Vacation

A family reunion is currently claiming my time. My days are filled with grandchildren, nephews, in-laws of all kinds, Virginia sun and wind, and hours in the swimming pool or out on the river in the boat.

Well, and food, of course.

This side of the family is solidly devoted to fake industrial food, but even these people have a special dish that gives them pleasure to prepare and share. Breakfast and lunch are on-your-own affairs, with lots of *shudder* pop tarts, toaster strudels, sliced American cheese, crackers and chips for people to grab whatever they want. Also, sodas and energy drinks galore. On the good side, there's a never-ending bowl of fruit.

Each family takes a turn with dinner, and it's these meals that allow everyone to shine. My father-in-law made his favorite stir-fry, with lots of real vegetables: carrots, onions, cauliflower, snow peas, scallions, and the addition of marinated beef and chicken. All served over homemade fried rice. Yumm.

My step-son and his wife made beautiful shish kebabs packed with bell peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes, and beef.

My daughter-in-law made a great potato salad, with careful attention to the flavorful dressing.






Their  four-year-old daughter, from the first day they arrived, was enamored of the apple tree in the back yard, and picked apples every time she could get someone to lift her up high enough. As soon as her 12 and 15 year old cousins arrived, she had them in the tree, tossing apples into her bucket.

So I made a pie.

For my turn in the kitchen, I made lasagna, easy to use to feed a crowd:

And a salad with radishes, zucchini, and asparagus, a surprising hit:

Our hosts, my sister-in-law and her husband, prepared a southern meal of barbequed spare ribs, corn on the cob, and a colorful pasta salad. Tonight, my other sister-in-law brings out her family's favorite beef tacos, with lots of veggie toppings. Along with Coronas and lime.

The rumor for tomorrow is crab legs and pizza. THAT one will be interesting!

Family dinners

My grandsons are spending the weekend with us, which means I get to cook for 4 people instead of 2. That's actually easier to do.

I've got a roast thawing out and some BLUE potatoes from the CSA box, along with celery and white beets. I think all those items will be wonderful roasted together. The beet greens will add more color and nutrients to the meal; I'll give them a quick steam.

I've been busy and this is actually the only meal I've got planned out for the weekend. But I'm not worried because when I cook (for just the two of us) I usually make extra (because it really is easier to cook for four - or six). Those extras are even now in my freezer. It's just a matter of deciding what to thaw and heat. I have plenty of veggies still, and LOTS of salad. I think one meal may be a main dish salad of some kind, maybe with tuna fish and cheese on top.

I'm thinking of making a loaf of bread, but first I simply have to get my baking mix made: that delicious mix of various flours that we use for everything. Then I'm going to spend some time in the sun. I've been outside a bit already, and it's a wonderful day!

Successful Meals

Don’t you love it when you prepare a meal and everyone goes, “YES!”?

That happened to me on Saturday when my grandson’s were staying over. While my husband entertained them by slaughtering them at Monopoly, I prepared some Chicken Parmigiano over spaghetti squash, with sautéed kale.

It’s hard to go wrong when you dip chicken pieces in flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs/parmesan cheese, then brown them olive oil. That meal is going to be GOOD. Smother them with homemade marinara and mozzarella cheese, and bake it for 20 minutes, and that meal is going to be GREAT.

I thought the spaghetti squash would be a fun alternative to pasta and fewer calories, too. The kids loved it. And you may think 11 and 12 year old boys wouldn’t eat kale, but they did. I never showed any sympathy when my kids tried to hate vegetables and they’ll eat just about any of them, today. I’m glad my daughter’s doing the same thing with her kids.

All I did with the kale was chop it up and sautee it in a little olive oil with salt and pepper. I had half a lime sitting around so I squeezed that into it. Flavorful and healthy!

My Weekly Meals

I've been enjoying my cooking this week. It's always fun to pick out a few seasonal recipes and then be able to purchase about 80% of the ingredients at the farmer's market. I bought everything I needed on Saturday it's worked out great, as usual.

Yesterday, I made a batch of stuffed piquillo peppers. Yum! Brown rice, a tomato, some parsely and a smidge of saffron (nope, that's not local). Cover 'em with cheese and bake for about 20 minutes. Those peppers were spicy, which I really like!

This was a variation on Marion Nestle's recipe in last month's Cooking Light.

I served them with leftovers from the night before: grilled tilapia with a pinto bean salsa. Also a Cooking Light recipe.

Today, I've got some pork sausage from my CSA order and I'm going to cook it up with some roasted mushrooms and butternut squash that I have leftover from another meal. Don't know this recipe yet - I'm winging it.