MPM--Olympic Fever

Well. Anyone here tired of hearing about my freezer? This was your lucky week--though not so much mine. In a desperate effort to help the Vancouver Olympic skating venue, which did not have enough ice last week, my freezer heroically made so much permafrost that it pushed its own door open. And sometime, a long long long time later, I discovered every single thing in my freezer...defrosted. So it was not the week I thought it would be. And some lucky friends were the recipients of beef tenderloins that we couldn't eat due to Ash Wednesday and a dinner obligation and a Lenten Friday. It was a good week of eating for lots of people we know! Sigh.

We did eat some winners--a scallop-and-mushroom dinner from Trader Joe's, the TJ's chicken cilantro wontons (great with the dipping sauce and also in chicken soup), and the vegan chili which I liked as well as the beef chili (which unfortunately we just had last week, or it would have been a much bigger hit overall). The Super Suppers tilapia with lemon dijon was a bit ... dull. But it was fine for Ash Wednesday, which is not supposed to be a big winner of a dinner night anyway. And the dal was good though it really had more heat than I expected. All the ginger maybe? or the mustard seeds? It was good, though, and filling and low-calorie, so it stays in the rotation.

And the good news was that lots of the stuff in my freezer were things like butter or juice concentrates that could be re-frozen without too much worry. The popsicles were a lost cause, though, as were some soups. But hey--finally, finally, the freezer is officially unplugged and dripping away.

So defrosting was a key theme here this week in general, as the snow slowly dripped away, and school started again, and winter is carrying on its merry way. So this week, with no pressure to empty a freezer, I have a whole new week to plan! It will include lots of quick stuff so I can get right back to the Olympics, which I love. (That female commentator on skating makes me laugh every single night, and I love watching all the sports they used to show on tv that now only come on every four years.) So...

Monday: pork roast, mashed potatoes, asparagus

Tuesday: vegan chili, rice

Wednesday: leftovers (probably pork sandwiches) for the rest of the house; I'm hosting book group for Memoirs of a Geisha and will splurge on a sushi tray and make edamame and cucumber salad (and of course tea) .

Thursday: chicken roll ups (pesto and sun-dried tomato version), baked potatoes, salad

Friday: despite my Lenten misgivings, probably out for pizza with the kids. They are too young to observe Lent and they really love the tradition of the pizza place. It's a ritual we all enjoy and it marks the start of the weekend and I hate to mess that up. (Especially since it isn't like, say, a barbeque or burger joint where there's only meat on the menu.) Otherwise, spaghetti night.

So the big fun last week was Valentine's Day--when we went to a surprise wedding! It was billed as an engagement celebration, but when everyone showed up, the officiant was there and vows were said! So fun...then we all went to a very crowded and fabulous dinner.

Have a great week, everyone!