On Being Our Own Weekend Guests
I don’t know about you, but when I have weekend guests over, I enjoy planning something special for breakfast. Unlike our usual breakfasts that are grab and go items such as cereal and fruit, breakfast becomes a more leisurely meal with food to savor and long conversations. When we visited my sister-in-law a few weeks ago, we didn’t eat breakfast until later in the morning because the bacon needed frying and the pancakes had to be cooked. We had a delicious, sunny time together lingering over the food, our conversation, and the coffee.
Over this weekend I was inspired one morning to make waffles from scratch and use up the fresh berries in the refrigerator. As Joe washed my car, I took my time preparing a breakfast as I might for weekend guests. When we finally gathered at the breakfast table, it almost felt like we were our own weekend guests.
How often do you enjoy leisurely breakfasts with your family?
I May Never Have to Cook Again
It has finally happened. Annie and Louisa worked together to cook a complete dinner for us, 95% on their own. I suppose all it took was the right motivation, and maybe a little experience. You see, as About.com Guide to Entertaining I’m sent a lot of cookbooks to review, enough that you can often hear Joe walking around mumbling things about needing another bookcase. The most recent book sent for review was “Love at First Bite, the Unofficial Twilight Cook Book”. With the serious Twihards we have in this house, there was a lot of excitement over its arrival. First Louisa cooked the Rocky Road Brownie recipe, easy for her. Then Annie decided she wanted to cook dinner from it, and Louisa wasn’t about to be outdone. So I suggested they plan a menu to cook together (crafty, aren’t I?)
It was a joy on Tuesday night to sit and listen to the two of them cooperating busily in the kitchen as they prepared our dinner. They even cleaned up after themselves! The main dish was lasagna, I only helped with boiling and draining the noodles. They accompanied that with the non-alcoholic Eclipse punch which was a combination of fruit juice and soft drinks. Finally, they baked a chocolate cake for dessert. The only part I assisted with was making the frosting since it was a cooked frosting, and I didn’t want them to get burned with the boiled sugar part of the recipe. The cake layers turned out beautifully and the dinner was delicious.
On a serious note, I think the real key to getting kids to cook — is to let them. If you worry about them making a mess and always shoo them away, they’ll lose interest and never gain confidence in the kitchen. I’ve tolerated many flour and water experiments gumming up the countertops, strange drink concoctions, and almond and pickle sandwiches. But apparently it was worth it.
Entertained; Mainstreaming of the Locavore Movement
Over the weekend we made the 6 hour long journey to visit Joe’s sister and her husband’s farm/home in upstate New York. And were we ever well fed once we arrived there. They live the life of the locavore, growing as many of their own vegetables as possible and buying cheese, meats and produce from other local farmers. They don’t farm for commercial purposes, rather, it’s done out of a love for good food. So all weekend long we were entertained and treated to lovely meals made with as many local ingredients as possible. These delectable kebabs were the main course on our first night. They were accompanied by a delicious salad and a side dish of sugar snap peas and zucchini that were dressed with a garden pesto. Thus proving that healthy and tasty aren’t mutually exclusive concepts.
The Locavore Movement Marches Onward…
I stopped in a conventional supermarket today to pick up just a few necessities and was greeted by this mock farmer’s market as soon as I walked through the electric doors. Each of the items for sale in this display of produce came with a sign indicating the farm that grew it. If a large supermarket is putting in the effort to set up a fake local farmstand, they must either be feeling pressure from consumers, or competition from the real farmstands. I picked up a few fragrant peaches. As Annie would say, 5 Stars for local products!