Saturday was Ben’s graduation party. He has been looking forward to this event for a good six years, and I think it is safe to say that it exceeded all his expectations. He planned the menu with my guidance (which mostly consisted of me putting the kibosh on serving duck to 75 people, and then…
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…
21 Reasons Why
The last week and a half has been a whirlwind of activity, celebrations and milestones. Sometimes one is just too busy living life to post about it! In the last nine days: We celebrated Sophia’s birthday. Ben finished his school year. All four grandparents arrived. Sophia finished school. Ben graduated from high school. Ben went…
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…
Meatballs are in the Eye of the Beholder
Years ago, on the First Friday before Mother’s Day, our family was walking downtown, enjoying everything our fair city has to offer, when we were stopped by a photographer for the Sun Gazette. He was doing a “Man On The Street” photo spread asking children what they love about their mothers. Sophia was probably in…
Slump
Now is the season of our discontent. I don’t know why. It doesn’t make sense! We are all vaccinated and we have begun, cautiously, with baby steps, to enjoy some of the things we used to take for granted, like restaurant dining. The weather is tempestuous – hot, cold, rainy, dry, windy, windy, windy –…
You Say Fajita, Ben Says Puffita
Sometimes Ben is malleable, and can be convinced to go down whatever Ben’s Day Wednesday route suits your fancy. This was not one of those weeks. When I asked him over the weekend what he wanted to make, he answered immediately. Shrimp puffitas (fajitas). “Or maybe the kale orecchiette dish?” I tried. “Nope. Shrimp puffitas.”…
Asian Lettuce Wrap-sody (pick your hoison)
We had a great weekend! We are now all fully vaccinated, and so are Ben’s grandparents, so that warranted a family visit this weekend. It was the first time we had seen each other since 2019, and it was a great time of reconnecting. Picture people running across a field in slow motion, to scoop…