When life gives you...

...a stunning day - but you don't have patio steps down to your grill - you make lamb chili.

And it was good.

But steps would improve the situation. Perhaps I'll have them tomorrow....

Perhaps not.

Pasta Carbonara.

That's OK...I'll have a new set of patio steps soon!

Oh, I didn't tell you that story?

When Contractor No. 1 paid his first visit, every item on our list lit up FIX ME! in neon. The worst offender (with the prettiest lights, I might add) was the steps down to the patio from the kitchen: Narrow uneven treads, cracks in the cap stones, unsturdy feeling underfoot. So I asked for a rough idea of 'How much?'

Um...well...it'll wait. And it did...until I couldn't take it any longer! Just do it...fix the underpinnings and replace the stone.

Simple enough, right? Sure. But that wasn't all she wrote. Pull away the stone, and Holy Moldy! there's a ton of water damage that no one expected. At least now we know why the tiny ants have been visiting.

Well, days of designing, sawing and banging later, we have a lovely - solid - new set of wooden steps from the kitchen to the patio...Whew.

And the sun's come out!

Lamb chili and pasta carbonara are meals of the past...

Details?
Here goes:

Chili
-Brown a half lb lamb stew in batches in 3T olive oil.
-When the last batch is done, add 1 cinnamon stick, 9 allspice berries and 1 t coriander seeds to toast.
-Add 1 large Spanish onion coarsely chopped, 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, 1 t salt and a half t ground black pepper and saute until tender.
-Add 4 large minced garlic cloves and saute until translucent.
-Return meat to pot and add a quarter c coffee (leftover from the AM!), 2 15-oz tins of diced tomatoes w/juice and 1 tin beans (any variety will do).
-Simmer for 30 mins and add more salt & pepper to taste.

Carbonara
-Put up salty water to boil for the pasta.
-In a large saute pan, render & crisp a half lb applewood smoked bacon, diced.
-Add 1 T olive oil and saute 2 large minced garlic cloves and 3 thinly sliced scallions until soft.
-Add 1 t red pepper flakes and keep sauce warm while cooking the pasta.
-In large serving bowl, whisk 3 large (fresh!) eggs with a half c parmesan, then add a heaping T creme fraiche and whisk until combined.
-Drain pasta into the pan with the sauce and toss to cover then pour into serving bowl with the egg mixture.
-Toss, add more parmesan and hefty grinds of black pepper. Add pasta water by the T if necessary.
(Something should be said disclaimer-wise about eating 'raw' eggs...so I will: Be careful, and don't do it if it makes you uncomfy.)

While I can step lively into the backyard, I need more tiles before I can shower in my own bathroom...I wonder if my life's going in 'baby steps' or 'one step at a time'...