WEEKLY MENU 08.28.22
Leaning into the sun during the Weekly Menu 08.28.22 as we say goodbye to August~
We’re making like sunflowers and turning to face the sun during the Weekly Menu 08.28.22 because August is, sadly, coming to an end. I adore sunflowers, and I’m sure this isn’t the first post with a sunflower on it. I always thought they were thus named because they look like the sun, but it’s actually because they follow the sun:
A fun sunflower fact is young sunflowers track the sun, also referred to as heliotropism. In a study by ScienceMag, scientists reveal sunflowers have circadian rhythms, which promote this behavior. A young sunflower’s face follows the sun from sunrise to sunset every day and repeats the cycle until maturity.
Proflowers
Mature Sunflowers Face East
As sunflowers reach maturity, their internal clocks start slowing down until they finish the heliotropism behavior completely. Don’t worry, this process does not harm sunflowers. A ScienceMag study reveals mature sunflowers face East for a couple different reasons:
Sunflowers can attract up to five times more pollinators because they warm up faster than westward facing plants.
Sunflowers are more productively warmed when Eastward facing.
Proflowers
Sunflowers are native to North America, but they took a fairly circuitous root getting back here.
Sunflower is aboriginal to North America, but its commercialization took place in Russia. It was only recently that the sunflower returned home after a very circuitous route. But it was the American Indian who first discovered the variety of seed colors, including black, white, red, and black/white stripes.
Snapblooms
And, just in case you thought it was all rosy (pun intended) with the beautiful sunflower…
An ancient Greek myth of Apollo and Clytie explains why sunflowers turn their head towards the sun. In that story, Clytie is in love with Apollo. At first, he also loved her back, but he fell for Leucothoe later. Out of jealousy and rage, Clytie told Leucothoe’s father about their relationship, and as a punishment, he buried her alive.
Snapblooms
Not very fatherly of him, I must say. He could have offed her first.
To avenge her, Apollo turned her into a sunflower; even in that situation, she still loved him and wanted to spend her days watching him as he, in his chariot, moved the sun across the sky, just like a sunflower moves to face the sun.
Snapblooms
We don’t have any sunflower seeds in the Weekly Menu 08.28.22, although they are a nice touch in a salad.
We’re starting the Weekly Menu 08.28.22 with a grilled din-din. The Grilled Chicken Cordon Blue isn’t breaded and deep fried, making it better for us. Sure, I’ll put together a super easy cheese sauce to go with, but it’s still better for us. I found a recipe for a homemade “Magic Shell” a few years back, and I might add some of that to the top of the sky-high Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pie. I have to do something – I’m planning on buying the pie crust. I’ll probably add some melted chocolate under the filling too.
Magic Shell, if you didn’t know, is a thin chocolate coating that hardens into a crackly shell. (Affiliate links precede and follow – see Disclaimer Page for deets.) If you’ve ever had a chocolate dipped ice cream cone, you’ve probably had it. Which reminds me that time is running out for that summer bucket list item.
We’re opting for low-carbish meals this week with a Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner that’ll be heavy with bell peppers, and a Taco Salad Bowl on Tuesday. (If you have littles that aren’t in love with salads, serve a couple of crunchy taco shells too. We don’t have any littles, and I’ll probably include them too.) I’ll make some zoodles (zucchini noodles) with my Veggetti Spiralizer on Wednesday so that anyone not craving carbs has an option.
We’re pressing the crockpot into use on Thursday for the decadent (but still low carb) Crack Chicken. The crockpot link from Amazon is the one that we already have. If anyone has any idea how to put that little tiny warmer into use, let me know.
We’re going all out HEAVY CARBS on Friday with the pizza. It is so totally worth it! Plus we’ve been saving up all week.
Weekly Menu 08.28.22
