Last Thursday was my birthday. We don’t normally do a whole lot to celebrate birthdays; it’s not that birthdays aren’t special but we don’t do anything over the top. I like to eat good food and of course a delicious dessert rounds out the day. Sometimes we go on a day trip somewhere to celebrate or plan to attend a concert and I always get to choose a nice restaurant for a good meal. I like to use the phrase “birthday week” followed by “birthday month” to really stretch out the celebrating and milk a few special things out from my birthday. Typically we choose to do something special together instead of buying gifts and Eric’s birthday is about 1 month after mine so we try to plan a special weekend away together to celebrate both.
I do always celebrate in a more traditional way with my family, though. We have a standing tradition to all have a family dinner complete with cake and presents on a weekend close to the birthday. My dad’s birthday is 2 days before mine so we have always celebrated together which is fun. This year I got a great new cookbook that I’ve been wanting for awhile from a restaurant down in Asheville, NC called the Tupelo Honey Cafe.
But the best gift I get is something that I’ve been getting every year for the last 10 or so years; its my birthday soup. As a kid, my grandma used to make this amazing and soup, beef macaroni. It’s simple and delicious and makes me feel safe and warm and remember life when it was simple. It’s basically just, a complex rich beef broth, macaroni noodles, beef pieces and carrots.
I mentioned how much I liked this soup years ago, and my grandma showed up with a giant pot of it on my birthday. Ever since then, I get a big pot of birthday soup each year from her. It makes my birthday week so special, I eat it for dinner at least one night and then for lunch each day. Eric tries to sneak in a few bowls but he will tell you that I’ve become quite stingy about my special soup.
How about you guys, any birthday traditions that make your special day even more special? Got a favorite birthday cake or dessert?
Thanks for stopping by to see what's cookin'! This blog documents all my food related adventures from cooking to restaurant reviews to drink recipes and even travel, all while living life in Lancaster, PA home of the Pennsylvania Dutch, the Amish and some of the best meat and produce around.
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