MPM--Random Meal Generator

...thy name is June. The weather has been crazy here (though thankfully not fatal like some locales). 94 and super humid...or down to 55 and needing sweaters. So some nights I just threw fruit at the kids and hoped for the best, and others, I actually cooked. So take this week's menu with a grain of salt. (I always do.) We also had a spate of parties--graduations, first and ninetieth birthdays, you name it, so the party food has been crazy. Note to self: do a graduation brunch, and with another family. Smart smart smart.

Monday: CSA inspired something. Oh, I suppose I have to do better than that. Ok, I didn't get to the mustard-cream sauce chicken last week, so that, plus veggies from the box.

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday! Woohoo!

Wednesday: Baseball game. I will feed myself something before we go but I know the boys will have hot dogs there.

Thursday: Leftovers.

Friday: Graduation party! I'm on for a vegetable tray. For 120. That's a lot of carrots. But so worth it.

Before I returned Eating for Beginners to the library (along with a hefty fine) I tried her No-Grill Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic Vinegar, which she loosely adapted from Marcella Hazan. It was blissfully easy: melt 2T butter with 1 T olive oil; brown some tenderloins; turn heat to low, salt & pepper the loins, then pour in 1/2 C balsamic vinegar and some bay leaves. When done, reduce the sauce while the pork rests. This is my kind of recipe. Easy, little work involved, items I have in my house (if I get a pork tenderloin). The reduction is basically a vinaigrette. Yum. Interestingly, her original one calls for NOT balsamic. So now I'm going to try this version sometime soon. Meanwhile, the fine was totally worth it. Four out of four eaters in the house had some pork. It's more of a moral victory as Picky One had a sliver about the size and thickness of my pinky fingernail. But to prove to his brother that he did indeed eat some, he had a second, slightly larger piece, almost the size of my thumbnail, which he nibbled in three distinct bites. Still--a four out of four counts for lots around here.

Meanwhile, I rediscovered the joy of making "baked" potatoes in the microwave (for us: poke potato so it doesn't explode, wrap in a wet paper towel, cook 4.5 minutes on high and let rest 5 minutes)--what an awesome lunch. And my picky eater has gotten very curious about "what he used to eat." Which was everything. So here's hoping there's some progress soon on that front. I'm not sure his version of a taco is "progress" (sour cream and shredded cheese wrapped in a tortilla) but--it feels like a small increment up from those elements separately.

Next week is really up in the air. School is almost over, and I'm pulling my act together for the transition to summer. Stay tuned, and for much better planned dishes, try I'm an Organizing Junkie! to see what folks are doing there.