The front door of our apartment opened onto a long hall, with three bedrooms off to the right, and the split bathroom opening onto the left; the kitchen and living room were at the end of the hall. So as I walked in, I had a direct view into the kitchen. Here's a rough diagram: the bedroom I shared with Emily is the purple, the other two bedrooms are yellow; bathrooms are green, and the kitchen/living area is blue.
On this particular day, I came in from class and Emily was in the kitchen cooking. She introduced me to her friend Michelle; they had gone to high school together and Michelle's presence in Logan was a big motivator for Emily's recent arrival. They asked me to come help them with their chicken, they were trying to imitate a teriyaki chicken recipe from a restaurant they were familiar with. Emily knew the sauce included brown sugar, soy sauce, and water, but was unsure about proportions so they were winging it. We kept tasting it until it tasted about right, by which time we had about a half gallon of sauce. At least.
(The "correct" recipe proportions are at the bottom of the post.)
The second time I met Michelle - I think, I may have my timing mixed up - was again on a day when I walked into the apartment after class and the two other girls were in the kitchen. Emily had located Michelle's Nalgene water bottle, which Michelle was extraordinarily attached to, and had apparently been missing, and tossed it to her. Michelle's response was an enthusiastically shouted: "My precious!" This occurred just as I walked in the door, and as the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers had just come out the month before, my instant geek response was, "When did Gollum move in?" Luckily for me, Michelle is a fellow geek and laughed, and the nickname stuck.
I look back on that semester as one of the best 4 months of my college career. As I got to know Emily better, I came to realize that while her body is two years younger than mine, her spirit is far older and wiser. There were many, many times I went to her for comfort and advice, and I still look up to her as a wonderful example of friendship and spirituality.
Michelle didn't originally live in the apartment with us, but the roommates she did have were not the greatest. She was very uncomfortable in her apartment, so we invited her to stay with us. She slept on the floor of mine and Emily's bedroom, did her laundry in our building, studied and ate with us. The campus housing rules stated that guests couldn't stay for more than 3 nights without written permission, so every 4th night Michelle returned to her apartment. This went on for the last two months or so of the semester. There were many late-night giggle fests and confidences exchanged; I still don't know how we managed to stay up until 2:00 am on a Tuesday night and then get up for an 8:00 class on Wednesday. But we did. Regularly.
We spent a lot of time together the following summer, as we were dating three brothers from our student ward, but after that summer I didn't see the other two girls quite as much. They lived together that fall, but I moved to an off-campus housing complex. That winter Emily married the brother she had been dating, Tim; I moved home supposedly to go on a mission (that's a story for another post); Michelle finished her Bachelor's from Utah State (if I remember right, she'll correct me if I'm wrong) and then moved back to Salt Lake to attend the University of Utah.
Moen Hall, room 302, was a long time ago; or so it seems some days when I look at my kids and how much they've grown in the years since. But when I talk to Emily or Michelle on the phone, or we get together (far too rarely!), it's like no time has passed. It always feels that way, no matter how long it's been since we've talked or seen each other. That, to me, is the mark of true and lasting friendship. True friends don't require regular check-ins or keep track of who visited who last; they just love each other and are there when needed. I am forever grateful for the blessing of a new roommate, and an "illegal" roommate, who changed me for the better.
I look forward to many more years of friendship and laughter with these two wonderful women, and hope that our kids will be friends as well. Emily related a story once about one of her grandmas, specifying that it was her "sassy grandma," not her sweet grandma. I don't remember the story, but we laughed and promised that when we are old we will be roommates again, or at least neighbors, and be the sassiest bunch of grandmas anyone's ever known. Until then, we content ourselves with Facebook memes, text messages, and occasional get-togethers.
Teriyaki Chicken
This is one of those meals that I don't have a specific recipe for. The original ratio of brown sugar to soy sauce is 1 cup:1 tablespoon. I personally prefer more soy sauce, so I use 2 tablespoons; give or take, I don't actually measure. Add just enough water to dissolve the sugar, and pour over cooked chicken pieces. You can cube and brown chicken, or use shredded chicken that's been cooked ahead of time. I buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts in bulk and cook them overnight in the crock pot on low; they are easy to shred and freeze in recipe-sized portions the next morning.
Pour the sauce over the cooked chicken, and serve with steamed rice; vegetable stir-fry makes a great side dish.
For those who prefer ingredients and measurements:
2 chicken breasts
1 cup brown sugar
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cups water
rice, cooked
Cube chicken and saute in non-stick skillet. In separate bowl, combine brown sugar, soy sauce, and water. Pour sauce over the cooked chicken and heat through; simmer until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. Serve over hot rice.
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