We have good reasons for our multi-year silence.

We were stuck in a special kind of survival rut. Working four jobs. Navigating parenthood to a gifted (read: challenging) child. Crashing and burning through temporary and permanent school closures. Simplifying our cooking to appease our picky kids. The list goes on…

We honestly didn’t have anything to write about because there was nothing new, especially on the food front.

2023, however, has opened up a new chapter for us. Here’s what happened:

FRIEND (IN)FLUX

Pre- and post-pandemic, we lost a lot of people. Gone were our weekly game nights and annual Christmas parties and sorority happy hours and fall festivals. Our social calendar was all but empty outside of the occasional playdate or symphony concert. And then things started to shift.

First Chelsi, my dear sorority little sister, arrived in December. With her came the most full and boisterous Christmas/birthday celebration in recent memory, as well as every-other-week values-based heart-to-hearts. It had been some time since I had someone to consistently pour my selfish heart out to without judgement, as well as someone who wanted nothing more than to be an Aunt to our kids. I credit Chelsi’s arrival with preparing my heart for the many changes to come.

Next came Wynsor and Marv. Wynsor is one of my best friends from grad school and our overall Mother Hen. With their arrival came a sort of anchoring, as they are the type of friends who just know you. Not only does Wynsor remember every birthday and anniversary, but she often takes on the role of professional lifeline and social cornerstone. Patisserie dates, festival outings, farmers market meetups, afternoon tea talks…all of these treasured pastimes have been revived with their move here.

Finally, there was the return of Matt and Laura, our dear church friends who moved away two years ago and decided to come back to Denver for a six-month traveling nurse contract. We had high hopes of convincing them to stay beyond the six months and recently learned that our prayers were answered: They are under contract on a beautiful home nearby. With them comes playdates with kids the same age, conversations with our hearts on our sleeves, home improvement advice, and shared faith and fears.

PROFESSIONAL PIVOTS

Around the same time Jason decided to leave his stable government job is around the same time that he also decided to pursue a life in counseling in order to help others living with chronic pain. He had even entertained a Masters in Clinical Behavior Health, getting accepted into a program at Metro State University and starting bridge classes over the summer to prepare.

Unfortunately, we quickly learned that night classes were not in the cards for us at this stage in our lives. But helping others certainly is. Jason is therefore applying to service-focused jobs, completely pivoting from the work he had been doing for more than a decade.

Amid Jason’s discernment process, I made the freeing (but difficult) decision to stop freelancing. To have so many side jobs in addition to my fulltime job was keeping me from effectively balancing all aspects of our lives.

Now, we are finding that we have much more creative freedom, practiced gratitude, and a healthier work/life/kids/marriage harmony that we were desperately missing.

SCHOOL SHIFTS

Months of abrupt leadership changes and teacher walkouts led us to pull Lilia out of her Montessori school in April and homeschool her. Around the same time, Lilia qualified for Early Access into 1st grade — meaning she would skip Kindergarten (a really big development we did not at all expect).

By May, the Montessori school where our kids have attended for four-and-a-half years shuttered completely, forcing us to go to our other choice of school: the public elementary school right down the road.

A miracle of miracles, both kids were granted admission, despite a very competitive, newly-centralized PreK lottery system.

They began at their new school last month, and all we can think is:

“WOW. How did we go this long without these types of support systems?”

In just a few weeks, Lilia’s teacher and the school social worker have helped unravel months of trauma associated with her old school environment. We feel so blessed by our local public school and have high hopes for her new accelerated learning plan, which is designed to keep her engaged and challenged.

BEBE IS THE BEST

The biggest shift this year, however, was the arrival of Jason’s mom, Rebecca (lovingly called “BeBe”). She arrived in May, on Mother’s Day no less. With her came the first real parental help we’ve ever had. Not only does she “get” our hard-to-get kids, but she has single-handedly transformed the social-emotional confidence of our anxious little girl.

She has also re-ignited our appreciation for good food, prepared in exceptional ways, for people we love. It’s been a couple of years since we have consistently enjoyed experimenting in the kitchen — why would we when we knew our kids wouldn’t eat it? — but our shared love of flavor has changed all that. Now we are having conversations we never thought we’d have again, like: “I’m craving biryani; let’s give the kids chicken nuggets” or “I have some crab legs in the freezer; what should we do with them?” or “I’m thinking about doing a mango salsa with the salmon, but do you think peaches would hold up in the salsa instead?” or “Let’s make pizza; I want to perfect my technique.”

Since her arrival, we have settled into a spoiled routine whereby she brings us dinner every Thursday evening and takes the kids every Friday for a sleepover at her place. Never before have we been given the gift of such regular date nights / friend time, as well as the chance to sleep in on the weekend. (What a literal dream!)

We could go on and on about BeBe… About how we miss her when she has to work in the evenings, or how we love talking about all things music, novels, clothing, dogs, and even football with her, or how we still can’t believe she chose to move here for us and leave everything she knew behind. But in the end, it’s enough to simply say that she has changed out lives for the better, and her presence has us wondering how we ever did this alone.

We dare say this is our new, most balanced and — so far — best chapter yet.

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Feta Harissa Dip

We made this exceptional dip when Wynsor and Marv came to scout homes for their upcoming move to Denver. Over one amazing week, we feasted on biryani, tomahawk steaks, homemade bread, local ice cream, and this unique concoction of rich feta and spicy harissa. If you love spice, then you’ll love the heat that the harissa (a hot chili pepper paste found in North African cuisine) brings.

Ingredients

• 1/4 c harissa
• 8 oz tomato paste
• 3/4 c walnuts
• 1/4 c water
• 3 Tbs olive oil, divided
• 2 Tbs fresh oregano
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 10 oz feta
• Black pepper, for garnish
• Green olives, optional
• Salt, to taste (go light since feta is salty, but the tomatoes need a little bit)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a food processor, combine the harissa, tomato paste, salt, walnuts, water, 2 Tbs olive oil, and oregano. Puree together until smooth.
3. Place cream cheese and feta in a microwave safe bowl, and warm in microwave to soften.
4. Using a hand mixer, whip together the cream cheese, feta, and 1 Tbs olive oil until smooth.
5. Place the harissa mixture in a small baking dish. Top with the cream cheese/feta mixture. Press olives into cheese if you’re feeling olive-y.
6. Bake at 350-degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly.
7. Garnish with black pepper and serve with bread, crostini, flatbread, or crackers.