“All men are created equal. Now matter how hard they try, they can never erase those words. That is what America is about.” - Harvey Milk

How far we've come.

Last week, when the Supreme Court announced it's decision to strike down DOMA and to allow same-sex marriages to resume in California, I sat at my computer, stunned. I wasn't exactly speechless. In fact, I screamed so loud I'm pretty sure our neighbors heard me. I hadn't expected to be so emotional, but it hit me hard. As much as we've tried to tell ourselves that our marriage (which took place four years ago on June 20th)... our love... our life... was no different than anyone else's, DOMA was always there to point out that it wasn't real. At least that's how it felt... and it hurt terribly.

When the decision came in, I knew we had to do something to celebrate. Maybe lobster and champagne. Something decadent. I spent the afternoon buying groceries to prepare a nice meal. By the time Eric got home from work that evening, I had the table decorated with wine glasses, cheese and cut up rounds of baguette. As he entered the kitchen, I rushed over and threw my arms around him. "We're married... again!" I said. He laughed and gave me a kiss. "Yay," he replied. "Now let's pop open some vino!"

Apricot and Cherry Crumble

Servings 6-8

Ingredients

For the filling 2 pounds apricots, pits removed 1 cup pitted cherries, sliced in half 1/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg Juice of 1/2 a lemon

For the topping 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup sliced almonds 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

Vanilla ice cream Lemon verbena, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Using 1 tablespoon of butter or cooking spray, grease a 9 inch glass pie plate.

3. Place the apricot and cherries into a large bowl, toss with sugar, flour and nutmeg and spread across the pie plate. Drizzle the lemon juice over fruit.

4. In another bowl, add the dry ingredients for the topping. Using a fork, mix the topping ingredients while drizzling the butter in, until it begins to come together. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and pat it down until it has completely covers the pan.

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top has turned a slightly golden-brown. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream topped with fresh lemon verbena.