La Quinta, California: The past week was a busy time around here. Kids/parents coming/going from Los Angeles. Mostly we had Lisa here with the kids due to Lenny's busy picketing schedule. Lucy attended a birthday party in LA, but mostly the grandchildren were here together... except when they weren't. When they were here together, there was a lot of this:
Leo had me shoot all sorts of short videos in the pool. Mostly of the kids jumping into the water. He then reverses the footage, so it seems they are flying OUT of the water. Does he send the backward videos to his Bubbe? No, he does not.
One night we had Leo to ourselves. No parents or sister. He told us he would prepare dinner for us and he did - his favorite meal: Grilled steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, and sauteed spinach.
I helped with the gravy. We reduced a bit of beef stock in herbs, onion and garlic. Then it was strained and thickened with a bit of cornstarch and enhanced with a splash of cognac and cream. Leo smashed the taters and sauteed the spinach. DT grilled the steak.
There were a few meals out. Brunch at the clubhouse of course, but also Leo's favorite - sushi - and we tried a new Mexican place El Patio (just opened a La Quinta location in Happy Point).
Two nights, Lisa was here with both kids. Dave grilled a beautiful piece of wild-caught King salmon (from our freezer). It was served with a tomato and onion salad and grilled asparagus. A bit of left-over potato salad was added to the mix.
On the final night of our two-weeks with the grandchildren, I made something called Lasagna Cake. It was tubular pasta (boiled), then tossed in red sauce and cheese. The pasta was placed horizontally in a (6-inch) springform pan, then topped with a mixture of sauteed spinach and ricotta. It was baked and left to rest for a bit before the mold was released. To my surprise, the dang "cake" held together! It wasn't very pretty as the spinach browned too much, but the taste was very nice.
How blessed we are to be able to spend so much time with the family. Our trip to San Diego and Disneyland was so much fun and we made so many memories.
Everyone went home on Tuesday and Bubba and I rushed into action to change all the bedding as his college roommate, Bruce, was arriving with his wife and daughter for a fun few days of golf. That was also a blast. We had a pool day, and a golf day - plus a stroll on El Paseo for window shopping. It was so great to catch-up with our old friends and spend time with their daughter who will be a senior at Oregon this fall.
As I type this Sunday afternoon, the 4L's are on a plane to Paris! Hopefully Lisa will send a few photos of their adventures for me to share?
Until my next update, I remain, your sheet-changing correspondent.
You must be exhausted 🙂 !!
The chicken parm looked delicious!