Kumquat’s face says it all. I managed to do it. We went to an apple orchard. We took pictures in the leaves later that day at the park. We painted pumpkins. Seasonal activities abound. I may not have cleaned my house this weekend, but I did get all of the grocery shopping done and found Kiwi a pair of basketball shoes for her first day tomorrow. I did manage to fulfill all of my social obligations, and I’m still in one piece.

I have kind of an ambitious week planned in the food category, only because there is prep work involved for a few of the meals that needs to start before 5:00, which is when I usually start thinking about heading to the kitchen and away from the work that keeps me chained to my computer.

Monday – Maple-glazed ribeye on baby greens with an apple cider maple vinaigrette.

Tuesday – Grilled Trout with Rosemary, Lemon and Garlic, roasted purple potatoes and butternut squash

Wednesday – Beef enchiladas, roasted five-pepper salsa

Thursday – Chicken stew (a bastardization of THIS recipe), crusty French rolls

Friday – Tomato ricotta pasta with chicken sausage similar to THIS, spring mix salads

Recipes to look for here at Food for My Family this week: Apple crisp, apple slices, apple crumble bars. Are you sensing a theme? Ole will be sharing his pit beef experiment as well.