The Loaf

It was a picture-perfect spring day when I snapped this image (above) -- it's the "wings" of the new World Trade Center transportation hub in lower Manhattan, with the Freedom Tower as the backdrop. The station cost an unmentionable 4 billion dollars to build, but may be worth the money.  Not only is it highly functional, connecting multiple train lines, it also showcases commendable architecture.

 On first glance, I thought the spiky wings were meant to resemble the crown of the Statue of Liberty, an obvious symbol of freedom. But this was not the intention of the clever Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava (seemingly, all the American architects were on vacation when the project's RFPs were submitted!).  Rather, he was inspired by a dove being released into the air.  And the wings help produce an inspiring, cathedral effect (reflecting on 9/11). On the inside, the wings also effectively allow light to shine through. It's beautifully done.

 Stylish architecture is becoming rare in my beloved New York City, where most of the new buildings seem rather rectangular and uninteresting.  In a city filled with pioneers, it's hard to understand why the buildings look, well, like buildings.
 They are not so ingenious, not so New York, not so American.

Speaking of American, the 4th of July is just a month away. Is your menu planned?  

What's more down-home all-American than a big old meat loaf?  And I have a recipe that is surprisingly fresh for summer.  Instead of red meat, I use turkey meat, and I fold in multiple colorful vegetables. The result: a light loaf.
It makes a great sandwich, too!

Here is what you will need:

1lb ground dark turkey meat
1lb ground white turkey meat (turkey breast)
1 large onion
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 eggs
3 slices of day old bread
1/2 cup milk
1 1/4 cup carrots, cut in small cubes
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh or dried parsley
1/2 cup maple syrup
salt/pepper
pre-made turkey gravy

First up:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium saucepan, sauté 1 tablespoon of olive oil with diced onion and the tomato paste for about 3 minutes (until onion is soft and the paste has dissolved). Set aside to cool.

Soak the bread in the milk for about 2 minutes.  

Boil the cubed carrots for about 3 minutes, just to soften them up a bit.  Combine carrots with peas and corn.  

In a large bowl, fold together the white and dark meat with the sautéd onions as well as the peas, carrots, and corn. Wring out the bread slices and crumble into meat mixture.  Add the eggs and the maple syrup. Season with salt, pepper and parsley. Mix it well.  

In a large baking dish, form the loaf into large round dome and salt the top. 

Bake in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Let the loaf rest for a few minutes before serving. 

Not only is this dish simple, delicious and down-home, it also presents itself nicely for both casual and formal gatherings! Everyone loves it! 

Since this loaf does not produce enough juice to make gravy, it's easiest to buy a pre-made turkey gravy.  I prefer Pacific's organic turkey gravy, which can be found at most organic food shops, Whole Foods or at Amazon. I often doctor up the gravy with juice that may drain from the loaf and/or with a bit of butter. 

When re-heating the loaf, slice it into pieces and cook in the gravy on the stovetop.
 It's even better the next day!  

Enjoying the newly opened farm stands on eastern Long Island

New Parents

Reflecting on my time as a new parent

A few months back, I ran into a friend who, together with his wife, had a new born baby.  When asked how he was doing, he responded "the baby is great, but my wife and I are stressed out."  It seems that his wife, who is at home with the baby, is having a hard time taking care of anything more than the baby -- which is understandable. But, this has added a great deal of stress to my friend, who has a high-pressure job.  When he arrives home from work he needs to cook and clean, do laundry, get groceries, take the garbage out, etc. While he adores his child, he is struggling with his marriage.

My response to him -- this is normal, completely typical, happens to every new family, and will pass.

Adding a third member to the family brings the greatest life, relationship and financial change a couple can experience, and often brings out feelings of jealousy. The main caretaker of the house just doesn't have the same amount of time to give to his/her partner or spouse. It takes time to adjust to this change.  One or both parents is sleep deprived (which, did I mention,  is often used as a form of torture),  the scope of responsibilities has doubled, and there isn't an instruction manual.

Recently, I ran into this friend again and he seemed much more relaxed and happy with his family and his marriage. I was relived.  It seems they, like most new parents, have found their grove and are going to be fine.

While it may be a bit unorthodox to bring up this story on a weekend that we celebrate the 4th of July,  I do so to illustrate something important.  Despite our differences as families -- we all have more in common than not.  I was surprised at myself for being able to offer up marital/parenting advice to my friend. But ultimately, I thought later,  we all want to have healthy relationships, raise well-adjusted families, and have some fun at the same time.  Straight or gay, or otherwise, we all struggle the same struggles and no matter what type of family we are raising or were raised within, our similarities outweigh our differences.

This month, America celebrated an amazing milestone -- marriage equality.  No matter how you lean politically, we should  be proud that America's children are being raised in a country that strives to treat its people fairly.

So, as we celebrate this Independence Day, let's be proud to be American! Beyond our differences, we all stand together in wanting to be in healthy relationships and raise well-adjusted children.

Have a happy, healthy and safe summer!

Change

From my desk to yours...

7 years ago my life changed. Correction, our life changed. We had no idea just how much it was going to change as we drove our uber-green hybrid SUV down the Jersey Turnpike toward a nebulous Washington DC-area maternity ward on that crisp, April morning in 2007.  I had abruptly left a high-pressure retail advertising position, and my partner, Steve, sitting next to me nervously chatting about some esoteric geomagnetic space storm,  was worrying about his patients that were cancelled suddenly.  The comfortable life that we knew had changed.  Changed for good...

What hasn't changed is my relationship with Steve. I met him in my early 30s on a Master's swim team in Manhattan, and almost immediately into our courtship, among other things, he talked of wanting kids.  Kids? Up to that point I had not given it much thought.  Are parents even allowed in at Club G? Parenting was not part of gay culture...yet. To a certain extent, I didn't know what he was talking about and assumed he was simply chattering.

Steve and I spent many wonderful years building our professional lives, enjoying theater almost every week, exercising at chic Equinox sports clubs, eating at the best restaurants in the city, and summering in the Hamptons.  And every 4 months we would take an amazing vacation -- Argentina, Costa Rica, the Caribbean, Italy, and Italy, and Italy! As we touched down at JFK from some exotic world destination and before passing through customs, we had the details of our next trip ironed out. What could be better?

7 years later, our jet set life seems like a lifetime ago.  We have a townhouse in one of the best school districts in New York City, have mostly straight friends with whom we share a common parenting bond, are the class parents,  and are in bed before 10:00 most nights.  And we have a gorgeous and intelligent 7 year old daughter.  That is what is better! And that is how our life changed, ever-so wonderfully!

Despite being busy keeping my family organized, fed and to school on time, I am entering the blogging world, encouraged to do so by numerous friends who feel that I should share some observations of my life as a stay-at-home dad.  I hope that it is enjoyable, insightful and if I am lucky, at times, humorous.  But for now, I need to pick up my daughter from school, find the next installment of the Thea Stilton book series, get dinner on the stove and finish that 3rd load of laundry...