May 9, 2020

WEEKLY MENU 05.10.20

Our Weekly Menu 05.10.20 ushers us into mid-May, starting with Mother’s Day and finishing up with a party for our favorite graduate!

I’m looking out the window at snow falling on the flowers on our apple tree. Everything is upside down, isn’t it? A few months ago, we were in a wee frenzy planning for our trip to Baltimore to celebrate our middle son’s graduation from Loyola University. We were planning meals, organizing the days and reserving hotel rooms.

He is graduating. He’s just not walking.

So we cancelled all the reservations and meals and parties. And found out our baby learned more than finance in college. His gracious acceptance of this Covid curve ball is a lesson for his family. We were already ridiculously proud of him. He owned the entire college experience from tough classes to a semester abroad, to graduating with honors. But he finished up taking finals in the living room, missing all the fun that goes with a successful finish. He’s okay with it. So we are too. And it certainly bodes well for his future, however it plays out.

Of course we’re celebrating!

We’re having a party! A very small, intimate gathering as current guidelines require. The antithesis of fancy, he wanted a “garage graduation party” with his brothers. We’re getting a keg of beer, setting up some of his fellow grads on Zoom, and Bert’s grilling boxed burgers and hot dogs to eat as we all get hungry. Doesn’t it sound awesome?

We’re starting out the week with a little party too – it’s Mother’s Day after all, and we’re doing our part to keep the local restaurants busy. (Honestly, we’ve been doing a fair amount of that right along!) We’re getting an Italian meal from our favorite place down the road. If you want to cook for your favorite care-giver, check out our Mother’s Day Dinner menu – it’s easy, doesn’t need a lot of ingredients and it comes together quickly.

We’re having grilled chicken salad on Monday, although with the current weather, we’ll probably use our cast iron grill/griddle pan. (Affiliate links follow – see disclaimer page for details). What is going on with spring?

We’re going meatless on Friday this week. The soup is made from plum tomatoes, carrots, onions and garlic. The veggies are drizzled with olive oil and roasted in the oven at 250 degrees for a couple hours before being whirred together in our hand blender. We may add a splash or two of cream. More on that later.