The Basics of Ran

So, we went to our friends' Michael and Ellen's for grub last night. Sarah, who has known Army since KINDERGARTEN, was back from about four weeks of traveling around Asia and Austrailia...she is almost always away somewhere. (Sarah introduced us to Michael and Ellen.) We wanted to festively welcome her home.

[Important backgroud: EVERYtime -seriously, every- we've gone to Michael and Ellen's for a dinner (many many times) she will make some very from-the-good-earth kind of meal (which I love!) and Army inevitably HATES! In the past it's been pumpkin soup, squash medly, chicken on the bone, mushrooms or olives galore, etc!]

So, last night's dinner was originally supposed to be on Thursday, and I didn't really check email until Monday morning after Army left for work. Ellen, who I love, was being so sweet and replying to a long-ass update I sent out to my pals like her (who are not in a bloggy place), and she then mentioned what she planned to make for dinner....doom, doom, doom for Army!!

Hee hee!

She planned to make a lovely cous cous with SHRIMP and OLIVES and raisins...and it ended up having peas and cooked carrots in it too. HAHA.

If you know Army, you most likely know that this description I once heard of him is very very apt:

"So, a bad day for Army would be standing in the rain while eating olives and shrimp!!" It's very true. Army has very few (relative to most people) dislikes in the world. About food his dislikes are as follows:

MOST HATED FOODS
ANY sea food, olives of any kind, and meat (particularly chicken) on the bone.

CLOSE SECONDS
pumpkin stuff, squashes, cooked mushrooms, cooked carrots, peas.

Poor Army: he's one who desires to be so polite, too.

I have to defend Ellen here: she's just into different foods than Army. I'm always impressed by her healthful, earthy choices and by how much love she puts into it all. Also, she makes KILLER bread...and she's teaching me how!!

I called and gave Army a head's up about the planned dinner.

We get there, and the place is happy with cooking. Ellen and Michael start raving about these crab cakes from Traders. (Hee hee ANOTHER seafood...and one that _I_ actually don't eat.)

I took a little to be polite and shared that I rarely rarely eat crab (read never) because my mom has reacted to it with anaphalactic shock...AND it looks like spiders!

I WAS SO PROUD OF ARMY AS HE QUICKLY CUT A SMALL PIECE OF THE CRAB CAKE AND PROMPTLY SHOVED IT IN HIS MOUTH!!

He then quickly slugged some of the sparkling apple juice and later told me he almost gagged repeatedly and the sparkling stuff made it worse!!

We had fun, and it finally all came out about the foods that Army strongly dislikes...all was friendly with no throw downs to the floor!

Ondole.

(Can you count how many "so"s are in this blog?)