Happy Labor Day to my US readers!
Our houseguests leave later this week and my husband and I are going to cut waaaaayyyy back on the Vacation Eating that we tend to do when houseguests are around. They are cocktails people, as well, so I always have to wean myself off of my nightly urge to pour myself a gin and tonic.
For Labor Day, which is today, we are grilling burgers and hot dogs. I am making this Mexican street corn salad and my favorite plum torte.
Dinners for the Week of September 6-September 11
- Sheet Pan Greek Garlic Butter Chicken with Potatoes: Easy and yummy. I will make some sort of a green vegetable as well.
- Slow Cooker Balsamic Pork Tenderloin: I think I’ve made this for my in laws before, but oh well. I do this kind of “bowl” style, with a base of brown rice. Then I top mine with the pork (and lots of the balsamic-y liquid it cooks in), caramelized onions, feta, and kalamata olives. My husband skips the olives and adds sundried tomatoes – the soft kind that come in a jar with oil. I think I may also try adding marinated artichoke hearts to the mix, and maybe some of the little mini pitas that come in a bag. Hummus would be good alongside this, too.
- Chicken and Zucchini Stir Fry: For some reason, I feel weird about making stir fry for guests. There is absolutely ZERO justification for this. But I love stir fry, and it has been a month since I’ve made one, so this will be our first post-houseguests meal.
- Charred Shrimp, Pesto, & Quinoa Bowls: This just sounds yummy right now.
While I love my houseguests and while I am so very glad they are here for pleasure this summer and not for medical reasons, I am also relieved that they are heading home. As I mentioned last week, I find it very wearying to balance the needs of even very easy, very un-demanding guests against my own need for quiet and routine. And against my MANY neuroses about food and my kitchen. Sigh.
If you are enjoying a day off today, I hope it’s lovely and relaxing and safe. If you are going about business as usual, I hope your week is off to a happy, productive start.
The plum torte looks perfectly heavenly. I admire anyone who can make the fruit baked into a desert look like fruit, not just a gushy mess. Like when I bake.
I understand entirely about the guests’ thing. It’s great having people visit, and even the easiest guests can wear you out after a while. I think I need to be ‘on’ all the time.
I’m going to check out some of your recipes. Have a great day.
Yum yum yum on the torte! I want a big bowl with a little bit of the pork tenderloin and all of the toppings. Yes to adding artichoke hearts!
I’ve had my kids living with me at various times this past year or so and although I love having them here (mostly), it is hard to adjust my routines to theirs. I’m sure they feel the same.
That plum torte looks magnificent.
And yes, I 100% get it about the guests. We had some demanding guests this summer and it WORE. ME. OUT. I love having my own space and I’m always at least a bit on-edge when we have people staying with us. Even more broadly, I feel like my own kids heading back to school will help my introverted soul recover from all the overstimulation of the summer.
Oooh, yummy looking torte!
As my mother used to say when we had guests: I love to see them come and I love to see them go.
Once again I’m reminded that I need to look into making the plum torte gluten free. Plum season is only so long and I need to make it a priority! We’ve been visiting a friend who has cancer every week or two and I’ve been bringing him goodies – maybe I’ll make this for him the next time I see him.
I know you will be relieved to get back to your normal routine. Guests are great but they are exhausting.
That torte looks so good…
Glad you’ll be getting back into your routine soon, as welcome as the guests are.
Guests, even the easiest ones, can wear a person out. Even having my parents with us can be hard for me even though they are easy peasy and my mom helps out a ton with meal prep and such. But I do feel pressure to make things that they will like. But then I remember how I feel as a guest. I do not have any expectations and want it to be as easy as possible for the host. We were at my parents for 5 days this summer and I could tell my mom was pressuring herself to make something different every day so I kept reminding her that we were happy to eat leftovers day after day.
That pork tenderloin recipe sounds soooo good!
Smitten Kitchen for the win! The plum torte is so delicious and easy, but it feels sophisticated. I like to bring it to a party and be a fancy-pants who brought a torte.
Hope you get some downtime when your guests leave. Its not easy being host for the duration! My in-laws have stayed with us for periods. While I enjoyed their company, I was always miffed to share my otherwise quiet, alone time drinking coffee first thing in the morning with the pleasant, but noisy chatterboxes.
Plum cake is the best 🙂