Simple and easy ravioli in red sauce for the other household members. (I am headed out to dinner with a friend.)
Simple and easy ravioli in red sauce for the other household members. (I am headed out to dinner with a friend.
To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown
I thought I had already posted about this, but I don't see it, so perhaps not. Anyway, I got my hair cut the other day, and my hairdresser was telling me about her family's plans for Easter dinner. There were going to be four people, and they were having pasta, meatballs, sausages, bracciole, a small ham, stuffed mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, and I forget what else. Wow!
Now Easter isn't really a thing for us and DH and I would happily ignore it, but it is a thing for Mom, and we couldn't quite bear the idea of her sitting home alone eating a sandwich from Market Basket. In years past, she would have spent it at her best friend's house, who did a big Easter spread, but her friend died last fall, and that's another reason why we didn't want Mom sitting home alone. Sis was scheduled to work, so DH and I went over and DH cooked a marinara sauce with ravioli, and I had made a salad and we had rolls and wine, with a blueberry pie and ice cream for dessert. It was very good and we enjoyed it and there was more than enough food for us, but ... I did have the nagging thought in the back of my head that we were Bad Italians, and my hairdresser and her family were Good Italians, because there is supposed to be a ridiculous amount of food, right? I mean, what if a whole bunch of people dropped in on us unexpectedly or something?
So anyway, it was really all about Mom, and she said it was the BEST EASTER she ever had! When I talked to her today, she said again how it was the BEST EASTER, and everything was so wonderful and she didn't know how she could ever thank us enough.
So the moral of this story is simple dinner for the win! It's mostly about spending time with the people you love and getting some nutrition while you're at it. I KNOW this; it isn't exactly news to me, but I guess sometimes it's easy to get sidetracked in my thinking.
What a wonderful story, rosa! I'm not Italian, but you seem like Very Good Italians to me. You made your mother very happy. It sounds wonderful.
I know that you are atheist, but I think that many people grew up with Easter as a spring tradition. We raised our kids as Christian and took them to church and did Easter egg hunts and Easter baskets and the whole deal. This year we went to my Son #2's house and had a wonderful dinner, but none of us did anything religious, except DH led us all in a prayer that was very much like the prayer Ben Stiller did in Meet the Parents.
But my Son #1--the one in NJ--called us that night and was very nostalgic about Easter. He is not raising his kids to be religious, and they did not make a big deal out of egg hunts or ham dinners yesterday.. and he was very rueful in terms of how he was reconciling all that with his memories of growing up when Easter was a big deal.
So from the tradition aspect--forget the religious aspect--giving that to your mother was so very wonderful.
"Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
www.silententry.wordpress.com
Catherine: You make a very good point about the traditional, non-religious aspects, and I will try to focus on that for the future. Mom always did a lot of cool decorations for Easter. She had a great collection of ornamental eggs, and the Easter Bunny was very good to us. I got a FB message from a friend who says that Easter always reminds her of going to my mom's house for candy and treats when we were kids, and she has good memories from those times.
That was so nice, rosa! Building good memories are always worth the effort in my opinion.
To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown
Last night I made Mongolian barbecue for the first time. We were both disappointed that the Japanese bbq sauce wasn’t spicier. Will have to add a little zing to it next time.
If you're looking for inspiration--especially spicy sauces--I recommend Marion Grasby (Marion's Kitchen) on YouTube. I've never made her recipes, but I find her Australian accent exceedingly soothing.Originally Posted by jp1
Turkey steaks with roasted red potatoes. Haven't decided on a veggie yet.
To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown
Collard greens ham, and pinto beans. Got the greens in our CSA portion this week. Ham was frozen from Easter.
My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished two bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already!
There are left over turkey steaks from last night, so I am thinking I will dice one or two up and make stir fried rice. Probably take another couple and do some homemade mac-n-cheese for tomorrow night.
To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown
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