Sunday, July 1, 2012

"It's a meal, not a party"

I started out my morning today, getting ready for my oldest son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter to visit later this afternoon and of course I'm excited to cook and feed them. My mind started racing about what I would plan for the menu.  Back in the day, serving bread was automatic, much like you'd get at a restaurant, but I don't ever buy bread so I'd have to go get some.  Thank goodness because I'd want to serve the best bread and that's 20 miles away, and I'm not going to go through that kind of trouble to serve something nobody needs 'extra' of.  Sure, bread is fine, I'm not trying to hate on bread, but what kinds of, and how much, food should we serve people we love and care about?  I'd also serve a platter of fruit, cheese, nuts, crackers (this is where the bread comes in too), etc as a start, but really, is all that necessary?  Let's not forget about dessert....I should at least have some fresh fruit, right?  But as Mark says, "it's a meal, not a party", and the special occasion is spending personal time with my family, not eating time with my family.  Trust me (I'm talking to myself!) nobody is going to starve!

I've got 3 huge, thick, one pound, New York strip steaks I picked up at Whole Foods yesterday, after that really who cares!  But since I'm going to grill them I thought I'd throw some veggies on the grill too.  For some reason I just don't feel like vegetable shopping on Sat at the FM, and Sunday is a crap shoot...yoga, or in today's case I've been 'picking up' and cleaning all morning!  I'd have to look and see what I already have.


I've got 2 large sweet potatoes I think I can slice thin and grill, as well as rainbow chard I got in CSA that I can also grill (it'll take about 2 minutes).  I also have my summer beans I pressure cooked two days ago, with roasted corn an zucchini, maybe as a bonus I'll reheat them with some crispy bacon!  Now what about dessert?  Yikes...I bought some apricots at the FM...tell you what, if they are still hungry, and I doubt it, I'll figure something out...maybe I'll sweeten some of my sheeps milk yogurt with maple syrup, slice up the apricots and toast up some granola?  Or maybe I've got some shortbread cookies hiding somewhere...who am I kidding, of course I've got some cookies hiding somewhere, lol!  (unfortunately I'm out of whipping cream until my youngest son gets home, otherwise for sure I'd whip up some cream....I'm not that much of a drag!  lol)


Gotta take those steaks out of the fridge now.....


(PS, FYI, when I chose to eat flour based foods I eat way too many cookies and crackers that's why I never buy bread!)

3 comments:

Diana said...

I thought I spotted bacon in that first pic! Everything is good with bacon!

"It's a meal, not a party"....another great quote Mark!

So true how we fuss and fidget when people come to visit. Steak on the grill is one of my favs! "Kill it and Grill it!"

Tracy Reifkind said...

Diana,

I only added about 4 slices of bacon and that really dressed it up! I'm tempted to buy more bacon and do it again! I only buy bacon in 4-6 thick slices at a time and freeze it. It always comes in handy just when I need it to!

Mark Reifkind said...

thanks Diana, it's from way back.first you eat what you need, then you eat what you want :))