We were in the kitchen putting dirty dishes into the dishwasher together after lunch. As is common after a meal, we were all discussing what we needed to do the rest of the day and how it was all going to get done. Beyond our normal “at home” work, we had two outside commitments to keep: 1) Pick up our food co-op order and 2) Elias, age 12, had soccer practice in the evening.
When Elias realized he may be at soccer practice when the Azure order was brought into the house, without thinking he said, “Wait. Can you maybe not put it away until after I get home so I can look at it first?” Quickly, he grinned at himself for requesting something so silly.
I think this kid is a lot like his mama. There is nothin’ silly about wanting to stare at food. Right? Right???
I see food and I’m like, “Oh my goodness! Look at the beautiful green beans and all the deliciously juicy grilled meat! The canned peaches are sooooo pretty and see these great potatoes that I just got at the farmer’s market?!” But then there are those of you who are like, “there. is. a. watermelon. and. some. other. food. please. pass. the. salt.” Do you mean to tell me I haven’t yet convinced you all of the joy of staring at food? I’ll keep trying.
EEEHHEEEE!!! IT’S SEVERAL DOZEN SWEET CORN FALLING OUT OF BAGS!!!!!!!!
Well anyway, it seems that Elias and I are very similar when it comes to our love of food. He loves going to the grocery store with me – just to look at all the food (and, of course, to smell the pineapple’s bottom). He loves seeing our Azure orders and our Amazon Subscribe and Save orders come in. He likes looking into the pantry to see all the goodies. He loves looking through cookbooks to get new ideas. He loves chocolate and desserts. Hopefully, eventually, he’ll love eating vegetables. We’re working on that one.
So…food. This time of year is so rockin’ with all of the amazing FOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!! Who’s with me on this? Peaches and nectarines dripping with sweet juice. Sweet corn dripping with butter. Watermelon dripping down my chin. I’m not ashamed. I love this time of year.
We got home from our anniversary trip and had to get to work right away putting up fresh garden produce. It’s hard work! But the bounty and the goodness of this food?! There’s so much to be grateful for. We’ve been picking, snapping, blanching, and freezing (or eating!) green beans. We found a great price on sweet corn (see beautiful picture above) and got several dozen shucked, blanched, cut off the cob, and frozen. This week, we’ll be making fresh salsa with tomatoes and peppers from our garden. We’re frying okra from our garden and eating it like it’s candy.
Meat off the grill with all these fresh fruits and vegetables on our table? Well, it is just incredible.
I’ll take the hard work. I’ll step around overflowing compost buckets and stand over a steaming pot of boiling water in a hot kitchen. Then Elias and I will stare at it all and imagine how great it will be this winter when we can pull this goodness out of our pantry and out of our freezer to eat.
Having said all of that, you can imagine how much fun I have making a meal plan this time of year. With all the fresh variety available – healthy menu planning is awesome.
Speaking of menu planning, I’ll let you in on a little secret. This weekend, we finished a project we’ve been working on! Watch for details of how you can get this resource for free. :)
Here’s our menu for this week. (Won’t that food be fun to look at??!!?!)
Sunday, August 17
Creamy orange cooler, granola, blueberries
Italian cream cheese chicken, tossed salad, cherry tomatoes, green beans
Grilled burgers, tomatoes, lettuce, homemade pickles, watermelon
Monday, August 18
Green machine milkshakes, giant breakfast cookies, raspberries
Pasta salad bar, cantaloupe
Grilled barbeque chicken, corn on the cob, fried okra, peas, grapes
Tuesday, August 19
Crock pot breakfast casserole, nectarines
Hamburger sauerkraut dip with tortilla chips, cherries, kiwi
Grilled Italian chicken, baked potatoes in the crock pot, green beans, tossed salad
Wednesday, August 20
Pancake and sausage muffins, cantaloupe
Spanish rice with taco meat, spicy avocado dip, fresh pineapple
BLT wraps, sweet peppers, carrot sticks, strawberries
Thursday, August 21
Pineapple mango smoothies, fried eggs
Black bean chicken nachos, olives, pineapple
Beefy enchilada bake, tossed salad, strawberry/peach/apple fruit salad
Friday, August 22
Instant oatmeal packets, blueberries and strawberries
Cheddar ranch burgers, cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, watermelon
Chicken salad with crispy cheese crackers, sweet peppers, honey glazed carrots, peaches
Saturday, August 23
Cheesy scrambled eggs, strawberry-peach-orange smoothies
Leftovers
Taco salad, nectarines
