Welcome Dinner

Okay, I splurged. My Beloved was headed home from four days on the east coast with daughter Sarah and her little family - when I saw the beautiful lamb chops, I couldn't resist. He's a sucker for lamb chops.

Fresh asparagus - oh, yeah. Gotta do it at this time of year, so precious and so brief is the season. And a nice little roasted spud, another favorite of his. But, how to make the whole meal just a bit more special?

Cookiecrumb had made an interesting soup that I read about on her blog that weekend, and somehow it hit a live switch. It seemed a little like tzatziki, what with the creamy buttermilk base and cucumbers - and what's better with lamb than tzatziki? Nuttin', that's what.

Tzatziki recipes read a little like the ingredients for a facial mask - cucumbers, yogurt, lemon juice - and it might just work on my growing network of wrinkles but, for now, I was thinking sauce rather than night cream. I made Kalyn's recipe for tzatziki because she claims it's the world's best, except instead of either dill or mint, I used both. It was splendid, really splendid with the lamb. The tart of the yogurt was perfect with the richness of the chops. I like to think it was like giving myself a facial from the inside out. My Beloved was in lamb chop heaven.

When your sweetie has been away for even an overnight, it's heartwarming to greet him at the door with a big hug and a smooch, for the dog to twirl and wag with delight and for dinner that night to be something really special. Maybe it's pandering to his male ego and, as a liberated woman of the 21st century, I should expect him to make dinner but I guess I'm a retrograde softie. Just glad he's home.