Week-End Update: Summer's End

This week...

I'm a little late with the rest of August's week-end update as we've been out of town and the school year just began.  Here's how I celebrated the end of summer vacation!

1
Dinner...

Most of the time, I do the right thing, the nice thing, the respectful thing.  Amar and his family don't eat beef, so I don't cook with it at home and I typically don't order it when we're at restaurants.  One of the first cooking projects I took on after we got married was to learn to cook with the understudy: ground turkey.  I keep my turkey burgers moist with some diced and lightly sauteed sweet bell pepper, I caramelize the onions that I mix into my meatballs or meatloaf, and I throw in a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce to emulate some of the beefy flavor.  And I really don't mind.  But when Mom makes meatballs and sauce, or Grandma brings out the Christmas lasagna, I don't resist.  And this week, with Amar out of town on business, I indulged in a nicely grilled, juicy cheeseburger on an onion bun.  It was everything I dreamed it would be.

2
...And a movie

To go with my guilty dinner pleasure, I picked up a Mississippi Mud brownie from the bakery section of our grocery store and popped in a movie (Can I use that phrase anymore now that VCR players are no longer for sale in the US?): Anne of Green Gables.  

Burgers, Brownies, and Green Gables aren't an obvious combination, but what kind of newlywed wife would I be if I made my husband sit through 3 hours of Anne Shirley during dinner?  (I, however, loved every minute.)

3
...And a book

Next up: a trip to the library, which has actually become one of my favorite summer destinations since moving to Boston.  Hello, Air Conditioning.  I picked up the next book in the Anne series to reread as well as The Forgotten by Elie Wiesel.

4
London!

We ended the summer with a short trip to London. What a great city to visit! It felt clean and safe, was incredibly walk/ride-able, and had plenty to do and see.  Highlights from our itinerary: Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, The Tower of London, Big Ben, and the British Museum.  More photos coming soon!

5
Gazpacho

I flew back from London just in time to start the school year.  To mark my official end of summer (and avoid heating up anything on that 92 degree day), I took advantage of some super ripe tomatoes and "cooked" up some gazpacho.  I halved the America's Test Kitchen recipe and garnished with a bit of grilled shrimp and herbed goat cheese.  Ok, so I almost avoided cooking in the heat, but I needed grilled chicken for lunches this week anyway.