Mama & Papa Burger
I came to Tofino to hang. To spend time with W checking out tidepools and turning over rocks. To take a deep breath of green, walk on the beach and in the rainforest, read books and maybe even nap in the afternoon. Falling asleep late the night before we left, my brain flipped over 5 words like a smooth stone in my hand: read. walk. eat. sleep. visit. (W being the common denominator, of course.) I do have some assignments to work on, but only enough to occupy small chunks of time while he plays with his Grandma & Grandad and my attention to the laptop goes unnoticed.
But it appears that for a three year old attached to his dog and his dad, taking two airplanes and a car to get to a house that smells weird and has unfamiliar furniture, and is very far away from the Christmas lights strung around his bed, his stairs and his bathtub and the bird feeder out the kitchen window in his own backyard, is neither decompressing nor stress-relieving. It has put him seriously out of sorts.
After a particularly dramatic freak-out at the garden centre, he crashed hard and slept through dinner, leaving my Mom and Dad and I to pull together a fairly utilitarian meal. My mom made the burgers of my childhood, minus the oat bran: extra lean beef, shaped into patties straight up and broiled on the broiler pan until well done, served on poufy white kaisers from the Co-Op with ketchup. Steamed asparagus, naked, and greens with whatever veg could be scrounged from the fridge. (My Mom and I ditched half our buns halfway through dinner; the meat-bun ratio was way out of whack.)
When I was a kid, I liked to bake cakes. The One Egg Cake from The Joy of Cooking was my go-to recipe, and it may or may not have been the one I was making on the day I preheated the oven, then discovered a broiler pan full of bubbling beef grease when I went to slide my batter in. When I took the hot pan out I fumbled with the too-big, too-stiff oven mitts and didn’t get a good grasp of both top and bottom; in my haste I let go of one side and dumped boiling fat from my knee down my shin.
Perhaps that’s why I’ve never used a broiler pan to make burgers. Or maybe it’s because I’ve still not had a broiled burger I particularly liked.
We had store-bought angel food cake with (more) strawberries for dessert, trying to make a dent in the giant plastic clamshell from Superstore. The sun was just starting to settle when W stumbled into the room and wrapped himself around me the way a cat does when trying to escape something particularly fierce, working its way up your neck, across your face, and eventually winding up on the top of your head. Grandma made him eggs and toast and he released my head and climbed down, and ate it on the floor, like a cat. He may just enjoy being in Tofino after all.
One Year Ago: High Tea
April 25 2009 09:49 pm | leftovers
Carolyn on 26 Apr 2009 at 5:39 am #
Julie — a great post! Your day sounds like one of the ones that we (mothers) have all experienced at one time or another. The boiling fat incident sounds painful!
piccola on 26 Apr 2009 at 6:00 am #
Oh, ouch. When I worked in a bakery, I once grabbed a baking sheet with my bare hands, thinking it had to go in the oven. It had just come out. I’m still wary of those baking racks that make it hard to see what’s on the sheet.
And that’s a mighty fine “utilitarian” meal…
Terri on 26 Apr 2009 at 6:35 am #
What a perfectly poetic post Julie…enjoy the rest of your visit.
Erica B. on 26 Apr 2009 at 8:11 am #
Serious ouch. I hope you’re leg is ok…and whatever happened to the cake?(sorry should I even ask?) It sounds like you’ve been able to slooooow down a bit and relax at least. I’m glad to hear W seems to be adjusting too.
Barb on 26 Apr 2009 at 9:20 am #
Awe. Poor baby. Travelling is hard sometimes. That nice big sleep will hopefully make all the difference for him.
robin on 26 Apr 2009 at 10:02 am #
how lovely to have loved ones in places that are fun to visit….
lindajt3 on 26 Apr 2009 at 11:38 am #
So why doncha forget about the blog for a few days and give it all up to relaxing? Everybody deserves a break, even dedicated bloggers
Tofino sounds like a lovely place to chill and enjoy.
Elizabeth L. on 26 Apr 2009 at 12:11 pm #
Oh, poor little guy! I hope today is a better day for him (and you!). I’m sure the tide pools will turn him around. My kids couldn’t get enough of White Rock when we lived out there.
Enjoy the rhodos!
Vivian on 26 Apr 2009 at 1:38 pm #
Must compliment you on that most gorgeous, mundane (in a nice way), rumpled bed shot. I would love to paint it. Soft light, lots of folds, delicious. Actually, many painters have done rumpled beds in the last few years. Maybe something about finding comfort again. Anyway…nothing to do with food, sorry.
Manon from Ontario on 26 Apr 2009 at 2:56 pm #
Hope you have a great rest in Tofino.
It sounds like a wonderful place.
PS: Julie I’ve made friends with Pat from Ontario, your mother’s friend, who used to be your neighbour, now she lives in Windsor….isn’t life full of wonderful surprises
MFO
lovetocook on 26 Apr 2009 at 4:13 pm #
Julie, you need a vacation without W and a laptop – seriously. And I hope you get a good bun for your straight-up (the only way to do beef justice) burgers next time. Load up with lettuce and condiments; hold the yellow mustard.
The shot of the bed makes me sleepy…just lovely.
Cheryl on 26 Apr 2009 at 7:12 pm #
As soon as we have grass you and Mike (and W) have to come over for Morgan’s burgers. Straight up there are the best burgers.
I hope W adjusts a bit more for you.
the other allison on 26 Apr 2009 at 8:02 pm #
Glad to hear your having such a wonderful time! I just shoveled the sidewalk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!