MPM--Summer Starts!

Sometimes you don't know when your last time is your last time, do you? I actually found myself a little nostalgic when I realized I was packing a snack that wouldn't be eaten. My son's last two days of kindergarten involved a party with lots of food on the penultimate day, and the last "day" was all of 86 minutes. So suddenly, those last granola bars were the first snacks of summer instead. Which was fine, but I wasn't ready, and I know I'll be nostalgic when I have to pack an actual lunch next year.

So, here we are, ready for the camp, the pool, the endless days of summer fun. Oh, wait, no camp yet, and the pool closes for thunderstorms...now what?

Well, get in the kitchen, for one thing. Somehow, despite loathing jello when they were younger, my kids have decided that blue jello is awesome. (Be still, my foodie heart.) So we've made jello, which has been fun, and gotten them back in the kitchen. We made beet salad--not a hit with them, except for the food processor part. We did Father's Day crafts. We made a long list of all the things we want to do this summer, from play tag to visiting the Crayola Factory. And now, getting on board with that, we plan to have a few day trips here and there, so for this week...

Monday: Omaha Steaks stuffed sole; edamame and tomato salad from Simple Fresh Southern via Dinner: A Love Story; potato croquettes, also from Omaha. My children will eat fruit, is my guess, but that's their choice.

Tuesday: Chicken Breasts with Mushrooms and Snap Peas from No Take Out; quinoa instead of orzo b/c that's what I have; salad

Wednesday: grilled something from Omaha (beef probably, but maybe pork; trying to use up marinade); CSA veggies

Thursday:out with friends. Not sure what I'll bring yet.

Friday: pizza, of course; the kids are pining for it, though they have enjoyed the Friday soccer routine too.

And...remember last week when I was kidding about roasting lettuce? Some people don't kid about hot lettuce! Check the Bitten Word's enthusiastic review of a salad with grilled butter lettuce. Wow.

I did eventually make the Captain's Chicken too. I put the thighs and breasts in frozen, as suggested--loved that that worked. My husband loved it, which is not typical for him with slow cooker meals. The texture was still more fally-aparty than I would have liked, but I could at least fish them out in basically one piece. And the rice! I cannot ever seem to get rice correct in the slow cooker; after almost an hour, mine was still a little crunchy in the middle. But it made a lot and it was a hit with the grownups, so I can't complain about that.

I made two salads for our incredibly hot Father's Day cookout--it was a shame, only the cooks could actually be outside, it was so humid and sunny. One of my salads was an Italian layered salad--iceberg, broccoli slaw, chick peas, red onions, topped with mayo and creamy Italian (which, btw, is very, very hard to find anymore--who knew?) and Asiago cheese. Fine, but nothing to write home about, so I'm not linking (besides, there's the recipe, right there, basically). I also made the favorite chick pea salad, to use up my apples and walnuts and it had been a while. My mother-in-law made an awesome cauliflower and zucchini salad; if I get the recipe, I will post it, it was terrific. And I never thought I would like a salad with raw zucchini--not a favorite for me--but this was great!

Finally, many thanks to Food52 for introducing me to the idea of raw radishes dipped in butter and salt. Ok, this shouldn't surprise me--butter and salt are two of the magic ingredients (third is cheese, and sugar if you are eating it). But I thought it sounded gross when I read it. However, I couldn't resist trying it, and wow. Love the way the butter cuts the bitter of the radish. Yum. Now I can't wait to try the tartine too.

Here's hoping your summer is off to a swinging start! Share what you're serving at I'm an Organizing Junkie!