Karen calling me back to talk about food / Boston Chicken Cranberry Sauce

Note: LJ How will you die blogquiz, by Masume.

I got an unexpected phone call earlier from Karen, who got my message after she got home from Fellowship: she wished I'd been there since there were 29 people in the balcony, with some newcomers. Jon and Dallas ("he's a Chinese guy who told me that he'd met me before, but I don't remember!") had brought Matt Louie, Jeremy had brought his cousin, and Jesse had brought Hubert (whom I met at the Pho dinner). She told me that Dylan had brought / made all the food tonight, and even laid out a tablecloth... wow, imagine that! Then we talked about the weekly dinners (Korean food at Phil's did involve barbecuing the beef!), Jeremy's Pho, the inspiration for them (Delta Fellowship in Toronto... not connected to Nathan's transition group), and why the guys were heading this crew. (building community / relationships, not necessarily to make the Daniel people more comfortable with the David people)

She told me that Terry was feeling very left out of things since it seemed that everyone had their own friends... Randal seemed to adjust when he got here, and so did Derek Leung when he was here. Terry hangs out with Chung (who's into Karen So and their relationship), and with Dylan... but Dil-Dil's busy with other things, too! Karen suggested that since Terry liked to cook, he would make a good addition to the group: she gave me his email address so I could ask him (and / or Jon) about it and putting him on the list. Yeah, I'll probably do that later at some point since the guys are looking for new cooks!

She told me to hang on for a second, and was back a bit later to explain that she had to place her Dragon Ball bubble tea order with her husband Ivan. He plays hockey in Richmond and goes there afterwards, and of course bumps into Jon all the time! Karen asked if I'd been there before... of COURSE! It's a pretty rocking place, what with combined flavors and jelly / pearls! Then she asked me for feedback on the food, since I was an open-minded person and wouldn't just turn my nose up at certain food items: that dark chocolate fondue fountain was KILLER! (maybe we'll see it at the end of the month...) After that, she assured me that she'd work on Ivan's coming to my birthday dinner: seems the man's all about HOCKEY these days, which is understandable, but still! :P

Then we talked about the church appreciation dinner and last year's edition: Auntie Fonda doing the man's part and Carson's dad doing the woman's part in Chinese opera really won the guys over! He was their new hero for a good while there, haha. Jon's going, but Steph isn't since she wants a quiet night at home. Just before she got off the phone since she didn't want to keep me up, she told me that my birthday gift was something she'd been wanting to give me for at least three years, but shouldn't tell me anything more about it. Heh, I guess I'll see what it is on Tuesday since she's definitely up for dinner! Shortly after that, I buzzed Eric H. to see whether he'd received my email. He had, and said I could count him in for dinner and the movie. That makes 12 people so far for dinner (I am assuming that Jeremy's up for it... I'd have talked to him and numerous others about it tonight had I been there!), and two for the movie! Ah, it's good to have friends... even if one DOES sound a bit TOO perky in her emails, it is a good reflection of what she's like in real life! ;)


Boston Chicken Cranberry Sauce

Categories: Copycat, Sauces, Fruits
Yield: 3 cups

1 lb Can jellied cranberry sauce
10 oz Jar Smucker's Simply Fruit Orange Marmalade
1/4 teaspoon Ground ginger
2 cups Fresh cranberries; each sliced 2 or 3 pieces horizontally
1/3 cups Walnuts; chop fine

In 2-quart saucepan, over medium-to-low heat, use rubber bowl scraper to stir together jellied sauce, marmalade, and ginger until melted, about 6-8 minutes. Add the sliced cranberries, keeping sauce on low. Stir often. Continue cooking and stirring often until cranberries are no longer white and taste tender to the bite (not soft, but not too crisp). Stir in walnuts. When cooled to lukewarm, refrigerate, covered and use with a week to 10 days. Should freeze well to be used within 4 months.