🍴:

Mon – turkey meatball subs with arugula salad. I just did what the nonnas told me, and I hope they share the same inspo again, because Hampton loved them. I did use up a pack of mozzarella pearls he had bought for lunch and stuffed them inside and there was pizza sauce for the tomato sauce, I know this much.

Tues – Hampton made a pork tenderloin roulade stuffed with leftover olive and walnut vin and whipped feta; another arugula salad.

Wed – NY strips with Haunted Bourbon Garlic Cream Sauce; pan-roasted potatoes and lemony feta green beans.

Thurs – chicken thighs and orzo in a creamy fennel broth with arugula salad. I had to bow out of rehearsal this night, so instead of a quick and easy meal, I cooked a favorite (still very easy) comforty recipe. Hampton’s basketball bestie came over with snacks when she got off work to watch the Indiana Fever game, but since the chicken conveniently came in pack of three, I just made her a plate, too, so we didn’t have to deal with leftovers.

Fri – meant to do a summery risotto. Turns out we were out of risotto rice. Frankensteined up a pasta based on this, adding some corn that was bought for the risotto, and subbing in salsa matcha because we didn’t have pesto.

Sat – “Cuban cordon bleu” with fried plantains, black beans, and pikliz-inspired quickle. We crusted chicken cutlets with TJ’s new Deli Sandwich chips and baked it, then topped it with mustard, thin-sliced deli ham, and Swiss cheese. Hashtag fusion?

Sun – Inspired by a watermelon salad with miso/sesame dressing and multiple recipes with jerk seasoning in the new Food & Wine, Hampton had a watermelon/fennel/cucumber salad and jerk and Chinese five spice pork tenderloin ready shortly after I got home from rehearsal before he left for an audition. Hashtag fusion take 2?

🥃: multiple drinks this week to make up for the weeks with none!

First up, on Monday, we opened a bottle of Casual Ruins wine from Il Palagione with our meatball sammiches because life is short. Turns out, it was an absolutely perfect pairing.

Also on Monday, I tweaked my knee. While at the gym. Rude, universe, rude. By Thursday, everything else hurt, too, from trying to sit with my leg propped, so I broke into my Cauldron Creations “Cleanse All Your Bodies” tea. Hestia has sets of a small tea bag for drinking and a large tea bag with epsom salt for soaking. Plus a spell!

Then, on Friday, we got a delivery from our other 10th anniversary trip winery. Cantina Del Vesuvio makes wine with native grapes from Mt. Vesuvius, so it’s almost impossible to find here, and we just love their red wine condiment. It’s similar to a balsamic glaze — and why we have so many arugula salads.

🐶:

📚: happy pub week to book four in the Huck Connolly series, Down the Hatch.

Huck’s crazy adventures continue to get more crazy. I realized part way through this one that I must have missed another, but author Dominic Fenn tells the tale well enough that it’s still a complete story even without full backstory knowledge.

Several times I thought I had this all figured out, but I was very wrong each time. A delight to read.

🎭: Baby continues and dannnnnng these folks can sing. It’s exciting to see it all coming together since the couples have been rehearsing separately — all the praise to directors who know how to schedule without wasting time!

I didn’t get this posted on time because Sunday night, I was watching tv with subtitles while Hampton was at auditions for an upcoming one-act play festival. Whoops? But he’s now cast, and moving forward.

Usually Mystery Men Productions does private parties, but this one is open to all! Get your tickets now to make my adding dual roles in the same week as closing a musical lead and a recital worth it. Also, it’ll be fun for you and stuff.