This week was quiet hectic, kicking off with my 20 year school reunion on Friday. Yes I know I don’t think so either đ Although I did stay out until 4am I was sensible with the demon drink and felt fine for the next big do on Saturday. My father in law turned 80 last week so we all got together for food, drink, music and song. It was fabulous! But I really felt all the excesses for the rest of the week. Hmmm maybe it is 20 years since I was in school… Still haven’t learnt a thing about being sensible. Hurrah! Many of my in-laws are amazing musicians. Some of my readers will have heard them at our wedding no doubt. I think between my family, my in-laws and the Outlaws we probably cover the whole gamut of musical styles. So on Saturday, I sang my version of this amazing song, The Book of Love by the Magnetic Fields. It has a strong resonance for me because I first heard it on Valentine’s Day last year. This was an especially difficult time for my in-laws but I knew they would appreciate this song with its down-to-earth romanticism. It’s bitter sweet for me. Here is Peter Gabriel singing it live and lovely.
Music may be the food of love but we’re here to talk actual food so excuse the slight diversion but I like to share many things.
Friday
Lunch: Gnocchi with pesto – I needed a good carbie lunch that I knew they would eat as Fridays are shaping up to be a super busy afternoon too. Nipper 1.0 had his first choir practice in the city centre so I had to keep everyone going for that. To keep crankiness at bay I also brought along Babaduck’s Amazing Star bars (kind of swanky rocky road) and Wellington Splats (my squares that had gotten battered on their travels.)
Dinner: Pizza as usual. Well I went out for dinner with my old school chums. I had a delicious but very garlicky broccoli pasta dish in Marios in Ranelagh. I probably hadn’t been there for about 20 years either!
Saturday
Lunch:Â Bagels with choice of filling on the hoof before hitting the road.
Dinnner: Pops’ bash with goodies galore.
Sunday
Lunch:Â We weren’t 100% sure where we’d end up for lunch but due to certain so-called being incapacitated we left early-ish. We stopped en route to Dublin at The Tap, a place, I’ve been watching develop over the years driving up and down. The drive is too short to justify a stop but I was starving so we stopped off and had a lovely lunch. An unusual spot where the kids found much to amuse themselves. Apart from the too-tall glasses that restaurants seem to always give to kids and which they always then spill they were also very kid-friendly.
Dinner: Bolognese from the freezer. I love my freezer as I was now officially exhausted.
Monday
Lunch:Â Hot dogs which are one of the nippers’ absolute favourite lunch options. Why do I bother…?
Dinner: Chicken and couscous – this title doesn’t really do this amazing dish justice. I absolutely will post this recipe as it is a favourite with the family.
Tuesday
Lunch:Â Leftover chicken and couscous for some and I honestly can’t remember what the others had.
Dinner: Pasta with roasted brocolli – this was only grand. It was a bit dry so I ended up larruping olive oil on the finished dish thus over-riding any “skinniness”.
 Wednesday
Lunch: Whole wheat pasta with oven dried and garlic sauce
Dinner: Candied pork with sweet potato wedges and green beans
Thursday
Lunch: I had soup from the freezer. PB &J on the hoof for everyone else as we dashed about.
Dinner: Roast trout & little taters with carrots. This fish dish was a hit. I’m getting there!
Friday Pizza