Tonda is one of my mom's four sisters, second youngest; and, she's my favorite. Don't get upset thinking that I am disrespecting the others, because I love all of them so much that it hurts. They are all beautiful and generous, zany and sweet, all in their own way and all of them are much fun to spend the day with. But, as with all truly wonderful people and substances, too much of a good thing causes twitches and side effects. Besides, I think Tonda is the only one that tried to beat me when I was growing up, so there's a natural affection and fondness there.
She recently came up to visit and take in a Green Bay Packer game. Having just started a new job, I didn't get to visit with Tonda as much as I wanted to, but fortunately Mr. H got to work from home a bit so he could keep his Auntie entertained. The first night she was here, Tonda treated us to an extravagant meal at Ruth's Chris Steak House. The food was phenomenal and Tonda marveled at how I could sit three feet from the fireplace that was next to my chair and not even break a sweat!
The next night, well, we didn't exactly eat at a number one steakhouse. "Our" Aunt Tonda went shopping for groceries so she could make one of her specialties: let's just call it chicken and rice. None of the other trimmings are easy to describe, so we will go with chicken and rice. Let me back up:
Tonda, one of the most beautiful, curvaceous, and auburn-haired women in the world was born with many talents. When the Lord gives someone brains and beauty like hers, he skimps a bit in other areas; for Tonda, that area was cooking. Tonda tries her hardest. She always tries to cook Middle Eastern delicacies that are popular in Lebanese cuisine, the food that both of our generations grew up on (on one side of the family, anyway). But, Tonda always misses the mark--just a little bit. The love is clearly in the couscous so to speak: that is apparent. But, when a grape leaf roll looks like a cigar and a cabbage roll looks like a baseball bat, traditional menus have been all but thrown out the window.
So, Tonda buys a paycheck's worth of groceries and comes home, already proud of herself, that she is going to make the "most wonderful" Syrian (or Lebanese, who knows at this point?) dish we've ever had. Maybe that's why we're still unclear as to what it was and if it was tasty or not.
To Tonda's credit, the chicken and rice had a wonderful flavor; I even packed some in my lunch the next day--actually, she packed it for me. How cute is that? However, I don't want to get near what she called "salad" or "sauce," though: it was some sort of tomato-based mixture with cilantro in it as to give it a Mexican or Italian flair. It was a confusing sauce that might have been great with a jalapeno thrown in and some corn chips! Though still partly crunchy, the rice was seasoned perfectly, just like the chicken: nothing over the top, just garlic, salt, and pepper. Mr. H took two bites of his chicken dinner the entire meal. Finally, someone else was witness to the finicky eating habits of my husband. Tonda was shocked--and so was I: I've never seen Bill look afraid of a plate of chicken. I told him, "Look, you ate a monkey in the frickin' jungle; the least you can do is eat a plate of chicken and rice for Aunt Tonda." Luckily, Tonda found that amusing and we sent her on her way in the morning after a lovely visit and two very, memorable meals.
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| Chicken and Rice Night: always have the fire extinguisher at the ready in Tonda's kitchen |
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| Here's Tonda volunteering her time and Shaq, her mini horse, at a school |
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