Bar mitzvah weekend is under way over here and I barely have time to talk to you today. Hope you’re doing well! I am having the best time with my family and friends and Mr. Picky has definitely risen to the occasion. Ok, let’s get organized for dinners this week!
Besides being back-to-school it is also back-to-football season! Â We love watching a game or two on Sundays. Â I always make a pot of soup or chili which can sit in a slow cooker on warm for a few hours and everyone can help themselves. Â Here is a great dinner planner for the week!
Hello, friends!  I have had such a fun weekend in Palo Alto, celebrating the bat mitzvah of the daughter of one of my dearest friends.  It is such a lovely area and if you live up here, you are lucky indeed.  Back home today and back to the kitchen!  This week is the last week I will attempt to enjoy stone fruits.  They are sadly not in season any longer.  Sniff, sniff.  Tomatoes may be good for a few more weeks, as will eggplant, peppers and green beans.  And then you’ll see me using more winter squash, cruciferous veggies, grapes, figs, pomegranates and apples.  Have a great week!
Ah, the party’s over.  My last day of summer is Labor Day.  Mr. Picky starts school on Tuesday, so I have asked him to make a list of breakfasts, lunches and dinners he would happily eat.  So, many of this week’s dinner ideas come from my son.  I am not normally this democratic, but I believe in starting the year on a strong note!
Although I was very sad to leave the Golden Door, which is an incredibly magical and serene oasis, I came home inspired to cook. Every bite I ate there was so delicious, fresh and healthful. Â I can’t wait to head to the farmers markets this weekend and load up on all the fresh produce that summer still has left. Â If your kids are back to school, it’s time to start getting your meals organized again. Â Olives, cheese and crackers aren’t going to cut it anymore!
I just returned from Dallas and boy oh boy do I need some of my own cooking!  Dallas is a great food town, but my husband seems to direct us towards a lot of barbecue and biscuits.  Yikes!  Green juice is my breakfast this morning and then I am headed by myself for a little restorative time at the Golden Door in Escondido. This mama needs a few days to recover from finishing my book and moving two kids into college this week.  I’ll set up my husband and Mr. Picky with a few basics in the fridge, but I’ll be resetting my system with clean, organic food and some much needed rest.  I’ll post on Instagram and Facebook if you’d like to come hang out with me. 🙂
I’m not cooking most of this week since we’ll be moving both my daughters into their dorm room and apartment, respectively. Â Although I will likely help my older daughter stock her freezer with cooked grains, smoothie packets, maybe a soup or two and, of course, cookie dough! Â Let’s hope my cooking lessons this summer sank in. Â I’ll share whatever I can on Instagram Stories, so pop in from time to time to see what we’re up to. Â In the meantime, I know you have to cook, so I put together a great dinner planner for you this week!
I’ve been through a range of cooking experiences over the past month, from teaching my daughter how to cook for herself to cooking for my family to cooking for 15-24 people every day while I am on Long Island.  Such different strategies, but it all still requires planning ahead.  In preparation for my trip back East, I took a few minutes on the plane to jot down a schedule of what to make for lunch and dinner.  This year I decided I wasn’t waking up early to make everyone breakfast. 😉  It has helped tremendously and allowed me to relax much more.  Plus, anyone can look at the schedule and not have to ask, “what’s for dinner???”
Here’s a great week of summer dinners to help you get organized this week:
