This Week On Tap | May 12

It’s an overcast Saturday on the Cape and we just saw a bunch of baby chicks (Nicky thought they were “so cute little baby turkeys”…).  What more could you ask for?  Maybe some popcorn.  And some tea.  Perhaps a little dark chocolate with sea salt… and a nap… things have taken a turn.  Here’s this week on tap.

THIS WEEK ON TAP | MAY 12, 2018

MEALS

• Three Just Add Cooking meals (I modified a bit with ingredients I had on hand to limit gluten/dairy): Greek barley salad (I used quinoa), bean burritos (sans fun tortillas), and gnocchi with kale and walnuts.  I was particularly jazzed about the fresh gnocchi… but it just didn’t do it for me.  I love the idea of meal kits in theory, but in practice the lack of vegetarian options is a bummer (in this case, the three veg meals for the week are what they are, you don’t have options).
• Pretending summer is upon us — lots of cucumber, tomato + red onion salads.  And heaping bowls of homemade pico de gallo (I’m fascinated by/wary of people who have that cilantro takes like soap thing).

WORKOUTS

• Sunday: Rest
• Monday: Mama Beasts (and a few miles before class because it’s Mad Mileage May…)
• Tuesday: 3 miles at Castle Island, yoga
• Wednesday: Mama Beasts
• Thursday: 3 miles at Castle Island, yoga
• Friday: Rest
• Saturday: 25 minute ride (Nick set up my new spin bike last night!) with the Peloton app

LISTENING TO

• The Perfect Concentration playlist on Spotify (because I could use all the help I can get…)
• Chris Stapleton — random + v late on this (I learned today that my father saw him in concert, like, a year ago…), but I dig his voice and I can listen to him in the car with the kids without having to beep (like, with my car horn) out swear words (I can’t do this with Nice for What… just can’t keep up + beeping interferes with my car dancing/steering wheel drumming).
• The usual podcasts (and I’ve promised a few of you a full post on this — soon!), including My Favorite Murder, Keep It, Slow Burn, and Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness.
• And The Weepies because they are my constant (Semi-related: I was running in the the smoke-monster-esque fog this week and caught myself feeling deep regret for watching LOST in 2013 or whenever that was because that time was fully wasted… except for the scenes of Desmond wearing Hurley’s tie dye… maybe). 

READING

• The just-released My Kitchen Chalk Board: Seasonal Menus for Modern New England Families by Leigh Belanger – The team at Union Park Press surprised me with a copy for Mother’s Day and I’ve already spent several hours reading through this thoughtful, inspiring and encouraging cookbook (it’s really more than that, though — there’s so much substance beyond the beautiful recipes).  Coincidentally, my friend Molly had just recommended this book (I always trust her endorsements) the day before the package arrived in the mail.  
• When White People Call the Police on Black People in yesterday’s NYT

WATCHING

• Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions… this is my Super Bowl, my World Series, my basketball winner thing, and my Stanley Cup (now that the Bruins are out… but also, even before that #noshame). 
• Not watching yet… but Schitt’s Creek is in my Netflix queue and I’m saving it like a salty snack.  I love Eugene Levy (he created the show with his son, Dan Levy) and Catherine O’Hara and their brand of quirk.  Are you hooked like all my friends seem to be?

CURRENT FAVORITES

We’ve spent the last two weekends outside essentially all day at the Cape… and it’s the best.  We had a swingset installed just before Easter and it has provided hours and hours of fun (and fortunately, less danger that I feared).   I’m looking forward to spending as much time out back as possible this summer– clearly I’ve got summer + the outdoors on the ol’ brain. 

I’ve been happily adding sea foam/mint accents here and there (to match our kitchen chairs) and would like to bring a little of that out back, along with a big bowl of popcorn.  Maybe I’ll turn that mint plant stand into some sort of bar cart situation (for people who have little kids and, like, don’t really drink…) while wearing the perfect tee shirt dress.  Anyone else want in?

LOOKING FORWARD TO

• A Mother’s Day walk on the beach with my crew
• The aforementioned time outside, and planting this year’s container herb garden on the deck.
• Prints of the kids’ school portraits, especially the ones of them together (we got to the digital files yesterday and they are BEYOND).

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Also On Tap for Today:

• Checking out the baby chicks at our nearby garden/farm center
• Making this farro salad with tomatoes + herbs
• Meal planning for the week ahead

What’s your favorite cookbook of late?