The Menu Journal

chocolate-dipped strawberries for dessert at last night's gathering

I have this mini notebook that I've been using to record holiday and large gathering menus. I write down on one page the full menu and on the opposing page things I could have done differently or any opinions I had about how the preparations went.

The notebook itself was a freebie notebook I received when doing kitchen help at a tea. It really is tiny, about 3 X 4 inches, the kind that looks like a composition book, if you know what I'm talking about.

There's just enough room on a page for a menu or hints and tips.

I sometimes include whether something was a packaged product or pre-seasoned by a manufacturer, frozen or fresh, etc. Occasionally I add shopping lists, if a dish or recipe is particularly complex or requires unusual ingredients (like a spice I don't normally have on hand).

I began recording this information a couple of years ago, as I would frequently have post-thoughts about a gathering that I wanted to remember. An example, yesterday my son and daughter-in-law came over for a family dinner to celebrate my husband's and my birthday. I served a turkey breast, among other things. Afterward, I thought I should have looked through my jars of homemade preserves to find a spicy or herb-y preserve that would compliment the slices of turkey, something like the rosemary-rhubarb preserve that I make in early summer some years. I also might note if a menu was relatively easy to do.

I look through these menus when I'm planning another dinner, lunch or brunch. I know I can just do the whole thing again, or I can take parts of one menu and combine with parts of another. Having these lists and tips makes the whole planning thing so much easier. 

I keep the menu journal right alongside my most used cookbooks. Someday, perhaps my daughters will enjoy leafing through the various menus as they plan their own family celebrations.

Happy Friday!

The hens were generous today. They gave my daughter two eggs. My daughter wasn't expecting very many eggs. So this has come as a surprise. The hens are sweet and funny.

I didn't grocery shop this week. Maybe you can relate -- when we have a big holiday meal, we often have so many leftovers that there is no need to buy more groceries for a week or more. In fact, I haven't gone anywhere since last Sunday's church service. Now that feels odd to think I didn't leave the neighborhood. The furthest away I went this week was a few houses down from us to visit with the chickens while my daughter added feed and changed their water.

I've continued working in the vegetable and flower garden. Today I planted half of the tomatoes. I'll hold back the other half for a week, as a just in case measure, just in case we get pouring, cold rain, or the critters do damage. I've been planting flower pots with seedlings that I started indoors. This year I started petunias, violas, marigolds, and nasturtiums for flowers. The begonias over-wintered in their pots in the garage. I brought them outside a couple of weeks ago, and they are just now beginning to break the soil.

Today's post isn't just wandering thoughts. I also have a question for you. How do you feel when your grown children give you an expensive gift, or an expensive-for-them gift? Sometimes one or a couple of our kids will give us something that we feel costs more than they should spend on us. We want them to save for their futures. My two daughters bought some glassware for me for Easter. I saw them in the store and thought they were lovely. But I also noted the price tag per glass. They're not super expensive, just expensive for my daughters' stage in life. Oh but they're lovely and go well with our spring dishes. Anyway, I've had a difficult time with this gift. How does it make you feel to be on the receiving end of your grown children's generosity?

I can't believe we're up against the weekend already. What will you do to make this weekend beautiful? I plan on taking a long walk to see all of the neighbors' spring flowers and flowering trees, having a cup of coffee outdoors in the morning, baking a batch of rhubarb muffins, and potting more flowering seedlings on Saturday.