Beets and Bolts

So, in case you were wondering, the birthday dinner that involved beets and chocolate went as follows: Crackers with tapenade and brie, a pasta salad with beets, eggs, cucumbers, and cheddar cheese, and chocolate cheesecake. These foods in no way went together, except under the heading, "Foods Andrew Really Likes." I'm particularly embarrassed about the beet pasta salad, which (I know, I know) just sounds revolting. I invented it when we needed some food for a car trip but we had pretty much cleaned out the fridge. Hence the beets, cheese, and eggs, and the curious dearth of vegetables. But Andrew talked about that pasta salad for months, so how could I not make it for him? (Especially when it meant I could avoid making him meat, which technically I had offered to make, but really didn't want to).

The evening turned out to be a great success, as the food was preceded by the presentation of the bolts...

Followed by the unwrapping of the torque wrench...

God bless you, Harbor Freight. You made gift-giving a breeze.