled with leftovers and relieved to get back to my regular routine, but there are twinges of sadness, too. Because late Saturday afternoon I was hit with the realization that I don’t think I’ve had that this much fun in months and months and months. Surrounded by the hubbub of family eating, arguing, talking, playing, singing—in my home—well really, can an experience be any richer?

After such abundance, I can’t help but feel a little forlorn.

It’s always interesting to see how a family grows. It felt like things went in pairs this year.

For starters, there were two pregnant bellies. (Keep your eyes open and see if you can spot them in the pictures.)

There were two year-and-a-half-old baby boys who toddled around everywhere. At one point my son said to me, his voice heavy with longing, “I wish we always had a baby in our house.”

The two little girl cousins were inseparable and absolutely adorable.

But the newest addition to our family were my cousin’s two teenage Haitian step-children. A year after the earthquake their paperwork finally went through and they arrived in the states three months ago. They don’t speak much English, but it was clear to everyone that they are real sweeties—fun-loving, good with kids, and eager to try new things.

So, you all wonder, how did we pass our time together? Oh, let me count the ways!

But before I continue, can I just say, THE WEATHER WAS AMAZING. You know that horrible forecast I was moaning about? The forecast continued to be horrible, calling for lots of dark clouds that would surely dump lots of water on us for most of the weekend. But—get this—it didn’t rain! There was a shower right before everyone showed, a sprinkle during the night on Saturday, and then a blustery storm as everyone was heading out the door, and that. was. it. I was so thrilled with the turn of events that I got anxious when we weren’t sitting outside enjoying the not-rainy weather. (Moral of the story: I get anxious regardless.)

And one more thing: with all the commotion, it’s kind of odd that I would so miss the ones who weren’t able to make it—my uncle’s family, my brother, some cousins—but I did. My brother’s emails and blog posts got shouted out to the group, we all whooped and hollered our encouragements when Kate tried to get her husband to drive down after his track meet (she failed), and there were emails sent to a cousin who just arrived in Alaska.

Number One Way How We Passed Our Time Together: Conversation

We talked.

And talked and talked.

And talked and talked and talked.

We talked about health insurance. We debated the merits of cremation versus burial. We processed the recent suicide of my aunt’s niece. We talked about how we deal with conflict in our marriages. We listened as my mom’s youngest brother reminisced about watching his older sisters come home wearing the forbidden short skirts and his mother, my grandmother, crying after they left the house. My aunt retold the story of her stillbirth; the boy would be 18 this summer.

Number Two Way How We Passed Our Time Together: Foam Finger Rockets

A friend loaned them to us for the occasion and they were the hit of the show. These little buggers made for some serious class-A fun.

Here, take a look at this series of shots.

My daughter sneaks onto the opposing team’s side and snatches up a pile of rockets at the same time that her cousin takes aim.

My daughter takes off running as fast as she can in the little white dress shoes that she insists on wearing.

Her cousin lets fly and nails her in the shoulder.

Defeated, my daughter tosses the booty and retreats.

The kids played with the rockets constantly, and adults couldn’t resist them either. Even I kicked off my flip-flops and ran shrieking around the yard (it wasn’t till afterwards that I discovered my belly was peppered with welts).

Here’s John, always on the defensive.

He still got walloped.

When Nickel was guardian of the rockets, he hauled them all under the deck where he could keep a better lookout.

Smart kid.

But then the other team got frustrated and made him take them out in the open.

There were pile-ups, tears, victorious celebrations, and intense conferences.

We never even got around to pulling out the board games.

The Number Three Way How We Passed Our Time Together: Eating

Thanks to a bunch of prep work and a ton of assistance from my mother and brother and sister-in-law, we hardly cooked at all during the weekend and yet still managed to eat like kings.

There were… .

…flaming burgers

…and donuts

…and green smoothies

…and giant salads

…and three kinds of homemade ice cream.

I love it that my family possesses some kick-butt appetites and a willingness to eat anything and everything with gusto and loud appreciation. Feeding them was such a pleasure.

The Number Four Way How We Passed Our Time Together: Singing

We spent Saturday evening sitting around a bonfire at my brother’s house, telling stories, eating s’mores, and singing songs. My Haitian cousin sang a song in French and it was beautiful.

Sunday morning we sat around and sang hymns.

In between the group harmony crooning sessions, guitars strummed and the piano plink-plunked.

The Number Five Way How We Passed Our Time Together: Walks

Saturday morning, some of us walked the three miles to my parents’ new property, and Sunday morning there was another three-mile walk and some bike riding.

On one of the walks, The Baby Nickel pulled a large bouquet of ditch-side weeds out by the roots, and, in his eager haste to deliver them to me, tripped over his pregnant aunty’s foot and face-planted on the asphalt. (A later fall, one I did not witness, left him all bunged up on his torso, and last night when he came downstairs after being tucked into bed, because he was bleeding in bed—he’d picked a scab—and needed a bandaid, my exasperated husband declared that from henceforth, he has a new middle name: Bandaids.)

The Number Six Way How We Passed Our Time Together: Making Art

My crafty cousin brought down a big box of art supplies and set up shop.

It was supposed to be for adults, and adults did linger there, but Miss Beccaboo was totally entranced with a microwave flower drying thingy. I know this because she kept pushing a stool over to the microwave and getting in my way.

The Number Seven Way How We Passed Our Time Together: Other Things

*My dad hilled the potatoes and weeded the onions.

*Mountains of dishes got washed.

*Little cousins got toted.

*Sewing lessons were given and taken.

*And many, many pictures were taken (as if you can’t tell by this photo-filled post).

Back to those group emails that got volleyed around last night: at the end of one of them my aunt wrote, “If I haven’t told you lately, I love you all very much.”

My feelings exactly.

P.S. I just realized that my cousin, otherwise known as Paparazzi Zoe, posted the entire menu with links! (And with a picture of me closely resembling a horse in full whinny.)

This is the reason I got up this morning.

Okay, so not really.

I mean, it was partly the reason, but not all of the reason.

The other reasons I got up were because the light sky outside my bedroom window made the dream inside my head turn off.

And I got up because I dreamed that my brother was flying to Qatar where he’ll be working for a couple months (and consequently missing the big bash that he talked me into hosting, the stinker). (Not stinker for making me host it but stinker, royal stinker, for missing it.) And I was all like man, did he just go and fly halfway around the world without calling me first? The stinker! (He called me this afternoon from the airport. Now he can go halfway around the world.)

The other reason I got up is because I remembered we had gotten a fresh load of library books the night before and I knew if I got busy I could get quite a few things done while the kids lost themselves in the mountain of books.

The other reason I got up was because, while I lay there thinking about plane trips and library books, I thought I heard one of the kids calling for me which made my whole body tense in preparation for a forthcoming leap out of bed and charge down the hall to the offending child’s room where I would attempt to hiss the twerp into silence.

The noise, however, was just a barking dog.

But I certainly couldn’t go back to sleep after that adrenaline rush. I needed coffee.

Besides, the other half of the bed was empty and I was curious as to what the dude who sleeps there was up to. (He was cleaning.)

About the time I threw my covers back, I recalled yesterday’s lunch, which is what you see in the pictures. And then I got all sorts of hungry and excited. I thought about making myself another skillet-full right off the bat for breakfast but then decided to wait.

And now, several hours later, I just finished my lunch, and boy oh boy, was it worth the wait. While the kids slurped up their green smoothies (ever since the spinach has come up, they’ve been begging me to make them) and munched on thick slices of freshly-baked sourdough bread smeared with peanut butter and drizzled with honey, I plowed into my made-to-order lunch and proceeded to rave profusely. (The kids just rolled their eyes and said no thank you when I stabbed loaded forkfulls in their general direction.)

I got the idea for my lunch from Julie but ended up changing it just a bit. Because yesterday, when I was on my way back in from raiding the garden for spinach and a couple baby purple onions, I passed by the lettuce patch and the fresh scent of new dill fronds—they’re coming up all over the place—caught my imagination so I snatched up a few.

In the kitchen, the pot that I had earlier used to fry up a pound of bulk sausage, was still sitting on the stove. Into the kettle I tossed my chopped onions and a little drizzle of olive oil. A teensy bit of sausage (maybe a tablespoon?) was next. And then a couple handfuls of torn spinach. I stirred it around till the leaves began to darken ever so slightly and then added a spoonful of leftover cooked rice. As soon as the spinach appeared to droop a little (not wilted, and definitely not cooked—it should still retain some crunch), I dumped the contents of the pan onto my plate where I added the finishing touches: some crumbled feta, a very generous squeeze or two of lemon, lots of fresh dill fronds (at least a tablespoon, and maybe two), and several grinds of black pepper. (Today’s lunch included some sliced baby radishes as well.)

This salad has made some of the best lunches I have had in a long time. It is deeply satisfying, thanks to the sausage and rice, and yet brisk with all the bright springtime flavors.

Lemony Spinach and Rice Salad with Fresh Dill and Feta
Inspired by Julie

This salad can be served at room temperature or cold, which means it’s perfect for packed lunches.

Feel free to experiment with different types of rice, orzo, quinoa, or any other grain that tickles your fancy.

I do not measure when making this salad; the guesstimated measurements are to give you a general idea.

a little olive oil, bacon grease, or butter
1-2 baby onions, chopped
a couple handfuls of fresh spinach, torn
1 tablespoon cooked bulk sausage, optional
1-2 scoops (about ½ cup) cooked rice
1 tablespoon feta cheese
1-2 tablespoons fresh dill fronds
1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
sliced radishes, optional
freshly ground black pepper

Cook the onions in a little fat. Add the cooked sausage, if using, and the spinach. Once the spinach has started to darken just a little, add the cooked rice. After about a minute of cooking and stirring, when the spinach is slightly droopy though still crisp, dump the contents of the pan onto a serving plate. Top with the remaining ingredients and dig in.

This makes enough for one large serving.

This same time, years previous: hummus and rhubarb sorbet