(End of) Summer Menus

Well, these just didn't have the rhythm of the spring menus. There were a couple reasons, I suppose. First - we ran into a couple recipes we were ho-hum about (time-wise or taste-wise) and had to shuffle things around. I got lucky with the spring plan and didn't have to toss any recipes after the first go-round. Second - the available summer produce changes pretty rapidly and I really wanted to buy fresh or use whatever was growing in the garden. Turns out those things don't follow my Type-A "plan". At any rate, we used these, but not in constant rotation like the spring ones. Summer is a little more free-form and that just worked better for us. But I'll post them here anyway, just because.

Summer Meal Plans:

(Click on an image to bring it up and right click to save it)

Enjoy! Sorry it's already out of season!

[And by the way, I never ended up getting the WW points on here. And I still have to add the links to our recipe page... but that's got to wait for a shift in priorities. I've got fall knitting to do!]

Whitefish Chowder

It's a staple around here (whitefish chowder, not milkweed). We like to do fish on Fridays and whitefish is fresh and local. Kind of a no brainer. Our version is adapted from Hollyhocks and Radishes, one of those local/regional cookbooks that is always a little suspect. But we really like this one. It's big on character and big on yum. Whitefish chowder is a year-round soup for us. 

Speaking of our seasonal menus, I'm working out the kinks in our summer rotation. I somehow got lucky on the spring menus and didn't really need to edit much after the first 4 weeks. But summer has been a little trickier. I'll post them here when I think they're ready for prime time. 

In the meantime, Whitefish Chowder. Enjoy!

Whitefish Chowder
2 Tbsp butter
6 green onions, chopped
3 carrots, diced
1 large potato, diced (we leave the peel on)

Melt butter in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Saute onions, carrots, and potato (you may want to put celery in here. I don't of course).

1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp dill
2 Tbsp flour

Add herbs and flour, stir to mix.

16 oz can of diced or stewed tomatoes
3 cups of milk
1 1/2# Lake Superior Whitefish (we've also made with lake trout, walleye... other meaty white fish)

Add the tomatoes, milk, and fish. Simmer until heated through. Stir in:

1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp parsley

before serving. Serves about 4-6 happily.

Wedded Bliss

Some sewing, some revelry, some family, some travel. Along with something old, new, borrowed, and blue.

Congratulations Kar and Pat!

Vacation Sewing

Nothing like an upcoming vacation to spur on the creativity. In anticipation of all that relaxation, I just had to stress about something... so I hunkered down in my workspace for some late nights and sewing "absolute essentials" for our beach trip. The results:

A dress for Etta:

Oliver + S Popover Sundress in Amy Butler's Martini in Yellow

Shorts for Oliver:

MADE's Kid Pants pattern, shortened and cuffed

Matching Jammies:

Made-by-Rae's Flashback Tee (modified) and Sew Liberated's Sleeping Johns

More jammies

with another Flashback Tee and MADE Kid Pants

a Bucket Hat (meant for Oliver, but gifted to Simone)

Oliver + S Bucket Hat

I wasn't a fan of this pattern at all. I think I'll heavily modify when I make it again for Oliver. It is too fussy of a pattern that ends up too floppy and too small, so I'll work on those elements for the next go-round.

And those dresses?

Good stuff