We had a casual, family Sunday Supper Club this week, just Elsa and Ron, and an improv menu:

• fresh artichoke hearts sauteed with onions, garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes
• sauteed spinach with balsamic vinegar
• Italian sausages (chicken) sauteed with red peppers and onions
  
• roasted cauliflower with capers
• fried mushroom polenta patties
• watermelon and blackberries with mint and basil
• prosecco

A nice time was had by all, and Julian did some interpretive dancing to Sandra Boynton's "Dog Train" album to entertain afterwards...

A post at Julian's request --
Mom, write this down tonight so that I will remember it:
Gwen came Saurday and we had fun. We stayed up really late.

They played a lot, and then watched Sleeping Beauty. My idea of a great date, too! He didn't fall asleep until ten. Plus she ate shrimp and salad... and for a minute, I thought the peer pressure would be enough to get him to try salad too, but alas, it was not to be. Maybe next time.

FIASCO Dinner #2: L.A. (Food) Story

Gil got back from DBLE on Friday afternoon, and we went ahead with our FIASCO (HUUC service auction) dinner as planned on Sautrday. Had four and a half folks from Horizon -- Julian set up the kids' table for himself and our youngest guest -- plus Grammy and us.

The menu featured food from our Los Angeles days:

• Prosciutto & Parsley Pizzas
• Killer Shrimp with sourdough bread
• Wolfgang Puck's Chino Chopped Salad
• Chilled Lemon "Souffle"

A lovely time was had by all, with much flapping of gums and belts loosened all around...

exhaustion ... sets ... in ...
J has a little cold, so he stayed home today, and probably tuckered out Grammy. I'm feeling the midweek training blues, tired in mind and body. And Gil said DBLE is wearing him out too.

On the up side, I've got the Saturday FIASCO dinner planning done and will shop on Friday. And I've cooked (although wonderful Gram has cleaned) every night and done laundry two out of three (although again, Gram has come to the rescue on the folding). Early to bed tonight, and then it's all downhill...

I have the utmost respect for anyone who parents single-handedly for any reason. For me, it certianly does take a village!

We Did It!

Everything went pretty smoothly today; made it to school at eight, and on to my class only a few minutes late -- and the instructor's computer was broken, so we didn't started on time anyway. Came home this evening, everyone was here, afternoon snacks had been had, and I made a quick dinner and did a couple of loads of laundry after J went to sleep. Thanks to Grammy for doing the dishes and folding a mountain of laundry, so I'll be going to bed on time as well!

Now if I could only get J to stop jumping on the couch between bites at dinnertime...

Grammy got here just fine. Everyone is settled in bed, and I'm heading that way myself. The pool was lovely, and only moderately crowded. I wish that someday I will understand why Juj has such a hard time switching activities, but a squirt of cold water (literally!) after the "we can't leave the pool to pick up Gram" temper tantrum distracted him in just the right way (he smiled!), and we made it through the rest of the day relattively unscathed.

Tomorrow morning will be the true test; if I make it to MY class on time, we will have "rung the bell" in my book.

Just a quickie - no Sunday supper club this week, as I will be picking up Grammy at the airport (and then feeding her the really good Alaskan King Crab cakes I tasted at Whole Foods today - who cares if their CEO is a bit of an idiot?)

But Ron did join us for a Rachel Ray meal tonight. (I know but it's like Martha: the food is actually pretty darn good -- and not TOO labor intensive in RR's case.) We had grilled cod, with homemade tartar sauce, oven fries with spicy catsup, and a fennel-red cabbage slaw. Plus fresh organic Rainer cherries in ice water, which is a great way to serve whole fresh fruit such as cherries and peaches.

Wish me luck - the adventure starts tomorrow. I'm planning on a long visit to the pool to while away the afternoon before picking up Gram.

I prepare for my most dangerous assignment of all next week -- a week with Julian... ALONE!

Well, not exactly alone; Gil is going off to UU leadership camp - um, I mean, training - Sunday through Friday, but my grandmother is coming to spend the week with us to entertain (or be entertained by) J in the late afternoons and "Uncle" Bill has volunteered to pick the wee one up from summer school each day so Grammy doesn't have to drive...

But it will still be interesting, because I have to be at the office by 8:30 each morning as I am also in training (fourth week of Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training -- more about that another time). I'm not sure Julian has ever been out the door before eight AM in his whole albeit somewhat short career of Montessori, and we'll need to leave between 7:30 and 7:45 to get him dropped off and me to the office in time.

Should really make me appreciate dear hub by the time he returns!

Aha - have I mastered the picture thing now? (Just because you CAN add pictures, does that mean you SHOULD?)

This one is from the now legendary trip to Southern California this March (beach, Disneyland, Legoland - shown here, and as many of our favorites restaurants as we could hit...)

What's for dinner?

So, when we started our online presence, it was all about sharing photos of our precious bundle of joy with our far-flung friends and family. But then the bundle got bigger and much more active, we got busier, and less photos went up. (I think if you check, they are from when he was three at the most and he's almost five now).

So then, we got asked to publish the menus of the "Sunday supper club" which is just us feeding whatever number of our family and friends happen to be available most weeks. It hearkens back to Sunday dinners at our grandmothers' houses, which Gil and I both remember fondly.

And here we go again...

This Sunday, it was percatelli bolognese (adapted from the Tyler Florence recipe on Food TV), quick-braised rapini, a Caesar salad with Giadi DeLaurentis' dressing and polenta croutons (more Food TV -- yum! was the consensus), and the aforementioned German chocolate cake, with the lily gilded by having dark chocolate buttercream frosting as well as the requisite gooey coconut-pecan filling.

I should have gotten a picture of Julian after we finished baking the cakes in the morning. He gave new meaning to the phrases "naked chef" by cooking in nothing but Buzz Lightyear underwear and a San Francisco Ballet Nutcracker apron, and then had chocolate batter from his forehead to his belly button and over to his elbow from licking the beater.

Cooking with Julian

Today we are going to make a German Chocolate Cake for Gil's birthday dinner. Julian really wanted to surprise Dad, but I think I have him convinced that it's OK not to do that. I won't live up to the beauty of Delicious Cakes but it should be good because it's from Cook's Illustrated.

Third time's a charm..

Well, we've had two other blogs, but only Gil knows how to update them, so now it's my turn to try. This looks pretty easy. And the rain has finally stopped, so that has to be a good sign.