This week Ben suggested we make taco salad for supper. I readily agreed because its preparation includes little more than washing and chopping vegetables and browning some ground beef. I thought I had gotten off easy. When I came home from work, there was a pan of apple dumplings on the back porch. When Laura…
Author: Liz
Secretary of Peanut Butter
On the surface, I haven’t much to say this week. My nose is worn to a nub from its perpetual position on the grindstone, but when you live with Ben, you find that staying alert for the wisdom he dispenses pays dividends. A couple weeks ago we had a large group at our house and…
Strike!
We seem to be in a super busy stretch (known as September) so our meals have not been as orchestrated as sometimes. I’ve been asking Ben for cooking ideas and asking him to step in on any meal to do simple tasks. This week I asked him to shuck two ears of corn outside, but…
The Nosh Equilibrium
Well, this is new. We apparently cooked so much last week that we will spend the whole week living off the dividends. Phil and I see this as a huge bonus. Ben is less enthused about a week of leftovers, and by “less enthused,” of course I mean that when he heard we were serving…
The Fall
Much as I want to stretch out summer as long as I can, even I have to face the fact that we are nearing the end of weekend rides in the convertible, sleeping on the sleeping porch, and all the incredible fresh fruits and vegetables we can handle. This is the seasonal transition time that…
More School Bell
We’re in it, Baby! The school year has begun, and both Phil and I (for the first time in 14 years!) are enjoying getting to know our new classes. I do this every year, but Phil is reacquainting himself with August start-up as a professor. So far, so good. Ben has not been in school…
Speaking of Which…
If you have spent much time around Ben lately, you will likely have noticed that his new favorite phrase is, “Speaking of which…” He uses it correctly and it makes him sound very sophisticated. He has a pretty well-developed vocabulary, though it seems to have some holes. How can the same guy request a charcuterie…
‘Union
If summers had themes, and we really think they should, ours would be family. A new family began when Sophia and Jake got married, existing families came together for the big event, and we also attended both a Sprunger reunion and a Yoder reunion this summer! Ben dispenses with the first syllable of reunion and…
Ben’s Day Friends’ Day
Usually, for Ben’s birthday in June we bring lunch for his friends in the park. This year his birthday was four days before his sister’s wedding, so we put him off until July and we took great pains to tell him that it wasn’t a birthday party, it was just a gathering of friends. We…
Eat the Rainbow
Thank goodness you chose the rainbow challenge for this week’s cooking adventure! (I couldn’t face those frozen bananas for a second week in a row, especially when paired with pretzels, shrimp and a surprise ingredient!) Besides, summer’s produce is filled with colorful choices for a rainbow meal! We all know that eating a variety of…