Big doings for us this these days! I started back to school, where I am teaching in person, Sophia has taken a new teaching job and apartment in the area, and Ben began his life as an adult! He will be served by several different agencies for activities and life skills at home and in…
Category: Chef Ben Cooks!
Keep the Yottle in the Bottle
Our meal this week was inspired by an appetizer we had at Barrel 135. Ben took one bite of the Mexican elote flat bread, and declared we should make it for Ben’s Day Wednesday. I did my best to recreate what we ate, but I have never actually had elotes (grilled Mexican street corn) so…
Oodles of Zoodles! (The Great Zucchini Rebellion)
At some point, Ben discovered that zucchini is Phil’s least favorite vegetable. It will come as no surprise to you, that this only made Ben request it more. He knows that I will never turn down a vegetable request, and if it has the added benefit of sticking it to the man, where’s the down…
I Love Starbucks Coffee! (without the coffee)
This week we made corn poblano lasagna, but Ben is suspicious of poblanos. We had some hot ones once, and you would think I was Mommy Dearest. I didn’t make him eat them, mind you. They were just nestled in a dish he really wanted a go at, so he picked them out and still…
The Big Salad
It’s like a salad, only bigger, with lots of stuff in it. What’s not to love about summer? These days, we are taking advantage of every ray of sunshine and every piece of produce that comes our way. We had the best weekend ever by doing both. From top to bottom: Tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, olive…
Something Bold, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Bleu
Saturday, we had the pleasure of attending Tyler and Lindsey’s beautiful, perfect wedding. The bride’s mom took care of Sophia and Ben when they were just little, and we’ve never known a nicer family. I’m a wedding crier anyway, but when I saw this: All I could think of was this: Given Ben’s sweat and…
A Father’s Day Meal that Sticks to the Ribs!
For Father’s Day, we made barbecued baby back ribs, which was a first for me. You would think that, as Ben’s mom, I would be wildly confident about meat preparation, but it seems nobody checked my credentials when I took the job, so I’ve been kind of slipping by. Sure enough, when he declared that…
Easy-Peasy Lemon Squeezy!
We had a marvelous long weekend, and hope you did, too! It was so good, that I didn’t want to get back into the grind of cooking. This time, I left it to Ben to run whip on enthusiasm. “Come on, Mom, let’s get out the stuff and turn on the oven. It’s not too…
Yes, We Can! (Mooch off of our friends who produce awesome home-canned goods!)
Remember the Millers? They are the friends who took Ben for an evening of fun last year so Phil and I could celebrate my birthday. Leslie (Barb and Dan’s daughter-in-law) is the best. It’s kind of a family tradition. To know one Miller is to know and love them all. Leslie picks and cans all…
Flex Your Mussels!
For Ben’s Day Wednesday this week, we decided mussels were exactly what the doctor ordered. By the time the dust settled, we had a whole meal of small bites: arugula salad, fresh pineapple chunks, strawberries, bread, frittata, and… drumroll… mussels! We don’t have mussels all that often, but when we do, they always make us…