Ridiculousness and, a terrific dinner

"I'd eliminate the IRS, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce and HUD."

And that's the Harvard guy.

Oh, Ted. You sanctimonious prick. It's Rick Perry all over again. 

But I digress.

Mom is here, and I like her to eat well when she is. Dishes must be wheat-, corn-, and alcohol-free, but that's no problem with a bit of planning. 

Roasted beets with horseradish vinaigrette? Terrific, and yes!

Yogurt, lemon and aleppo pepper chicken kebabs? Sublime!

Lemon-coconut creme brûlée for dessert? 

And scene. Tired and full. Good night.

Mahvelous pre-Fathers Day Feast

Today was absolutely beautiful! Tae Kwon Do, exercise, play date, marketing, card-playing, etc. What fun! And, tips: If you are the parent of a 7-8 year old and need some quiet time built into your day, teach him/her Solitaire.

Tip 2: If you want a fun card game to play with said 7-8 year old, teach him/her Gin Rummy.

We have all had a ball playing Gin with Jack who already has a ludicrous win record. In the downtime, I have felt thankful that I today taught him Solitaire.

Since my parents leave tomorrow, we decided to celebrate Fathers Day for Dad this evening. I made a beet salad, some garlic-olive oil spinach ricotta ravioli and bought some Bourbon vanilla ice cream, Mom made apple crisp, Tom plank-grilled mustard-maple King salmon and the  boys made cards. We set a pretty table with a blue seersucker cloth and napkins, white china, and a vase of pale pink peonies and white spray roses and opened a bottle of Chinon rosé. Everything was fresh and lovely and tasty in a deeply satisfying way.

I was so thrilled that Ol cottoned to the beets and that Jack devoured the ravioli!

And apparently now we're watching a documentary about atomic bombs. Righty roo, Saturday night.