No, Eli is not on the menu this week! He’s just my super cute model for this week’s post. He had his championship game this weekend so I snapped this photo of him before he headed off. I realized I didn’t have a lot of photos of him playing baseball, so I took care of that yesterday and snapped away at his game. I find that I take more photos of food than my family, and that has to change! I hate lugging around my big camera but need to do so more often because the IPhone just cant take those great action shots and the close ups. So, summer is knocking on our door as my kids have 2 more days left of school. The end of the year always brings excitement because we’re all ready to chill out and spend some quality time together for the summer, but it’s also a bit sad because it means the end of yet another school year and reminds me that my kids are growing way to fast. I can’t believe that Zoe will be moving onto 8th grade and Eli onto 3rd. The years are flying by way to quickly and I’m glad that my kids have an extra long summer this year because I’m going to be spending lots of time with them (leachy leachy mama).
Speaking of years flying by, John celebrated his 36th birthday this past week (wink, wink). We took him out to his favorite sushi restaurant Friday night to celebrate. I was so impressed with how adventurous the kids were. They tried everything we ordered and loved it, and there were some strange fish combinations I must say. I remember when we use to go to a sushi restaurant and order chicken teriyaki and rice for them, but no more!
We came home from dinner surprisingly stuffed from Sushi, but couldn’t help ourselves to a slice of John’s birthday pie. Here’s a photo that I took and Instagramed of it chilling out in the fridge. Yes, there were some little hands that wanted to sneak off a piece of crust, but I told them they had to wait!
Ok, lets move onto this week’s menu. This week is a bit strange because the routine of the school year is gone! I’m not exactly sure we’re going to follow this menu because we might just be celebrating the start of summer and play things by ear, but I figure why not try and formulate some sort of schedule, just in case.
Sunday night dinner: John opened up a recent issue of Bon Appetit and pointed to two recipes that he wanted me to make, yes me to make. Since it was his birthday last week, I decided to be nice. We’re making up some minty pea soup and smoked salmon on danish rye with horseradish sour cream. Zoe’s at a bat mitzvah tonight so she won’t be here to sample the dinner, but Eli will be here, and he’s not too happy about it. Update: Eli loved this soup, and he hates peas (I think it was the mint that sealed the deal). He also loved and devoured the sandwich. Here’s a quick shot of the Instagram I took of last night’s dinner.
Monday night dinner: Cold Soba noodles with miso tofu and vegetables. Oh my, this is my kid’s last night before summer starts, so I asked them what they wanted for dinner and believe it or not, Zoe requested this dish and Eli agreed.
Tuesday night dinner: Curried chicken salad and fresh cut red pepper, carrot and cucumber slices. It’s officially summer in the Grandy house, as the kids will be officially done with school at 1:30 today. I’m not sure what time everyone will be home, as the kids have after school events, so I’m just going to whip up some chicken salad to serve up.
Wednesday night dinner: Ina’s summer garden pasta and crispy garlic bread. Zoe has been wanting to make this pasta all by herself, so I’m giving her free rein to do so. It’s so easy because the tomatoes and herbs just marinate at room temperature all day, and then you just throw it on some hot pasta noodles and toss away.
Thursday night dinner: Leftover night! We will be having leftovers of the summer pasta as well as curried chicken salad. I’m going to whip up a lacinato kale salad to have on the side. We need our veggies!
Friday night dinner: You all know the drill. It’s Marin mama’s night off! TGIF!
Stay tuned this week for this one-pan pasta! Yes, you’re seeing the photo again, which means I got it right the second time around. Yippee! It’s full of flavor and super easy to whip up on those busy weeknights.
Cant wait for the one pot pasta! Looks super easy and yummy!!
Hi Amanda! It’s super easy and yummy. xoxo, Jackie
Eli is so darn cute…or really i should say handsome….perfect model! sounds like you guys had a wonderful time celebrating your hubby birthday…i always love taking that time to celebrate with family…And i so hear you about the camera. i always kick myself when I don’t bring my big fancy camera and the other lense…i want to get a cool camera purse think then it’d be “easier” for me to bring and feel that it is safe vs. just dumped in my normal purse…different note..did you change the font you are using on your posts? if so love it..if not still love it. LOL that ina garten’s summer pasta clicking over and pinning girl that looks perfect!
Hi Angela! Thanks for the sweet words about Eli. He is such a cutie and I am always squeezing those cute cheeks of his.
My iphone camera does a great job of taking pics, but my fancy one does and even better job. A cool camera case/purse sounds like the trick! I have been on the hunt for one. Let me know if you discover one.
Yes, thanks for noticing the font change. It was too light so my friend Wendy darkened it. I couldn’t read my own recipes 🙂
Make that Ina Garten pasta. It’s so fun to throw together and every time I see it marinating on the counter, I get all happy. Have a great Monday! xoxo, Jackie
Eli IS a super cute menu model! 🙂 Love the baseball pics. It reminds me of when Jake used to play. Good times. And the one with John and the kids is priceless! He’ll love looking back at that one when they are older. The menu as always looks delish. I haven’t seen the cold soba noodles one before, I’m going to have to check that out! And that one pot pasta picture is sooo pretty, looking forward to that recipe.
Summer is my favorite time of year – more relaxing, the sun is out more, and Jake is home. Even though he works and is gone a lot, it’s still nice to have him around and all the activities that come with summer. Talk to you later! xoxo, Sharon
Hi Sharon girl! I just love boys in their baseball uniforms, they all look so handsome. It’s like men in suits, they just looked pulled together! The cold soba noodles are actually pretty good and great for those hot nights.
I can’t tell you how excited I am for summer! This past weekend gave me a glimpse of what summer will be like and I’m ready! Only 1 more day! Yippee! xoxo, Jackie