Monday, Monday

Whew!  Was it just me or did that weekend fly by?

We went to see my parents to belatedly celebrate my mom's birthday.  That was a lot of fun, and extra-special because Jason & Lori were able to come too. 

My mom is notoriously hard to buy for.  Not because she is hard to please, but more she doesn't need  anything, and she's not very good at giving hints as to what she would like.  This year was different.  Finally!  We were talking a few weeks ago and she started raving about a light she had seen in a magazine that she loved and how she had even tracked it down and found out it was from Pottery Barn.  I got online, saw we could afford it and asked her if she was sure she liked it.  She was.  She did!  I ordered it for her, and it was a great joy to actually be able to give my mom a present that she was truly excited by--not for the thought behind it, but because she genuinely loves it.

 I admit I think it's pretty cool too.  I can't wait to see it up at their house.  That could be a while though, my dad hates it and is really dragging his feet about putting it up.  I think it will look great in their house though once he acquiesces and actually puts it up.

Because no one should have to make their own birthday cake, I also made a cake and took it down to help us celebrate.  I made carrot cake, from Smitten Kitchen.  I thought the cake was really good and especially loved her cream cheese frosting sweetened with maple syrup.  I never would have thought to do it, but I truly loved the flavor it gave it and will be making it like that most of the time I need a cream cheese frosting.

Sunday was good too, though in a different way.  It was scout Sunday at our church and Jacob and Julianna were both excited and proud to wear their uniforms and serve as greeters.  Afterward we went out for a nice brunch, I was especially glad we had taken the time to do that because soon after we got home Mark was called out of town to a problem-child jobsite, two and a half hours away.  Off he went and the kids and I enjoyed a quiet, toned-down Sunday.  Much nicer than Mark got to enjoy, certainly.  Anyway, he solved the problem and was back by 9:00, just in time to turn in and start the whole work week cycle again.

Today, I made a terrific honey wheat sourdough bread.  So fun and rewarding to put so much time and effort into something and have it turn out well.  Yeah me!  I bought some sourdough starter recently from King Arthur Flour and have been experimenting with it.  I love King Arthur Flour, the company.  They have a terrific website, one that in my opinion a lot of companies could learn from.  Plus, they have both a telephone helpline and instant-chat for those times when you just need someone to answer a quick question or hold your hand.  It has proven extremely helpful to me the past couple of weeks, so much so that I am now committed to buying their flour oven the cheapy-generic that I used to buy.  People swear the flour's better, truly I'm not experienced enough to know about that yet, but I do know the customer service they offer is worth it to me to do my part to try and make sure they stay in business.


Our week ahead's looking pretty normal.  Friday night we have a spaghetti dinner with an auction at the kid's school.  It's a fundraiser, and I'm looking forward to it.  It's a nice, almost old-fashioned kind of community event that really makes you feel like you're contributing to something good, as well as being fun.


Hope whatever your week holds, it's good.


Here's what we'll be eating this week...or not, it's feeling like one of those weeks around here.  :)
Monday:  leftover Ina Garten's pot roast.  First time I've made this and I really, really liked it.  Terrific flavor development and it truly felt "special" even though I wasn't even home when it cooked away and did it's magic.  Easy recipe that doesn't need babysat and delicious to boot.  I'll definitely be making this again.  I also made roasted garlic mashed potatoes to go with it.  I loved those too, but there were some chunks of roasted garlic that texturally weren't terrific.  If I make them again I'll be pureeing the garlic first.  For tonight, I'm going to boil up some noodles to go with it and saute some Brussels Sprouts.

Tuesday:  Mardi Gras, piano, dance:  Baked Potato Soup for piano, maybe for us too, I'm torn between that and pancakes, which is somewhat traditional.  Either way, I think I'm going to attempt a King's Cake for dessert.

Wednesday (scout night):  Emeril's Garlicky Shrimp w/ pasta, broccolini, garlic bread

Thursday (dance):  Potato crusted Hake, parsley potatoes, sauteed green beans


Friday:  Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser


By the way, I did end up trying the Penne with Escarole last week, and we all enjoyed it.  I was a bit shocked, honestly.  Mark and I had never had escarole prepared like that before and I know the kids had never eaten it.  It made quite a bit, so I ended up serving it to my childcare kids as well and everyone ate it.  I guess that's the hallmark of a truly good recipe.  :)


Hope you all have a good week.  We're inching closer to spring around here and it feels good!