Thirty-Seven in Rice Heaven

As is tradition, we went to St. George for President's Day/Jeff's Birthday weekend. 

We visited Snow Canyon because I have been dying to take all the boys back to the red sand dunes. 

They enjoyed it even more than I imagined they would.

We were happy to get to spend some time with David and Mary while we were there.

The boys took over David and Mary's bed for Sunday movie night.

On Monday morning we met up with Teresa and her kids who were also in St. George visiting family. Yay!

You can't go to Thunder Junction without a ride on the train!

Lincoln and Holland spent most of their time together like this.

We made it home to celebrate Jeff's birthday day with lots of Cheetos thanks to a killer deal at Smith's.

I've known for eleven years that Jeff's favorite meal is ham fried rice. Not just any ham fried rice, but specifically his dad's ham fried rice. He requests it every February 19th. For several years I was able to delegate this meal to the Master Chef himself, as we were often in Cedar City for Jeff's birthday, but after the first few years of Jeff's dad saving me from having to recreate his delightful dish, the duty soon fell on my shoulders.

So I made ham fried rice. Several times. And several times I saw the disappointment in Jeff's eyes when my ham fried rice fell short. He would smile and tell me it was just right, but the leftovers that sat in the fridge for weeks afterwards was all I needed to know I had not yet perfected the art of the meal.

This year I was determined to get it right. The entire duration of my February 19th was spent hovered over my phone, meticulously watching YouTube videos of incredibly talented Japanese (*Benihana) chefs prepare authentic, award-winning, can't-mess-it-up ham fried rice.

They made it look so easy, so effortless, so straightforward. They made me wonder how I messed it up so many times before. The only thing I noticed that I did differently from the experts is I had always cooked the rice and then just added soy sauce and all the other ingredients.

As it turns out, this was my fatal error. For fellow friends with husbands who are fried rice-ly frustrated, the trick is to dry out the rice before you fry it. I had seen Jeff's dad do this, but I had underestimated the necessity of the step. As it turns out, leftover rice that has been refrigerated is the most ideal for frying.

That simple step prevents the rice from turning into a mashed potato imitator and keeps the rice nice and separated as you add the soy sauce in. Look at that beaut!

Victory for the first time in my marriage! I have mastered the fried rice! (Though coming in at a slightly lower score than Jeff's dad, Jeff did eat the leftovers this year so that's all the feedback I need.)

Finished the night with angel food cake. Another food I have yet to master. Thank you, Smith's.

Happy Birthday to the big guy of the house!