A Menu for Heading Into Summer

A menu to make the most of the final weeks of spring an the first hint of summer vacation.

The last week of school always seems like a waste. Both teachers and students are ready to be done, the sunshine beckoning them from the window. With the hard plastic chairs unforgiving and the clouds in the sky having taken up new residency in students’ heads it’s hard to imagine a less productive time of the year.

This is a week full of field days, trips to the museum, and summer sports already underway. The menu is reflective of the late spring weather – up and down then up again – and the lack of timetimetime. We’re in the home stretch, and lazy summer mornings, campfires, canoe trips, and summer swimming wait just around the bend.

Monday – Orzo Pasta Salad with Asparagus and Chicken

Tuesday – Steak Fajitas

Wednesday – Ranch Chicken Salad in a Jar

Thursday – Salmon Skewers with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Friday – Spring Vegetable Fried Rice with Leftover Steak

The Preparation Shortcuts:

1. Make extra chicken on Monday, and then slice it and prep the mason jar salads for Wednesday in advance. It’s a great grab-and-go option for busy nights when you just won’t be home. They can be packed a few days before. Check out Aimee’s tips for packing jar salads for more ideas, too.
2. Grill one steak that just has salt and pepper. Use it for a protein in your fried rice and just toss it in to heat it up towards the end of cooking.
3. Use any leftover vegetables from the orzo salad, fajitas, and the salmon skewers for the fried rice.

This weekend we planted our new garden box, something I really should plan on telling you about. When I requested a small box at the top of the hill that slopes up the last quarter of our yard, I didn’t expect Ole to sign on at all, much less suggest a tiered box that follows the hill right to the base. Two weeks later I have more garden square footage that I thought possible in our urban lot, generous as it may be.

I am anxiously awaiting the day when I can claim the pictured heirlooms as mine and not hot house grown beauties. In the meantime, after consuming the tomatoes, I moved my new basket to a home on the wall.

Pictured above is my new plateau basket from Indego Africa. It does double duty as both wall décor and fruit basket on my dining room table, but in addition to serving as a piece in my home, it also helps a Rwandan artist gain independence as she practices a trade. A member of the Fair Trade Federation, Indego Africa works to give women sustainable income and lifelong skills.

If you’re looking for a way to treat yourself or a friend, consider a piece that helps more than just fill that need and helps someone else as well. You can read more about Indego Africa and check out their bowls, baskets, and jewelry. (Plus, they have a great sale selection right now, including several of the plateau bowls.)

Disclaimer: That bowl was not provided as compensation for this post. I was given a discount for my purchase, but you’re hearing about it because I like it, and I hope you do, too.