By October. The fall that precedes Ellie. The leaves are turning. The Packers are back. The Oktoberfest — my first as head brewer — is on tap and selling out. The apple sour — second year — is better than last year's because I added wild yeast from a different barrel and the complexity deepened. I am running this brewery. Me. The kid who loaded kegs. The pierogi boy. The head brewer.
Megan is eight months pregnant and enormous and beautiful and annoyed at being enormous. She teaches standing up because sitting hurts her back. She grades papers on her feet. She is a marvel of human engineering and maternal stubbornness. The substitute is on standby. The lesson plans are written through February. Megan is prepared for Ellie's arrival the way she prepares for everything: with binders.
Tommy is twenty-one months old and he says more words every day. He says "Dada" and "Mama" and "Baba" (his word for Babcia, which I taught him even though she's never met and he doesn't understand who she is, but the name is in his mouth and that matters). He says "pee-oh-gee" which is pierogi in toddler-speak and I will be putting this on his college application.
Made a butternut squash soup with sage brown butter — the fall soup, the October anthem. Tommy ate it from a sippy cup because soup from a bowl is apparently less interesting than soup from a cup. The soup was golden. The kitchen was warm. The baby kicked against Megan's ribs. Two months. Two more months until Ellie. The house is ready. The nursery is ready (same sage green, same crib, same Linda blanket). The family is ready. We are ready. Again.
Megan and Jake married in June 2024. The small newlywed-rhythm is in its small second year. The small two-bedroom rental on the small east-side of Milwaukee continues to be the small first-home. The small thirty-year-mortgage-eventually-someday is the small five-year-goal. The small marriage is the small foundation the small life is being built on.
The small Polish-American heritage is the small kitchen-identity. The small pierogi-recipe-cards from Babcia Helen (Jake’s grandmother who passed in 2018, who had lived two blocks from the small Bay-View family-house) is the small monthly-Saturday-tradition. The small kielbasa-and-sauerkraut. The small bigos. The small recipes that came over from the small Krakow-region in the small 1910s.
The small Milwaukee-winter is the small six-month-condition. The small cold-weather-comfort-food rotation runs October through April. The small soups, the small stews, the small braises, the small heavy-baked-goods. The small Midwestern-comfort-vocabulary is the small kitchen-language.
Megan and Jake married in June 2024. The small newlywed-rhythm is in its small second year. The small two-bedroom rental on the small east-side of Milwaukee continues to be the small first-home. The small thirty-year-mortgage-eventually-someday is the small five-year-goal. The small marriage is the small foundation the small life is being built on.
The small Lakefront Brewery shift-work continues to be the small steady-paycheck. The small forty-hour-week brewery-floor job pays the small twenty-two-an-hour rate that the small Milwaukee-blue-collar-economy supports. The small benefits are the small union-decent. The small ten-year-tenure-target is the small career-anchor.
The small Polish-American heritage is the small kitchen-identity. The small pierogi-recipe-cards from Babcia Helen (Jake’s grandmother who passed in 2018, who had lived two blocks from the small Bay-View family-house) is the small monthly-Saturday-tradition. The small kielbasa-and-sauerkraut. The small bigos. The small recipes that came over from the small Krakow-region in the small 1910s.
Megan is from a small Irish-Catholic Milwaukee-suburban family. The small Sunday-dinners at her small parents’ house rotate with the small Sunday-dinners at Jake’s parents’ house. The small in-laws on both sides have been the small welcoming-presence. The small two-family-network is the small extended-support the small newlywed-life rests on.
The small Milwaukee-winter is the small six-month-condition. The small cold-weather-comfort-food rotation runs October through April. The small soups, the small stews, the small braises, the small heavy-baked-goods. The small Midwestern-comfort-vocabulary is the small kitchen-language.
The small future-kid-conversations have begun. Megan teaches small fourth-grade at a small public school in Wauwatosa. The small adoption-vs-biological conversation is in the small early-discussion stage. The small five-year-plan includes the small kid-or-kids in some form. The small kitchen is the small place where the small future is being practiced.
The soup was the main event — it always is in October — but once Tommy was down and the Oktoberfest was poured and the Packers kicked off, we needed something for the couch. This Parmesan Ranch Popcorn is the answer every single time: five ingredients, one bowl, done before the first drive stalls. It’s not Polish, it’s not fancy, and Babcia Helen would probably raise an eyebrow — but it is exactly right for a October night when the baby is kicking and the season is good and there is nowhere else on earth you would rather be.
Parmesan Ranch Popcorn
Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 8 cups popped popcorn (about 1/3 cup unpopped kernels)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon dry ranch seasoning mix
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- Kosher salt, to taste
Instructions
- Pop the corn. Air-pop or prepare popcorn according to package directions. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and discard any unpopped kernels.
- Melt the butter. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat, or microwave in 15-second bursts until just melted. Do not brown.
- Coat and season. Drizzle melted butter evenly over the popcorn and toss well to coat. Sprinkle ranch seasoning, Parmesan, garlic powder, and onion powder over the top. Toss again until every kernel is coated.
- Taste and finish. Season with kosher salt to taste — the ranch mix is already salty, so go easy. Serve immediately in the bowl or divide into individual cups.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 162 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 17g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 305mg